Overzealous use of new technology has been behind some of the worst usability atrocities known to man! In preparation for our FOWA presentation, Des and I had a lot of fun with our train bathroom lock example. These trains were built in 1994 and I’m sure their designers believed the solution they brought to production was a step-forward from the boring mechanical locks that we’ve been using for centuries.
High-tech problems
But of course, this dramatic departure from convention was not only completely pointless but actually introduced a whole slew of new problems. Like a lack of transparency about whether or not the door is actually locked. Hence the indicator lights! For a toilet lock!
Side-rant: They used red, the colour of “danger” and “incorrect”, to indicate that you’ve safely and correctly locked the door! Which clearly wasn’t clear enough because they also have two big signs asking if the door is locked.
Anyway… I’m very interested to see if we’re maturing as a new-technology-empowered race or if we’re still in a honeymoon phase. My guess is that recently-created technology will always be used inappropriately and over-enthusiastically while it’s still fresh and sexy and while everyone’s looking for an excuse to play with it.
Low-tech solutions
At least in the fast-moving world of train bathroom locks, these new, otherwise super-high-tech trains built in 2007 have settled on a simple, elegant, hassle-free mechanical solution. This low-tech approach quite clearly trumps the high-tech one. And I bet it’s easier and cheaper to produce too!
Lessons for the web
So what does this teach designers for the web? We’ve always jumped head-first into new web technologies just for the sake of it because it’s so easy to do and even easier to roll back. AJAX, Javascript animations, Flash and way back to animated GIFs; most of us have abused these technologies at some stage. But there’s no doubt that each of them can be useful. The real challenge is knowing when they’re not.
How important is it that your visitors can change the layout of your site? Is it useful or is it just cool? I think it’s cool, but then again, I’m a web geek and represent a minority of the web population. So why are you trying to impress me? And is it really that cool?
The effective use of new technology is a beautiful thing. But even more beautiful are simple, responsible, low-tech solutions in an over-tech’ed world. So go forward and roll back, de-tech and be happy!
10 Comments
I actually prefer the electronic system as it means that I have to touch less surfaces to lock and unlock the door.
It particularly bothers me when, after I have washed my hands, I have to touch a door handle which has also been touched by the mingers who don’t wash.
Posted by Ciaran Lee at 12:09 pm on 20 April, 2009.
For the BBC, maybe. For Fine Gael, probably not
Posted by James Pearce at 12:14 pm on 20 April, 2009.
They should make it so you can’t unlock the door unless you wash your hands. Or have weight-sensitive plates on the floor and seat so it locks automatically when you walk in.
Posted by stewart curry at 12:40 pm on 20 April, 2009.
Good message. De-tech and be happy.
When can we get some of those Japanese talking toilets?
Posted by Steve Quinlan at 1:56 pm on 20 April, 2009.
I’ve seen train bathrooms that have no “lock” handle at all but when closed from the inside, can’t be opened from the outside. that seems quite elegant because you don’t have to worry about doing the extra work of locking it
Posted by Radu at 6:11 am on 22 April, 2009.
@Radu I know the kind of doors that you’re talking about. I always enter toilets like that, notice there’s no lock, then open the door again and poke my head around to see if there’s no handle outside or just no lock.
Just stick with the lock-on-the-toilet-door convention please
Posted by Peter McKenna at 10:29 am on 22 April, 2009.
Ciaran Lee, if you are worried about toilet door handles then I suspect you don’t want to know about germ levels on cash, paper train tickets, train tabletops, train seats and grab handles/poles.
You shouldn’t worry much though, germs are good for us. A sterile environment creates a defenseless human.
(Also metal handles have been shown to have lower germ levels than plastic touch plates.)
I much prefer the handle and two-state lock than those electric fangled things.
Posted by Paul M. Watson at 11:34 am on 24 April, 2009.
I was on the Enterprise on day 1, and those gigantic guide stickers were a later addition. I remember a Scottish guy on a stag that closed but didn’t lock the doors, and treated his mates to a view of him pissing in the sink.
Posted by Eoin Connolly at 4:21 pm on 26 April, 2009.
Your just rehashing the content from The Design of Everyday Things? I think he explores the whole door lock metaphor at length
Posted by Gareth at 2:08 pm on 29 April, 2009.
Hey Gareth,
Thanks for your comment, I’ve read Normans book, it’s good, and this post isn’t exactly a rehash of one of his points. It’s hardly a metaphor when it’s talking about a real world object in its literal sense.
Des
Posted by Des Traynor at 3:31 pm on 29 April, 2009.