Design Surrounds Us

Design surrounds us. But it is not always seen—instead, it is experienced. And that can be for better or for worse. Truthfully, we tend not to notice design (i.e., the immense intentionality behind everyday experiences) unless there is an overt design failure drawing our attention to the matter. In which case, of course, we suddenly all become engineers and architects full of constructive criticism.

Who the hell designed this? Purdue engineers would never—

I remember thinking that exact line, nearly two years ago as I was heading to the airport with a 25-pound suitcase in tow, across bridge after bridge in Venice, Italy. It wasn’t until I was approaching the airport, though, that I reconciled with a surprisingly modern bridge that elicited the worst frustration. Because that surprisingly modern bridge—let me tell you, it had no business being so poorly designed.

It was tiered with miniature, step-like fixtures every two-to-four feet on the ascent. So I simply couldn’t roll my suitcase, other tourists couldn’t roll theirs, and in having to try and stop at each step, haul it up to the next, and then roll onwards another two feet—it was an embarrassing traffic jam (and also an embarrassing display of upper-body strength).

Perhaps whoever designed it simply wanted to laugh at the tourists as they exited the city.

Because it certainly wasn’t because the designer sought genuine solutions for efficiency, traffic-flow, and accessibility for the masses while entering the airport. I have since learned that this interaction was the result of failed industrial design, the optimization of systems for mutual benefit.

One observation I’ve made, whether it be regarding a silly bridge or the latest iPhone updates, is that we have to reconcile our desire to push the envelope with our desire to maintain intuitive, familiar functioning. It was not until I began reading Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things that instances like this were put into perspective for me.

The primary take away is that simplicity is key, right? But how can we apply that to a world that is always pushing forward? A world insistent on complicating itself for the sake of supposedly making our lives easier?

Comments

Why Professional Writing?

How did I end up here? As I've gotten closer to graduating from college, I've had people ask me how I ended up on the path that I'm on and why I made the decisions that I did. It still makes me laugh a bit when someone asks me those questions because truthfully, I've never felt like I knew what I was doing. The short answer is that I continually made decisions that I thought would make me happier in the long run. When I applied to Purdue, I already knew I didn't want to go there. No offense, Purdue, but I grew up in West Lafayette, Indiana, and I'd promised to my parents for eight years that I would be moving away for college. To my utter dismay, after all of the college applications had been submitted and returned, I found myself needing to make a decision between going to an out of state college (my dream) and taking out student loans, or staying here and graduating debt-free. I'm here, so obviously I chose the latter. Applying to the Professional Writing ...

Virtual Learning Presents New Distractions for Elementary Students

College students aren't the only ones using Zoom. For those of us in the academic world without children, it easy to forget that elementary students were also asked to adjust to this new e-learning way of life. Unfortunately, though, many of their questions remained unanswered when their world began changing so rapidly. This post will explore the thoughts and feelings of one current 4th grader. For privacy reasons, her name has been changed. A 4th grader's personal anecdote. In March 2020, two days before the elementary school shifted entirely to virtual learning, Sarah's father took her out of school and told her she would not be returning until the COVID-19 pandemic was under control. Sarah, who was still in 3rd grade at the time, did not understand what was going on, but she understood that, as her father said, she probably would not be returning to school for a while. The following Monday, Sarah received all of her textbooks and a Chromebook in the mail. Her teach...

Disney+ Relies on Users Already Understanding Streaming

Disney+ did not officially launch until November 2019. At that point, streaming giants such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO were already streaming giants, and Disney throwing its hat into the streaming ring was only advantageous because the company’s movie and TV collection are extremely popular. This basically guaranteed the site would be successful no matter how the interface looked. While the decision to copy a lot of the design off of other sites, especially Netflix, might seem like a good decision, Disney+ also should consider that there could be new users that are not accustomed to streaming services that are dipping their toe into the pool with Disney+ for the first time. Whether the reasons be financial or due to lack of interest in what the aforementioned sites have to offer, this group of users should be considered too. The design of Disney+ mirrors Netflix in many ways. The sites are closer to each other in terms of design than any other combination of streamin...

Purdue RxA

Search This Blog