Sent from Sarah in upstate New York …
She never made it to the lagoon, if you're wondering.
This gem of a sign was found in a hotel bathroom next to stacks and stacks of towels, I’m told. A bad sign. A confusing sign. Lord knows how many towels are used improperly.
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Bad design, Signage | Tagged: lagoons, sign, towels | 
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Posted by Infinite User
At least there's an insightful news ticker down there.
A nice find on Failblog.org, reposted here in honor of that last great milestone of summer — Labor Day. How much do we love these airport Departure/Arrival screens? Designed to fulfill such a simple need, most of them suffer from such a simple yet stifling usability gaffe. They cycle through the flights, gates, and city info waaay too fast. They mean well. They do. But it doesn’t matter how big the screens or the font size is, most of us still need time to sort out our ABCs. “N is after L in the alphabet, okay. Okay.. ah-ha! New York.” But no sooner you find your flight it’s gone isn’t it, refreshed in a column over, or two, or three TV panels away.
Slooow down, Airport Flight Departure Information screens. We’re in a hurry but we ain’t going that fast. We’re not machines like you. Not yet.
And get that anti-virus updated. It’s a sick world out there.
1 Comment | Bad design, Signage, Transportation, Travels | Tagged: airports, departures, fail | Permalink
Posted by Infinite User
Few things command attention like the Big Red Button.
Throughout modern civilization, red buttons have generally communicated one of a few things, depending on who you ask. “Press in Case of Emergency”, “Press to Stop”, or “Don’t Press! (but if you do, you can be damn sure something’s going to happen)”. But unless you work in a nuclear power plant, regularly operate heavy machinery, or are an elevator attendant, you probably don’t run into these very often.
Yet here’s one in the strangest of locations; a Citibank ATM, next to the door, actually controlling the door. Obviously (as I’m sure you guessed) it’s a trap… as this one seems to say “Press to Exit and Let us Record How Tall You Are”. Note the inconspicuous tape measure.
It’s a crafty yet unsettling ploy that seems out-of-place in Chicago’s uppity Gold Coast neighborhood. Was this ATM a frequent target for robberies because of all the big spenders in the area? Did something horrible happen here? Do I feel safer or less safe now? Are they recording my height to better target me as a potential new customer for a future ‘Join Citibank’ marketing campaign?
These are the questions I found myself pondering as I stood in front of that door, my wallet full of cash, eyeing that big red button.
The design lesson here — don’t mess with classic design conventions.
But the real lesson — as always — use your own bank’s ATMs.
2 Comments | Bad design, Guidelines | Tagged: ATM, Big Red Button, measure | Permalink
Posted by Infinite User
Yeah, I went there. Timeless and wildly prophetic, the graphic tree sequence vividly illustrates an all-too-common pattern in today’s high tech development world. This version also demonstrates the power of enlisting an extra sense (that auditory one) to drive a point home. For the full effect of this diddly, play from your cube with the sound up, base up. Loud. Oh yes.
Leave a Comment » | Bad design, History, Humor, New Technology, Online experience | Tagged: graphic tree, patterns, techno | Permalink
Posted by Infinite User
You can't get in that way folks. You just can't.
You wouldn’t build a car with a hidden door, a website with a cryptic URL, or a train station with no entrance. Yet take a look at this CVS in Porter Square in Boston. The store-front curve on this particular corner is designed to showcase the merchandise inside, but it also insinuates there’s an entrance nearby. But there’s no entrance for a block in each direction. And that’s far away enough to be an issue in the thick of a New England winter (when this photo was snapped).
The lesson here? Don’t deceive users on entry points. The gateways to the experience are as important as the experience themselves.
So get with it, CVS! And I’ll go ahead and admit that I walked into the glass window because I wasn’t quite paying attention. Darn head cold.
Leave a Comment » | Bad design, Guidelines, Travels | Tagged: CVS, entrance, hidden door | Permalink
Posted by Infinite User
The consequences of human factors neglect in design naturally range in severity by system and environment (think nuclear power-plant meltdown vs. a customer not buying a blender on your website). This video from Failblog.org provides a memorable illustration of consequence… I’ll let you decide where on the continuum of disaster it should fall.
