IH01-RichardChen
From IEOR 170 Spring 2007
Good Designs and Bad Designs in Our Everyday Lives
The drawing below features a nice device from my kitchen countertop, The Zojirushi Panorama Window Micom Electric Dispensing Pot, designed to keep water at the right temperature—so that the user can make hot cocoa, tea, or any other hot beverage on demand—without the use of a microwave or water boiler. This water heater has several features which I consider to be well-designed and a joy to use:
First, it features an easy-to-read large wraparound window water level gauge to check how much water is left in the pot. No guesswork involved.
Second, the pot features a large LCD display that shows actual water temperature at all times. The user can adjust the pot temperature by the press of a button.
Third, the electric dispensing system is straightforward and can be understood without the use of complicated instruction manuals. The display panel has an ‘unlock’ button that you press before pressing the ‘dispense’ button for the hot water to come out. This also serves as a safety measure to prevent kids playing around with the water pot from getting serious burns.
Finally, there are many other supporting features that make this water pot easy to use, notably a swivel base as well as a carrying handle for a easy maneuverability.
Example of a Good Design:
Example of a Bad Design:
The drawing below illustrates a teacup, something ordinary that is supposedly easy to use and maneuver. However, this particular teacup that I have chosen gives the user a tea-drinking experience that is less than ideal.
I would argue that the above design is flawed based on a variety of reasons:
First, the lid is simply too wide for the average hand to grasp. My grandma’s hands are quite petite, and she had to literally ‘over-stretch’ her hands in order to grasp and lift the lid. I suppose the wide lid design aesthetically imitates the teacup designs used in ancient times, but unfortunately, this design doesn’t make users with small hands too happy.
Furthermore, we may all have the experience of burning our hands when touching something too hot—and yes, I have burned my hands on this teacup on more than one occasion. There is no separate, non-heat transmitting feature on the lid for us to grasp.
Better: Have a rubber knob on top of the teacup for avoiding hand burns.
Second, the bottom of the cup is too small—this particular teacup was knocked over on a variety of occasions—not a pleasant experience.
Better: Bigger base with a solid platform supporting the cup.
Third, the handle is a problem. How can you actually stick your fingers through that labyrinth of slits? There is just no way—and the user just has to resort to hold the handles by its sides. That makes holding the cup in mid-air not very safe. Uncomfortable, too.
Better: A handle that still has a sophisticated carving to it, but has a much wider slot for entry of the hands for an easy grip.
Additional improvements over the old teacup, featured in the new design, below:
1. The water lily logo on the improved teacup should be made of clear glass, so that the amount of tea left in the teacup can be easily visualized. This feature can be used in situations in hosting guests, so that the host can refill their tea without the guests having to ask for it.
2. The improved lid has a slight inward curvature so that there won’t be water dripping down the lid after removing it. None of us appreciate water droplets from the lid splashing on our clothes from the steam that has built up—the curved lid would trap those droplets, which would stay in the lid.
3. Steam vent on lid and as well as sipping holes—so that one can sip the tea slowly—something similar to those coffee lids. Lack of such features could burn your tongue.
4. A hook near the top of the cup for fastening the string that comes with teabags—prevents the teabag ‘tag’ from accidentally dropping into the teacup and becoming submerged in the tea.
5. [May be too fancy, but can be considered.] The additional of a temperature sensor in the teacup would be nice—along with a display of the current tea temperature. This may ease the process for having children enjoy the taste and health benefits of tea. The addition of flashing red or green lights could also be of help, when placed next to the digital temperature display.
Overall, I believe that this improved teacup will still preserve the aesthetic qualities of drinking tea—without the faulty design issues associated with the former teacup. The addition of smart design features, coupled with Chinese good-luck symbols, makes using this improved teacup a most enriching experience.
Example of an Improved Version:
[Author’s note: Thanks for bearing with my hand drawings, as I don’t have access to a digital camera at this time, while my cell phone camera’s images are not of great quality.]
