Examples of bad design

[AM9]

I have a toaster that is very slightly too small for the majority of sliced loaves.

Wrong kind of loaves.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

The Qwerty keyboard is good design for touch typists, it is rare that it slows you down because of key location,

That's a good point, thinking about it. The design was motivated by not wanting to avoid neighbouring hammers being pressed consecutively. But if you touch-type, neighbouring hammers are the ones that you will use the same finger for. So the design automatically avoids you having to use the same finger to hit different keys in succession.

I guess the issue is for people who can't (yet) touch type, since it's hard to learn where the keys are because the positions don't relate to anything in everyday life.

to see an example where it fails tfy typing the word monopoly and see how much that slows you down,

Just tried it, and you're right. You have to use the same finger several times, which means you are slowed down while that finger moves between the different keys. (Ordinarily I guess the time to move the finger wouldn't matter because another finger would be hitting another key as you're moving it).

I have a toaster that is very slightly too small for the majority of sliced loaves.

I doubt any toaster would be remotely big enough for the slices I make when I cut unsliced bread

 

[dgl]

I still have a component CD player that cannot fast forward through a song/track via the buttons on the front, you need the remote to do that.
Oh and a bit of a more specialist/obscure one is that the vintage TOA WT-730 wireless microphone receiver uses a locking DIN connector rather than an XLR for audio output despite XLR's already being standard and the mounting hole for the audio output connector being sized for one, the locking DIN is actually mounted on an adaptor plate to make it fit in the D sized opening.

 

[pdeaves]

I still have a component CD player that cannot fast forward through a song/track via the buttons on the front, you need the remote to do that.

A lot of screens seem to be like that; they rely on a remote control to do certain functions.

 

[dangie]

I have a toaster that is very slightly too small for the majority of sliced loaves.

A common problem. A toaster isn’t rocket science. At the very least it should be able to accept a slice of bread.

 

[Broucek]

A lot of screens seem to be like that; they rely on a remote control to do certain functions.

Increasingly hifi needs to be controlled by an app on a phone or tablet. Which is a pain given passcodes. I've actually kept an old phone that never leaves the house (so no passcode) just to control the music

 

[dgl]

Another bit of interesting audio bad design that I've recently been made aware of was a range of later Grundig Fine Arts Hi-Fi components, the XXX-IR series, these units only have power in and out and any unit specific inputs on each unit and actually are connected together using IR signals, with sensors/transmitters on the front corners. The are many systems which use proprietary wired interconnects between units but no others that use IR.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Another bit of interesting audio bad design that I've recently been made aware of was a range of later Grundig Fine Arts Hi-Fi components, the XXX-IR series, these units only have power in and out and any unit specific inputs on each unit and actually are connected together using IR signals, with sensors/transmitters on the front corners. The are many systems which use proprietary wired interconnects between units but no others that use IR.

That's bizarre, given that the market for hi-fi separates entirely surrounds the idea that you make up the system you want from a combination of components which may or may not be from the same company and thus need to follow standards for input and output. If restricted in that way, why not just buy a single system?

 

[gg1]

I have a toaster that is very slightly too small for the majority of sliced loaves.

I think most of them are.

The one we currently own, our old one and the ones in the kitchens at work (a random mix of different brands/models) are all too small.

 

[dgl]

That's bizarre, given that the market for hi-fi separates entirely surrounds the idea that you make up the system you want from a combination of components which may or may not be from the same company and thus need to follow standards for input and output. If restricted in that way, why not just buy a single system?

There are people who only care what something looks like and won't care that you cannot change things, Amstrad made a business out if selling systems that looked like separates but were actually all in one box.
My Hi-Fi is a similar concept, it's a technics unit (SA-X900L) where the tuner, amp and dual cassette are in the same box but made to look like it's 3 separate units (there's really only one main PCB that runs in the middle front to back), the turntable and CD player are standard midi separates though there is a two cable link for the CD player which conveys remote (there's no remote receiver on the player itself) and synchro start information.

 

[Acey]

All audio products that don't have headphone sockets on the front !

 

[DaleCooper]

All audio products that don't have headphone sockets on the front !

That includes my Meridian 208, fortunately I don't use headphones.

