IHO1-ChristineShih

From IEOR 170 Spring 2007

Good Design

This is a DVD case, which purpose is to protect the DVD from being damaged. I think it is a good design because it is/has

• Light, thin (doesn’t take up much space), and inexpensive (plastic)
• Easy to open case (there is a groove on the side where your fingers can grasp)
• Easy to remove DVD (simply push where it says “push” and the dvd pops out)
• Directions telling you how to remove the DVD (“Press Center Button to Release” on the bottom as well as “Push” on the button)
• Difficult to dislodge DVD once in case (keeps DVD safe)
• Rounded, smooth edges (you won’t injure yourself handling case)

Bad Design

This is a door lock of a Focus Ford car, which purpose is to allow the passenger to lock or unlock door and exit car.

The “Lock” sign with arrow is confusing because you don’t know

• What the arrow points to
• How to lock- do you push in or to the side?
• How to unlock
• What that protruding white bar on the left corner means- is the car locked or unlocked?

I’m not sure why Ford engineers designed the door handle this way. I suppose they wanted to be innovative and different. They may have thought that their directions were clear enough. I think they used white font so that it could be seen more clearly night. The most common complaint about the lock is that it is counter-intuitive. When the lock juts out and you see the white bar, it means the door is locked. Conventionally, we are used to it being the opposite way around- pushed in means locked and extended outward means unlocked.

Better Design

This is basically the same design except I relabeled the corners with images of an unlocked and locked lock to symbolize lock and unlock functions. I think it’s clearer to have both functions labeled. I placed the images where I want the passenger to push. Even though I didn’t explicitly tell passengers that they need to push to activate the lock function, I expect them to associate an image with pushing (and also, I didn’t give them any other logical options). I switched the sides for the lock and unlock functions so when the lock juts out with a white bar it means the car is unlocked—which is what most passengers will be expecting (because of general convention).