Usability vs. Design

Experimental design may fail in public space

Vitali Reif
Sep 2, 2018 · 2 min read

I encountered this faucet that in a toilet of an office building. Together with the guidelines on the wall, it is a good illustration of what happens when an innovative design contradicts usability in a certain context. Given the unusual design of the faucet, many visitors of this toilet were apparently puzzled about how to use it. Is it a nice design? I still believe, yes. But it is clearly not an example of Design For All. The problem here is the combination of the unusual design and its location. Few people would have a problem with using this faucet in their own bathroom: once you tried it, it is easy to use. But in this case, it is simply put in a wrong environment. In this building, there is a constant influx of novice users, i.e. new people who have not encountered this design earlier and have to learn how to use it.

User experience of the same object or interface may depend on the use case. Sometimes usability rules can be violated for the sake of design. However, public space may not be a suitable place for appliances of a rare design that “conceals” usability — how ever beautiful the design may look.

Vitali Reif

I am a UX designer and Usability surveyor

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