Bad Functional Design

In My Humble Opinion
41

Nope. They open inward so the designer doesn’t have to use extra space for walking area, allowing the bathrooms to be smaller. Also, if the doors opened out, someone coming out of the stall can’t see anyone walking and may smack them. A side benefit is that the doors are generally weighted so they don’t close all the way so that the janitorial staff can walk in and check paper levels without having to open the door all the way.

One more vote for the DESIGN OF EVERYDAY THINGS. Be warned: your friends will very quickly get sick of you complaining about doors constantly, although I do have a much greater appreciation for good design now. Working in construction, I want to order several gross of this book and give it to every architect I meet…

42

Today’s rant on bad functional design: Car oil filters.

Recently two members of my household became proud owners of Toyota Corollas. I changed the oil of one of them a couple months ago. Even by bad oil filter placement, size, useless wrenches standards it was absolutely awful. Went to the auto store and found what had to be their best wrench for tiny filters. I double checked the filter against the size diagram on the back of the package.

A complete piece of s**t. Totally useless. An astonishingly horrible design. It uses a bike chain for adjustment. A tiny hook is supposed to catch it. The hook isn’t big enough to stay on the chain at all. So I ducked it. But the inside of the wrench has nothing to grip on the filter. So I duck that (inside out). But there is just no room whatsoever to get the wrench to catch and still have room to turn. The wrench is just too big and there is no room for even a tiny wrench in there.

And changing oil is one of the most important maintence tasks for your car.

And it’s been like this for decades. Lousy locations, lousy wrenches, sizes all over the place.

No one in any area of the auto industry has ever once had the idea “Let’s make changing the oil filter easy so our customer’s can make their cars last longer!”

Good grief, even two replacement filters for the same car won’t have the same diameter so you can’t just have one exact fit wrench that you can use all the time!

(By the way, I finally got both off using track-locking pliers. Fortunately, I used the last setting on the pliers. Otherwise I was SOL since I never saw of pair of these that actually locked at any of the other settings. But that’s a bad functional design rant for another day.)

43

Yeah, and you generally clean out the lint trap after every load or two of washing. But they attach the cover/handle to the lint screen with a cheap plastic piece that soon breaks, leaving you with a broken cover exposing the lint trap, and the need to keep a knife or screwdriver or something else handy to be able to pull out the lint trap.

This happened recently on my fairly new dryer. Just like it had happened on the old dryer this replaced. Just like this was broken on the real old dryer that came with when I bought the house. So this is a design defect that’s been going on for at least 20 years!

44

Also called “jesus clips”. Cause when they get loose and go springing off somewhere you go “oh, jeeesus!”.

One thing that sometimes works with these: get a test lead with alligator clips on both ends. Clip one onto the edge of the nut wherever you can, and then clip the other end to something stable, even your sleeve if you have to. Then when it does go springing loose, it won’t go further than the end of that lead.

45

Off topic, but just why are you emptying your pockets in a public restroom stall? Unless you’re being robbed at the time?

46

Yard equipment, counter tops, mops, brooms, shower heads, should be designed with taller people in mind. I think these things are all designed for shorter people. I wish my cell phone menu would order its options according to frequency of use. I use the phone book most frequently so I would like this option to be first. Presently, I have to scroll down the list past four other options. Also I would like it if the number you get from directory assistance could be saved as the last number called. If the number is busy or you get no answer and you want to call back you have to remember the number or write it down. I wish the number was stored as the outgoing call in place of 411.

47

Dipsticks on Automatic transmissions (for checking the fluid level). At least on our car, it sez to check it “ONLY WHEN HOT, IDLING and IN DRIVE”. WTF? If it’s too low, won’t driving around to heat it up cause damage? And what moron decided it was a good idea to make the owner set the parking brake and PUT THE CAR IN GEAR before leaning under the hood to grasp the dipstick handle? This design infuriates me, as it manages to both increase the likelihood of damage, and endanger the owner at the same time.

48

I’ve had an idea kicking around in my head for a while that all production cars should be oiled by the so-called dry-sump method used in race cars.

All of the major manufacturers could agree on a standard oil reservoir and a standard underhood location. This reservoir could contain oil, filter and electric oil pump, be held in place by wing bolts and have quick-connect/disconnect oil and electrical fittings and be sold at auto parts stores all pre-filled with your desired weight and brand of oil.

To change oil you would simply disconnect oil and electrical connections, remove the wing bolts with one hand while supporting the reservoir with the other; remove and replace with the new one. The old one would go back to the parts store for refund of the core charge.