 

[TRAX]

Wrong kind of loaves.

Very good.

 

[RedPostJunc]

On a railway related matter, the difference in height between the lowest step on a train and the platform. I find the gap at Basingstoke platform 4 when dismounting from an XC 220/221 so big it's easier to jump than step down. I once saw somebody with a suitcase have a very painful fall while leaving an XC train here.

I also saw a fairly short woman fall off a GWR 80x onto the up platform at Castle Cary, because the gap was so big.

 

[The exile]

Whilst on this subject, the number of toilet blocks which do not show the way out. Of particular note are the toilets in John Lewis at Bluewater, where there are a number of cupboard doors all looking the same, while the door for the way out is tucked round the corner with no notice on it.

Second this one! Applies to some housing estates as well (now, where’s the main road?) I leave it up to you as to whether the comparison stops there…

 

[dgl]

All audio products that don't have headphone sockets on the front !

Yes, even keyboards are a pain in that respects, only my GEM S2 has a front mounted headphone socket, though home organs usually have front mounted headphone sockets.

 

[Rockhopper]

I’ll kick off with certain types of paving stones. Councils seem to spend a fortune on paving slabs rather than just normal tarmac, yet quite often, as soon as it rains, they become really slippy and you have to tread quite gingerly. As soon as there is black ice, well…

Any other bugbears?

Slabs are cheaper than tarmac believe it or not which is why you see them used so often. Also easier to take up if you need to work underneath. The correct ones shouldn't be slippery when they are wet although they might look like they are.

 

[dangie]

All audio products that don't have headphone sockets on the front !

Agreed. I have a Panasonic television with the headphone socket buried somewhere at the back. Totally impossible to access without taking the TV off the wall. I don’t use headphones but that’s not really the point.

Slabs are cheaper than tarmac believe it or not which is why you see them used so often. Also easier to take up if you need to work underneath. The correct ones shouldn't be slippery when they are wet although they might look like they are.

But as I mentioned in an earlier post to this thread, councils often lay fancy slabs which look good on a designers drawing board, but when they get damaged the council either hasn’t got any spares or they’ve gone out of production. They then lay tarmac which makes the whole area look bloody awful.

 

[jfollows]

Agreed. I have a Panasonic television with the headphone socket buried somewhere at the back. Totally impossible to access without taking the TV off the wall. I don’t use headphones but that’s not really the point.

I bought a 65" Panasonic TV a few months ago and when I put it in place I realised I couldn't find its sockets, apart from "HDMI 3" which was separate.
The supplied manual had no indication, no schematic, no plan, no diagram, nothing.
I contacted Panasonic support and got directed to the Web site picture, which I'd already seen, and which didn't show what I wanted. The person I was talking to fobbed me off with an answer which turned out to be a guess and was wrong.
Then I remembered that my sister used to work for Panasonic, and I asked her to ask a former colleague, who in turn went to ask someone "technical", and I was sent a picture of the back of the TV with the location of "HDMI 1", ""HDMI2" and "USB" circled in red. I felt around and - yes - that was it.
The TV is so large that trying to manipulate it to turn it round would have been awkward and I might have broken it, so I didn't want to do this.
Now I'm happy!

I think it’s the manual supplied which is poorly designed rather than the product itself.

 

[pdeaves]

I think it’s the manual supplied which is poorly designed rather than the product itself.

It's very, very common for instructions to be written in a way that makes sense only to those very familiar with the product and no use at all for people who need it to, you know, find out what to do.

 

[jfollows]

It's very, very common for instructions to be written in a way that makes sense only to those very familiar with the product and no use at all for people who need it to, you know, find out what to do.

I used to write "Redbooks" for IBM, which described how to implement and use new products. Good on IBM for seeing the need - the product manuals would tell you every conceivable parameter or setting, but not why you'd use any of them. So I completely agree with you, and I know that writing good instructions is hard work. From project inception to completion I'd guess that each book took three months, but it was interesting and good to know that they were valued in general.

 

[SargeNpton]

My fridge has a dial to regulate the temperature, with the manual telling you to adjust it until you get the right temperature. The dial is numbered from 1 to 5, but with no indication on the dial or in the manual as to whether that is the actual temperature in degrees c. If the digits don't represent the degrees, it also makes no mention as to which of 1 or 5 is the coldest.

