Why doors have signs that say “Push”
January 9, 2007 11:16 pm DevicesYou’ve done it. Walked up to a door and pulled, only to lose your grip in the process. And there it is: the sign that says, “Push.” Or maybe it was the other way around. You pushed, and the sign said, “Pull.” And maybe you felt kind of stupid for a second. “Why didn’t I see the sign?”
I think we ought to be asking another question. Why is the sign necessary? And a third: Why did you intuitively pull (or push)?
Many people assume they are at fault when they can’t figure how to use something. But it’s often the product’s fault: it’s shoddily made, poorly designed, or just difficult to use. And people just adapt to the poor design because they they have no choice. Look at that door again: was the handle a vertical bar? Which naturally invites you to push? But wait, there’s a vertical handle on both sides.
I currently have a Treo 700P,a so-called “smart phone,” that I use for business. I really hate the phone interface. The external keypad is tiny, requiring near pinprick precision. When a second call comes in, I can put the first caller on hold. But I have yet to figure out how to get the call back. When I remove an item from the phone task list, the next time I sync online I end up with two of the same task. Duh. On the other The iPhone is a great example of intuitive usability. Here is a product that doesn’t need an owners manual. For personal use, it rocks. And it seems like every time I’m done, I can’t just slide the sucker back into my pocket. I’m always accidentally dialing a number because if my finger brushes the green “on” button for a moment too long, it immediately redials the most recent phone call sent or received.
The iPhone looks to eliminate a lot of these issues. To turn it on, purposefully slide your finger across a slider icon on the screen. To access contacts, choose the contacts icon. And 80 GB of memory! Jeez. Too bad they are contracting with Cingular. I just signed a two-year deal with Verizon. Providing they add some business functionality, guess what I’ll own in two years?