Old reservoirs could be drained, cleaned, have pumps tested and replaced as needed and be refilled at service centers set up for this purpose.

No more fumbling blindly with oil plugs and filters, stripping threads, spilling oil from a pan dragged across an imperfect driveway, finding an empty jug, having the funnel slip out of the jug at the wrong moment, hauling an oily jug around in your car till you get to the auto parts store,etc. If you have more than one car, no more remembering which car needs which wrench for which plug and which filter.

Also, if you can actually see the oil color and level at a glance through a translucent container, you who have the job done for you can easily determine whether or not the alleged technician actually replaced the oil and in the right amount.

49

I find it interesting to note that for two of the items pointed out for poor design I happen to own good counter-examples.

My microwave oven has a great design. Oh sure, they just couldn’t manufacture it without those special Function Keys (or “FuncKeys” as I call them), but they are all together in one place. I have never ever ever used them. Below them is a very simple keypad with the digits, Start, Clear, Power, and Timer. Cooking is as easy as 3-0-0-Start. Fumble-finger something? Press Clear, do it again. On the rare occasions I want to defrost something, it’s 3-0-0-Power-Number-Start. It’s so easy to use, I use it for my kitchen timer; simply substitute Timer for Start in the sequence.

My dryer has a great design for the lint-catcher. There’s a little trap inside the door that is easily accessible. It’s so simple to pull out the clothes, grab the lint trap, bang it against the side of the trash can I keep by the dryer, put it back in.

Hmmm … since the OP is “Bad Functional Design”, I guess I hijacked here a bit. Sorry about that.

50

I could probably keep you guys here all day by just talking about two items, stereos and cell phones.

In a number of newer home stereos, I’ve noticed that in an effort to increase the blinky light and button count, the manufacturers are doing away with simple controls like tuning knobs and such.

On a few stereos I’ve seen, selecting a radio station was handled via the fast forward and rewind buttons for the CD player. One of the stereos I saw, didn’t even bother to label that secondary function, leading to me and two other people fumbling in front of the stereo for about 5 minutes, trying to figure out how to change radio stations. I also have a major problem with push button volume controls. On a rotary volume control, you can just grab the knob and twist it, hitting the desired volume level without too much effort. On a push button volume selector, you are forced to tap the button repeatedly, with no tactile feedback to know how much higher you cranked it.

Car stereos are horrible for their poor design. Bright multicolored lights, a myriad of dozens of tic-tac (or smaller) sized buttons that are merely illegible in daylight, and completely unlighted at night, bright multicolored screens that cannot be dimmed, and clunky user interfaces. On the pioneer unit in my dad’s truck, turning the radio off is done by holding in the source button for a few seconds. Meanwhile the bright blue backlit screen is always lit up bright enough to be visible in daylight, meaning that at night the screen of the radio is actually bright enough to cast it’s light into the cab of the truck, lighting up the interior. Some of the stereos even have great design like hiding the slot for the CD behind the face plate. It’s not just a usability thing either, it’s a safety issue with car stereos. On most factory units, the buttons are large enough, operation is simple enough, and at night, buttons are backlit to allow you to change radio settings with either a slight glance, or if equipped with rotary knobs for the tuning and volume, by feel.

Aftermarket units require you to decipher their cryptic displays, and look closely at the overly distracting radio face in order to read the 1pt font used above the row of 15 2mm buttons to figure out how to even turn the thing off…

Assuming of course, that it is a labeled function not covered by something like the source button.

Cell Phones are getting interesting too.

I would absolutely love to own a cell phone with an easily navigated screen that handled just the phone book, and basic options. With 4 buttons controlling the screen. An up, down, select, and back button.

And numbers, large enough for human fingers.

I used to have a Nokia 5160 that did that stuff fine. It’s only fault was that the phone was just a wee bit on the heavy side. But it was simple to use. Now we have web enabled phones with color screens that can take and send photos, with all of the features buried within submenu after submenu. I’m no idiot, but if I have to ask for help to find something as simple as, say, the phone book in a phone, then the design is the problem.

Drives me nuts, it does.

51

[QUOTE=jackelope]
Re. CD packaging, I recently learned how to get the damn stickers off with a minimum of fuss. I’m referring to the sticker that runs nearly the length of one side of a CD, preventing you from opening the case until the sticker’s been removed:

First, of course, take off the plastic wrapper. Then, on the edge away from the sticker, snap the little hinge out of its fulcrum (the little hole). Now you’ve essentially got two halves of the case, held together only by the sticker. Bring the top all the way around the other side of the bottom, and the sticker comes off easy as pie.

