IH01-Timothy Manglicmot

From IEOR 170 Spring 2007

Good Design

The pizza cutter is a good, simple design intended to do exactly what it’s name says, cut pizza. It is a good design because of the following reasons:

• It is hard to confuse how to use the pizza cutter; just slide the pizza cutter over the pizza and it is cut
• The protruding circular edge tells the user to cut the pizza using this side as the other side won’t work
• It is very small and is easily stored
• The user cannot cut his or her finger on the dull edges
• The black handle is a visual aide to show the user where to hold the pizza cutter
• It’s stainless steel frame makes it very durable and longlasting

I think the pizza cutter has this simple, small design because when the user wants to eat pizza he or she doesn’t want to spend time figuring out how to use the pizza cutter; he or she wants to eat pizza! So by having an easy design it eliminates the time the user is hungy.

Bad Design

This is a wooden-clothes hanger from Macy’s Department Store. Its purpose is for the hanging of formal attire, in particular men’s suits. The lower bar for hanging pants is a bad design because it’s difficult to figure out how exactly you’re suppose to hang it.

• If you drape the pants over the metal bar the pants will slide off
• After the wooden piece below is unhinged, do the pants go between the metal and the wood or over the metal?
• How do you lock the hanger with the wooden piece so the pants will stay?
• Why do the metal and the wooden parts cross, shouldn’t they be separate

I think the hanger was designed this way for aesthetic value. The hanger looks very clean with only two types of material being used; and since it’s intended to hang formal wear it is important the hanger looks nice as it adds value to the suit. After you figure out exactly how to hang the pants on the hanger, the hanger disappears in the ambience of the suit allowing the buyer (user) to focus on the main selling point (which is the suit). The actual hanging device on the bottom of the hanger was probably the only design the makers could come up with that doesn’t use hanging hinges. After you figure out the exactly how to use the pants hanger, however, it is still difficult to hang any types of pants.

Improved Design

This is an improved design because it is immediately obvious how to hang the pants. By pinching the clasps and inserting the pants between the clasps the user can easily hang his or her pants. Also, there are labels with the words “pinch” on the hinges explaining how to hang the pants. There is also a label saying “pinch grip” in the middle of the hanger further indicating how to hang the pants. Furthermore, the slim design of the hanger tells the user that the pants should be hung while folded sideways. Although this design lacks the style of the previous hanger, it is much easier to use.