It may seem like common sense to say something went horribly wrong here, but we can narrow it down to at least one of the following areas of design oversight:
1) Use-cases: Was it considered that trucks might find their way under the bridge?
2) Messaging: Where signs/roadblocks/warnings/deterrents adequately aimed at trucks and tested for effectiveness?
3) System Limitations/Standards: Did designers forget to measure the bridge height or take into account standards for underpass height?
4) Builder Error: Was the height of the bridge misjudged or simply measured improperly?
Regardless, one would think after the string of failures observed at least #2 would be revisited in the short term. So many flayed trucks, and for what I ask… for what.
Leave a Comment » | Bad design, Signage, Transportation | Tagged: truck accidents, underpass | Permalink
Posted by Infinite User
A comical and compelling example of a classic design principle: the functionality/usability trade-off (sometimes called flexibility). Often we find that the more a product or system can do, the less likely it is to have smooth user experience – you know, like complicated remotes, super busy websites, restaurant menus with waaay too many options, etc.
So here’s a train that can transport large numbers of people (highly functional), but results in what seems like quiet an unpleasant experience for those boarding it. I think the footage speak for itself…
1 Comment | Bad design, Definitions, Transportation | Tagged: flexibility principle, trains | Permalink
Posted by Infinite User
We see thousands of signs every day of different shapes, colors, sizes, and meanings. Good signs. Bad signs. Confusing signs. Below are two examples of signage on the stimulus-heavy Venice Beach Boardwalk in southern California.
Exhibit A: A cash-strapped tourist stands confused after a familiar sign leads him only to a lovely selection of hats (that he doesn’t have the cash to buy anyways…). Result: The store looses out on both the ATM transaction – assuming they actually have one – and a potential hat sale because of the poorly placed sign.
Exhibit B: An honest sign that actually points to a real ATM, but our hero is no where to be found! Result: The accurate sign leads to better business and happier tourists, as patrons surely will at least consider a massage or new pair of sunglasses after loading up at the ATM.
Conclusion: Anywhere and everwhere, good design and placement of signs is invaluable.
Leave a Comment » | Bad design, Good design, Signage, Travels | Tagged: ATM signs, sign placement, Venice Beach | Permalink
Posted by Infinite User
If you can't figure it out, sorry, you can't buy Rockies tickets.
Two recommendations. 1) Rename the “What is this?” link to “Why? Why are you doing this to me!?” which would be more in line with users concerns. 2) If you are going to have this type of human authentication, make sure real humans can actually figure it out.
Within the pop-up, there was an explanation of the need for the barrier and the dangers of web robots. Terrifying.
1 Comment | Bad design, Online experience | Tagged: human authentication, rockies website | Permalink
Posted by Infinite User
The other night I rode this giant white box of advertising home from downtown San Francisco. Look closely though - its actually a MUNI light rail car in disguise, covered from front to back, window to window, with advertising for Pixar’s newest animated film, Wall-E. I had seen these decorated trains before and thought it was some creative and good ad work. Can you guess how my perspective changed a bit after riding one?
Just as one would assume from seeing the outside of one of these trains, it was nearly impossible to see outside the windows from inside the car at night. Thankfully I’ve ridden the line enough times to be comfortable with my own stop. Others clearly weren’t, and I sat there helpless, watching people squint and struggle and scowl in frustration trying to read blurry street signs and store-front lights through the painted windows. Who knows how many folks were made late to wherever they were going because of misinterpreting their distorted surroundings and getting off at the wrong stop! On the other hand, with a dozen or so of these cars around the city, I’m sure they helped raise movie attendance – that is assuming most people didn’t try to take these trains to the theatre.
It’s a painful case of conflicting interests: advertising vs. a sane commuter experience. There were no winners this day.
Leave a Comment » | Advertising, Bad design, Transportation | Tagged: Advertising, Bad design, MUNI | Permalink
Posted by Infinite User
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