Been left on 3 since the day I got it.

 

[xotGD]

My fridge has a dial to regulate the temperature, with the manual telling you to adjust it until you get the right temperature. The dial is numbered from 1 to 5, but with no indication on the dial or in the manual as to whether that is the actual temperature in degrees c. If the digits don't represent the degrees, it also makes no mention as to which of 1 or 5 is the coldest.

Been left on 3 since the day I got it.

Bad design with these dials is that when you put an item on the top shelf or take it out again the dial gets turned to max or min without you noticing. Either off milk or frozen salad results!

A couple related to cars:

1. Where the steering wheel obstructs the driver's view of instruments.
2. Where in order to change a headlight bulb you have to disassemble half the car.

At pedestrian crossings, locating the button on the side of the crossing away from the direction in which most people approach. There's one near us exactly like that - and it was only installed a couple of years ago.

Big chunky plug/transformer things that obstruct the switch on the wall socket, so once they are plugged in, you can't switch on.

 

[DaleCooper]

Big chunky plug/transformer things that obstruct the switch on the wall socket, so once they are plugged in, you can't switch on.

With some of the dodgy PSUs that are around that's probably a safety feature.

 

[DelW]

Big chunky plug/transformer things that obstruct the switch on the wall socket, so once they are plugged in, you can't switch on.

Also ones that can only be plugged into sockets located in the middle of a flat area of wall. My usual phone charger projects downwards from the pins. It's completely incompatible with hotel rooms where the only accessible sockets are immediately above a desk or shelf. So I now often end up carrying two differently shaped chargers to try to cover all possibilities.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Also ones that can only be plugged into sockets located in the middle of a flat area of wall. My usual phone charger projects downwards from the pins. It's completely incompatible with hotel rooms where the only accessible sockets are immediately above a desk or shelf. So I now often end up carrying two differently shaped chargers to try to cover all possibilities.

I've bought a 5-way USB one with a separate regular plug which I use when travelling. Also have one in my bedroom. Only downside of it is the stupid white LED which I've stuck a piece of black gaffer tape over.

Actually, there's one - white or blue LEDs (which promote wakefulness) on anything which is intended to be plugged in in a bedroom. If you must have an LED, it should be dim red. Same with the green LEDs on emergency lighting in places like YHA dorms - the old standard of red was better.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

A common problem. A toaster isn’t rocket science. At the very least it should be able to accept a slice of bread.

I would guess there are design issues with making a toaster work correctly with multiple sizes of bread. Designing it so that larger/thicker slices fit in presumably means larger heating elements further away from each other, so that if someone puts a small/thin-sliced slice of bread in, you're basically generating and wasting a lot more heat (and having a lot more heat escape from the slots at the top). Probably not insoluble problems, but maybe things that would add complexity/cost to the design of toasters.

 

[Ken X]

Bad design with these dials is that when you put an item on the top shelf or take it out again the dial gets turned to max or min without you noticing. Either off milk or frozen salad results!

A couple related to cars:

1. Where the steering wheel obstructs the driver's view of instruments.
2. Where in order to change a headlight bulb you have to disassemble half the car.

At pedestrian crossings, locating the button on the side of the crossing away from the direction in which most people approach. There's one near us exactly like that - and it was only installed a couple of years ago.

Big chunky plug/transformer things that obstruct the switch on the wall socket, so once they are plugged in, you can't switch on.

Austin had a go at sorting point one above.

The square Steering Wheel.

 

[MotCO]

At pedestrian crossings, locating the button on the side of the crossing away from the direction in which most people approach. There's one near us exactly like that - and it was only installed a couple of years ago.

In a similar vein, (and it may only be me) I always find it difficult to quickly identify the buttons inside lifts which open the doors and which close them, which can lead to interesting situations when you try to open the doors to let someone else squeeze in, and you end up squashing them!

 

[DaleCooper]

In a similar vein, (and it may only be me) I always find it difficult to quickly identify the buttons inside lifts which open the doors and which close them, which can lead to interesting situations when you try to open the doors to let someone else squeeze in, and you end up squashing them!

I use the rubber strip on the door.