Billy's no longer for books

The Economist has spotted that IKEA are increasing the depth of Billy's shelves, having noted that people use them for so many things other than books. It sparks another discussion of the future of the printed book.

[via Techcrunch]

Integrated product information

The reverse of a Jamie serving dish. Apparently '...happy in the dishwasher, safe in the microwave, fine in the fridge and freezer'. A little arch but always there when needed.

Shareholder influence on product safety design

FT Weekend features an interview with Cynthia Barlow whose daughter was killed while cycling, by a Readymix lorry cutting across her path as it turned left. Subsequently Barlow bought shares in Cemex, who own Readymix, in order to be able to ask questions at their AGM about the factors leading to her daughter's death. To Cemex's credit they responded positively and worked with Barlow to improve both drivers' awareness of cyclists and other vulnerable road users (through training and the addition of mirrors and sensors along the side of the lorry), and cyclists' ability to detect drivers' signals (additional indicators and voice warnings) when they are alongside the lorries.

Hidden USB keys

Something slightly 1970s Bond about this, along with many more at Retrevo.

Neat improvisation

Potential solution to the nest of cables under my desk.

[via Ollie Bayley]

iPad: redressing the balance

'They've [laptops] all been largely obsoleted (at least at my home) by a sleek $499 device that doesn't really have any right to be called a "computer" in the traditional sense.

Sure, there's a handful of tasks that I still would prefer a real computer, but -- amazingly -- that list has now shrunk dramatically. In less than a week.'

From this post, by Chuck Hollis, which is linked everywhere.

Dust as information

When we have, for the past few days, been so preoccupied with dust of a different kind, this extract from a report of a research study of consumers' connections to domestic objects:

In our final example we return to the more traditional terrain of
the bagged cleaner, revealing that it too has the potential to outwit
and expose its users. One participant discusses how he uses an
old conventional vacuum cleaner in the student house he rents out
as a mechanism to ensure that his tenants vacuum the house once
a week. Here we see how the traditional bagged vacuum cleaner
serves a particular purpose that would be impossible with a Dyson.
As their landlord, Henry prohibits the students from emptying the
vacuum cleaner bag: he visits the house once a week and changes
the bag. At the end of the tenancy he empties the bag and then
vacuums the property himself. If there is any dust collected in the
bag he uses this as a means to retain the students’ deposit, which
is returnable only on condition that the property is fully cleaned
prior to departure. The vacuum bag thus becomes an instrument
of surveillance at-a-distance, a tool for the external management of
approved cleaning practices and a weapon of financial punishment
where necessary. Should outgoing students (or their parents)
complain about the non-return of the deposit, Henry has been known
to post the vacuum bag and its dusty contents to the complainants
as material evidence of their failure as tenants. The bag is thus the
means through which Henry disciplines his tenants, the material
representation of his authorial presence and the objectification of
their financial indebtedness to him. Thus far, he has never returned
a deposit to any of his tenants: all withheld on the bulky evidence of
the vacuum bag.

Perhaps an extreme case of my claim that research reveals unanticipated findings.

[via Putting People First]

The impact of simplicity

Psyblog has a roundup of research demonstrating that simplicity has an impact on cognition. This extends the review by Song and Schwarz of the impact of simple text formats, word pronunciation etc., by including responsiveness to objects that look simple to pick up and those that don't.

In research by Canon, Hayes and Tipper, people were asked to categorise objects that were shown either in an orientation appropriate to picking them up e.g. turned in a way that showed them to be grippable in the right hand, or in an orientation not appropriate for picking up. In the appropriate grip position recordings showed participants had greater cheek muscle activity (associated with smiling).

Now I know it's a bit of a step from this lab finding to making a case for a simple product design, and that there are easy targets here, but my recollection of sitting on a Philippe Starck stool (above) was that it certainly elicited muscular activity, but not of the muscles associated with smiling.

Controversial green concept car

I suppose Renault and cosmetics manufacturer, Biotherm, could count the launch of their concept electric city car, Spa Car, a success. It creates a spa in the interior, with skin hydrating temperature and humidity, and the addition of a diffuser to emit essential oils to calm or stimulate the driver, according to preference. Sparked some enraged comments on the Wired write up. PR profession, dix points; environment, nul.

Ticket machines - still a problem

I noticed this sign at Slough railway station today, the scratches round the coin slot testimony to users' frustration with a temperamental coin travel. Fortunately the width of the machine (I suspect dictated by the space required for the coin travel) meant there was space for First Great Western to ask customers to be patient and listen to each coin drop before inserting the next. Not new technology. You'd hope it could have been sorted by now.

