Japan standardizes hi-tech toilet symbols
Both the UX part of me and the 12-year old sense of humor in me couldn’t resist this.
Japan actually did standardize hi-tech toilet symbology. Sadly, I was not asked to contribute. I would have loved having this project in my portfolio.
I’d also love to be able to tell you more about this important work, unfortunately, the press release on their site is a PDF in Japanese. I’m bummed about that, but there’s a good UX lesson in there. When users view PDF content online, they are not provided an option to translate the text.
All kidding aside, I seriously congratulate Japan for recognizing this need and taking action to create a standard. In user experience/product design, it’s important to use symbols that are familiar to your users. Well done, Japan.