Hope I’ve described that adequately. It’s really, really simple when you actually do it.QUOTE]

Now, does anybody know how to get the same #%^%# stickers off of the top of DVD cases? The stupid pull tab never makes it to the opposite end before going off the edge. I don’t know what those things are made off, but it’s farking tough. I can’t peel them off, can’t cut them unless I happen to have something REALLY sharp nearby (which I rarely do, since for some reason I don’t have any scissors…). It takes longer to get the DVD open than to watch it. And all this /after/ already having to deal with the plastic wrap (which is annoying but nowhere near as bad).

52

I can jsut see this in a Scene from Airplane 2 The plan is whirling all around in the sky and the stewardesses come running into the pilots cabin. All they see is a middle aged man grunting and hunched over the yoke. Fearing the worst, Oh captain, allright? Heart attack? Cap’N Crunch Replies No problem dearie, just trying to grab hold 'ove me cock.

53

Repairing cars must be similar to repairing airplanes. I note this because at the dealership I work at to do engine work on fords full size suvs and f150s we do this.

54

Okay, let me get this straight. You have to take the whole body off to get at the engine?!!! Cripes!

55

You don’t HAVE to, but if you want to finish the job in the around eight hours ford pays for it instead of sixteen or so, you have to. Have you ever looked to see how little room there is around the engine on one of these?

56

Oil filters are pretty darned irksome, all right.

There ought to be two sizes of oil filters, big and small, and no more.

Wrench-wise, you have to give up on the chain and strap types and get the socket type–the shallow twelve-sided cup that fits over the end of the filter, and fits onto your socket wrench. There are lots of different size filters out there, so you’re going to have to buy two or three sockets; but you can minimize the number of sizes you’ll need by buying all your filters from the same source. Myself, I buy filters from the dealer; I know they’ll fit the car and the price is usually in line with auto-parts-store prices if you buy a dozen or so at a time.

However, on my new Suzuki, the filter that came with the car had a different size hex than the replacement filters. Hmmmm.

57

Minor but annoying- someone who’s never ever used a pay washer or dryer designed the coin slots on the ones in our building’s “clothes care room”.

I don’t know if I can describe the design. It’s a normal pay-washing-machine arm-thingy, which generally has some sort of tray that you put the coins into, and then shove the tray into the machine. Oh, no. That’s too easy. We have the arm-thingy, but recessed into it is a coin slot. A finicky coin slot which will return coins partway back, so you have to use paperclips to get your damn quarters back.

Did I mention the ‘recessed’ bit? It means that you have to awkwardly jam coins into a slot, hoping to get enough momentum up that they’ll actually go in, and stubbing your fingers every time. And then they get stuck. There is a coin return button, but it’s unlabelled, and doesn’t usually work. It looks like a screw.

I’m seriously thinking about writing a little note about the stupidity of the design, and attaching it to all the washers and dryers. Yeesh.

58

A complaint about the design of the stalls in the women’s room at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City:

You walk in place your items on the very convenient shelf on the back wall above the toilet. Then you turn around, do your business, stand up and put your clothes back in order. And the toilet flushes automatically so you don’t have to turn around again to do it. Then you walk out and 15 minutes later remember the stuff on the back shelf, which you will never see again.

59

Each light in a hotel room has a different way to switch it on and off. Some have a button at the base. Some have a button near the bulb. Some use a wall switch (even though they have a button at the base). Some have a switch you need to twist.

It’s not that any one design is bad, but when you have four different designs on five different lamps in one room – where you’ll only be staying a few days – it’s very confusing.

On a related topic, hotels these days have an area for the toilet and shower that is separated from the sink area by a door. Not a bad idea, but why is it that the light switch is always outside the shower area? If you need to see to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, you can’t help but light up the entire room and wake people up. And even during the day, you need to remember to turn on the light before you get inside the room (it has no windows). And, of course, your wise-ass kid can shut off the light when someone’s inside and run away giggling.

60

Regarding the hooks on restroom stalls- please be careful hanging your purses there, ladies. Thieves do reach over the door and run off with your purse before you can even stand up. It was such a problem with freeway rest stops in one state (I forget which) that the state removed all of the hooks from inside the doors. Not to be foiled, the thieves took to reinstalling hooks on the doors.

My personal peeve is with VCRs- a lot of them are absolutely useless without the remote. Let’s say you want to put in a tape but don’t know where the remote is. Push play on the machine, it starts to go but wait: THE MACHINE HAS NO VCR/TV SWITCH. Some models will go automatically to VCR mode but others will play uselessly and be utterly worthless until you locate your remote and hit that VCR/TV switch.