Design flops happen more often than we think they do. How often do we make an error that could have been solved by a design choice? Everything should be intuitive. There should be no showers that we can’t figure out how to turn on. There should be no pens that refuse to click into place. There …
Seguir leyendo 27 Baffling Design Choices Found in the Wild (September 15, 2024)

Part of being human is trying and failing. We’re not computers, or algorithms, or robots, we make mistakes. And that can be a beautiful thing. That’s how evolution works: a genetic mistake is made and if it works, we run with it. It’s how we get the best art: artists shatter the conventions previously set out …
Seguir leyendo 28 Baffling Design Choices Found in the Wild (September 8, 2024)

They teach you in school that you shouldn’t rudely point out other people’s mistakes. They tell you that it’s not nice to point fingers, that you should have patience with others, and not to laugh at the failings of another. That’s all well and good,  but there’s a line with this. For example, if my fly is …
Seguir leyendo 29 Baffling Design Choices Found in the Wild (September 1, 2024)

A good or a bad design can make or break… almost anything. A book could have the most riveting, original plot line the world has ever seen, but if it has a boring cover, it may not ever reach the masses it should reach. A website could hold vital, life-saving information, but if it’s not intuitive …
Seguir leyendo 27 Baffling Design Choices Found in the Wild (August 25, 2024)

Sometimes you don’t realize something until it’s too late. Sometimes you realize you’ve made an error, but it’s too late to turn back now, so you just charge forth and pretend you didn’t realize it. I would do this all the time when I worked in retail. If you make a mistake, in some cases …
Seguir leyendo 26 Baffling Design Choices Found in the Wild (August 18, 2024)

Do you ever see something in the world that you just have to fix? Maybe you’ve spotted a crooked picture frame and had to put it back so it’s even. Maybe you’ve been in a restaurant bathroom and noticed the toilet paper roll was put on upside-down (everyone knows it’s over, not under, unless you have an …
Seguir leyendo 28 Baffling Design Choices Found in the Wild (August 11, 2024)

If you’ve ever thrown a party, you know how effective signs can be. They’ll help direct people to the appropriate beverage station. They’ll keep people away from the door to your parent’s bedroom. And they might just help people realize there’s a cat behind that door and if you open it all manner of chaos will be …
Seguir leyendo 28 Baffling Design Choices Found in the Wild (August 4, 2024)

Design is all around us, from the socks we put on our feet to the cars we drive to work to the pencils we use to write our to-do lists. Hundreds of thousands of micro-decisions had to go into every one of these. Someone had to decide how long the pencil should be, how thick, …
Seguir leyendo 26 Baffling Design Choices Found in the Wild (July 28, 2024)

One of my most powerful dreams is being able to fully redecorate and re-design my own home with an unlimited budget. What I would give to be able to knock down walls, choose new bathroom fixtures, and buy all the vintage furniture I wanted.  But what they don’t tell you when you’re a kid building your …
Seguir leyendo 27 Baffling Design Choices Found in the Wild (July 21, 2024)