Good Design Vs Bad Design

Below are some things I personally believe to be good designs, as well as things I believe to have bad designs.

Starting with the good:

Good Design #1: Google Chromecast

Google Chromecast is so easy to use for a variety of users. With seamless interaction between your phone and tv (for example), someone can easily show content on a variety of platforms. The simplicity of a casting button integrated into many media applications, makes it easy for the user to understand if they can show it on other devices. Ex. Usually, I am tasked with setting up Netflix for my parents to watch their shows. After showing them the casting icon, they are able to do it by themselves with ease.

Good Design #2: Reddit Homepage

I have been a reddit user for a bit of time now and one thing I love is that when you first log on, you see what users feel to be the most important topics of all ‘subreddits’. How do users vote on what is most important? Placing a simple up arrow and down arrow next to each story. It is so effortless and people are willing to do it because of how little navigating it takes.

Good Design #3: Xbox One Dashboard

I have always been a gamer and to be honest wasn’t always a fan of xbox. I used to have a PS4 but felt that the system was not as impressive as the Xbox One, so ended up trading it in. One of the first things I noticed was the homepage that displayed everything I wanted to see as a gamer (ex. what game is in, how do I access my games/videos, how many of my friends are online, etc.) It was a homepage I was able to relate to and had prior experience using previous Microsoft products. There is not a ton of information on the homepage, but it has everything you need to see and very neatly organized.

Now some bad design…

Bad Design #1: iPhone 7

I am sure it is a great phone and has a nice sleek design, but one thing about design I think is important is catering to your current users. Many of these users are upset because of the lack of headphone jack on the latest iPhone. It might seem like a simple thing to leave out, but so many users have headphones that will no longer be compatible, not to mention that since the new headphones share the charging port, it is not possible to charge your phone while having your headphones plugged in. Again, it is a small detail, but keeping your existing users happy is important and although Apple has had some great designs in the past, many consider leaving the headphone jack out of it was a bad design move.

Bad Design #2: Craigslist

Craigslist is great for getting cheap stuff, but can be hard to navigate for some. My dad is obsessed with searching for great deals but gets frustrated when he has trouble finding what he is looking for. In my opinion, their homepage is a mess. There is a wall of text that hits you and it is not very pretty. I think users would appreciate having a more slimmed down model with a single search bar, making it easy to search for exactly what they are looking for.

Bad Design #3: Mounted bottle opener with cap collecting jar

I had gotten my Dad something similar to this for Father’s Day, only NY Jets themed, because we are HUGE Jets fans. The problem I had with this design is that when you have the entire opener mounted on the wall (which is how it is supposed to be), there is no easy way to empty the caps from the jar without fishing them out by hand. It is so simple, but a bad design without taking into account what happens to the caps after they are opened. I ended up ripping the jar off and put a rare earths metal on the back of the wood which ‘magically’ catches the caps and makes cleanup a lot easier.

Bad Design #4 (BONUS)

Seriously though, how many movies is it going to take to come up with a better design for the deathstar? It has the same weakness every time!