The touch screen interface is also pretty awful for the first time user, and there were long queues on my outward (rush hour) journey, as people struggled through their transactions. By the time I returned and took this photo, the machine had given up (too full of pesky coins? run out of tickets?) and was 'Not in service'.

Design (and context) cue the wrong behaviour

Design Sojourn spotted how the design of this vertical hand dryer cues the wrong response as people use it for discarded paper towels. No mouldings or information graphics to cue the correct response (as in Dyson's version). In fact the product name Clean Dry could almost suggest this is where you put used paper towels.
One of the people commenting on Design Sojourn's posting notes that they find it awkward putting their hands vertically into a dryer. I wonder. I think it's the action of putting your hand into an aperture that puts some people off. At least this way you can see your hands. With a horizontal aperture, you can't. Wouldn't be able to see into the dryer to clean it properly either. Presumably with the vertical arrangement gravity assists the process of blowing water off your hands. And a vertical form doesn't intrude so far into the roomspace.

[via Futurelab]

New product launches at IFA

Engadget features some of Phillips' launches at the IFA consumer electronics fair. My attention was caught by the new Senseo coffee machines. Now in square format. Look carefully at the photo. It seems you may have to re-model your kitchen to match:


Also the new laptop speaker cushion (I presume just a concept at the moment).
Gosh.

$25 incubator

Students in the 'Extreme Affordability' class at Stanford's d.school have developed (and are now marketing) a $25 alternative to a $20k incubator, for use in rural communities in the developing world. Their first step was to travel to Nepal to understand the community they were designing for. This helped them see how the need lay a long way from hospital provision and so they re-framed their task to 'finding a method for keeping babies warm' rather than designing a low-cost incubator. The resulting sleeping bag is warmed by units that are heated by boiling water, then, slotted into a pouch in the bag, hold their heat for several hours. Design at its warmest and cuddliest.

[via Boing Boing, image from FORA.tv]

On Bruce Archer's design research legacy

Harry Brignull celebrates Bruce Archer's contribution to design practice, in particular his research-based innovation methods.

I hadn't realised his work on hospital equipment design at the RCA had been such a struggle. Initial funding from the Nuffield Trust, resulted in research-based recommendations for providing receptacles for soiled dressings, finding ways of improving the accuracy of dispensing medication, preventing smoke doors from being locked open and improving hospital beds. Nuffield's response?

‘They hated it [Archer's research report]. They’d expected beautifully presented designs for funny looking cutlery for hospital patients to use in bed. That was what art schools did.’

Nuffield withdrew their funding and, for a while, Archer self-supported his work at the RCA, taking a night job at an ice-cream factory. Eventually all Archer's recommendations were funded and implemented, most famously the King's Fund hospital bed which became a British Standard.

Trompe d'oeil

Almost makes me wish I had a garage.

[from (sorry) The Daily Mail, via Quentin Stafford-Fraser's blog]

Solar panelled backpack

FT's Meet the Maker column this weekend features Shayne McQuade who designed the Voltaic solar panelled backpack. McQuade comments that he had imagined his products being used by hikers, but that they are used by people such as doctors and aid workers in developing countries where the electricity supply is unreliable. A key to this may be the pack's 3.5 kg weight, which I am sure Voltaic are working on reducing. Nevertheless it is still a 'wearable technology' that makes sense. Coincidentally Technology Review reports development of lightweight, flexible solar panels developed by Xunlight that could be 'rolled up and carried in a backpack.'

Errors in intensive care

BBC reports an international study, published in BMJ, showing that 4 out of 5 ITUs studied in a 24 hour period made errors in administering injected drugs, the most frequent being wrong timings or missed doses, but sometimes also incorrect doses or use of the wrong drug. Staff cited working under pressure and being over-tired as factors contributing to their errors, but changes in drug names, poor communication between staff and non-adherence to protocols also contributed. A suitable case for treatment by design of both products and systems.

Voice enhanced digital ink

Livescribe's Pulse smart pen not only transfers your written notes direct to computer but also includes a microphone so you can record a simultaneous sound stream.

Via Status-Q

Scathing product review

Wired pulls no punches reviewing this password organiser. If you're looking for a case-study of why user-centred design is needed, this is one.

Via Engadget

Phones that require two hands

John Naughton, of whom I'm a fan, is dumping his Google Android. Mainly for hardware reasons. One of his complaints is that the keyboard requires two hands to operate, making single-handed texting impossible. When calling, texting (and alarm clock) are still the staples of mobile phone manufacturers are playing with fire to compromise them in any way. Tomi Ahonen has always been a proponent of single-handed phone use (and, indeed, of 'blind' texting), and critical of the iPhone because interactions require both hands and eyes.