Best & worst design experiences from daily life
What are your 3 best and worst design experiences? This is a question I have to answer for my UX/UI course. Yes, I am only trying to be come an interface designer, but if you think of it UX can be applied practically anywhere. In our lives we have been users of so many different products, and our experiences with these products and objects have been varying as well.
Let’s start with the worst, so we will finish this article with an optimistic mind!
My 3 worst design experiences
1. Plastic packaging that seems to be unable to open without using violence
Clearly there is nothing digital here, but this is the first thing that comes into my mind when thinking about bad user experience: plastic product packaging that just doesn’t want to open up.
I was recently reminded of this when I tried to open a Destop packaging that contained a safety lid. It was definetely safe, as I was completely unable to open it. But as I am an adult and not a child, for whom the protection is needed, it should have theoretically been a feasible thing to do. And there I was, after half an hour of trying, with sore fingers, using a big knife to force the bottle to open. Not exactly safe, I would say…
UX sin: impossible to use the product without risk.
2. Apps that change so much that I get lost
This is the case for the latest RATP app (public transport for the region of Paris). It has a so called simplified home screen that asks me casual questions like “Where are we going?” But I do not want to dialogue with my RATP app, I want to know how to get from A to B using standard criteria such as leave or arrival time, and preferences for certain ways of transports (for example buses over subway). In the new app these criteria are gone or at least very well hidden. Even after many tries I still cannot get used to it and tend to yell at my phone for not getting the information I want. It’s the worst experience: you install an update, hoping to get something better, and the result is far worse.
UX sin: taking away options from users, deviating from conventional behaviour.
3. Wix.com
OK, Wix is pretty cool. I could possibly also put them in the “best of” list. But when I created a pretty site a while ago, it was only when I published it online that I realized I had to pay to be ranked on Google. And without ranking on Google, a site is pretty useless. Should I have known this before, I would have chosen good old WordPress — which is what I might still do.
UX sin: dishonesty
So much for the worst — here my best!
My 3 best design experiences
1. Google Maps
It has become so common that I tend to even forget, but Google Maps is a tool that daily makes my life so much easier. It doesn’t bother me, it’s simple and always works. Sometimes there are new features that slightly annoy me, or they try to force me to log in (which I do not want: my last privacy resort!), but overall it has been a reliable help throughout the years.
UX grail: simplicity, reliability
2. Ordering an iPad online and picking it up in the Apple Store
I recently was lucky to be able to order a refurbished iPad Pro on the Apple website. The main reason I purchased this was to be able to draw digital with ProCreate. For the delivery I chose to pick it up in the nearest Apple Store. Once I arrived, a workshop was starting about augmented reality art — a subject that really interests me. I stayed in the store to do the workshop and met some nice people. The experience was both useful and enjoyable.
UX grail: quality, agreeability
3. My Dopper water bottle
Dopper is a Dutch company that creates practical water bottles. They enable you to screw off a part of the bottle so it is very easy to clear. Result: I still use my Dopper after a few years of usage, whereas other bottels tend to start smelling a bit strange due to lack of good cleaning. Another plus: Dopper was launched as an initiative against plastic waist and by buying a bottle a part of the revenue goes to environmental development projects. Having a peaceful conscience has also become a good user experience.
UX grail: practicality, values
If ever it is possible to draw any conclusions from this tiny, personal research, it is that good and bad experiences can be created amongst any type of product. I was a bit disappointed to mention 2 GAFA companies in my “best of” list, but I reckon this is how these companies stay on top of the game: by reassuring a good user experience over time. But the idealistic start-up Dopper gives hope as well: a good idea can come “from the outside”, too.
