Questions tagged [physical]
For questions involving physical interfaces and interactions with "real world" objects.
293
questions
76
votes
10
answers
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Why is sugar not in a shaker?
At most restaurants that I've seen, the middle of the table is set up with:
One salt shaker
One pepper shaker
A small dish of a few sugar packets
Why isn't sugar put in a shaker like salt and pepper ...
- 911
1
vote
1
answer
577
views
How to avoid people from using the coffee spoon into the sugar jar? [closed]
Do you have any creative ideas how to avoid people using the coffee spoon into the sugar jar?
- 11
13
votes
1
answer
6k
views
Why are stairs not replaced by ramps?
If ramps allow accessibility to a larger number of people as opposed to stairs, then why are stairs more common than ramps in public buildings (or buildings in general)?
Comparing a reasonable angle ...
- 2,610
2
votes
4
answers
560
views
Tracking what users are drawing on a piece of paper in real time
As part of our research in an HCI project, we need to track what users are drawing on pieces of paper in real time. Due to some requirements, we cannot replace the paper with anything digital. What we ...
- 267
159
votes
9
answers
63k
views
What's the purpose of "This page is intentionally left blank" we see in books?
What's the purpose of "This page is intentionally left blank" we see in books? Why not just leave the page blank and write nothing on it?
- 1,583
4
votes
3
answers
211
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Alternative to power-hungry screen displays
For devices that run on a battery, the screen is the component that drains the the battery the most. So I began to wonder if there is an alternative.
Has someone ever tried another type of interface ...
- 143
11
votes
5
answers
624
views
What perceptual mechanism governs this road indicator design?
In this roundabout design, arrows(?) point against the flow of traffic (traffic flows along on the right side of the road).
You can particularly see it in the second image.
They indicate that you ...
- 2,643
5
votes
5
answers
969
views
ALL CAPS fonts for industrial use
I'm on a plane and noticed the use of all caps on the flight crew phone:
Generally I found the phone very well designed: it has rounded colors, decent contrast, is unobtrusive for passengers, and ...
- 40.9k
3
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Why are USB ports in laptops so close to each other?
A few months ago I wanted a new laptop, so I ordered it from a big brand considering its solid features (like Intel Core i3 processor, 4 GB of RAM etc.). The laptop is perfect and runs well, but it ...
- 41
6
votes
2
answers
12k
views
How long should automatic doors delay closing?
Automatic doors have a sensor that detect whether people are present, and when there are none, and after a delay, the doors close.
How long should that closing delay be?
Does it depend on factors ...
- 172
25
votes
6
answers
70k
views
Why do stairs have overhangs?
Most stairs (at least here in the US) have an overhang or 'nosing' where the edge of the stair protrudes over the riser:
I've heard different reasons for why the nosing exists, but I've not been able ...
- 40.9k
50
votes
6
answers
8k
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Why are messages on the road printed in reverse?
After reading this question, something occurred to me that I've always wondered - but never thought to ask.
Why are road messages/signs printed in reverse?
(source https://xkcd.com/781/)
Anytime I ...
- 594
75
votes
12
answers
14k
views
Do signs printed on the road offer a significant advantage for the user over signs on a post?
I was driving earlier today and I came across a stretch of road that didn't have signs for the speed limit but instead had it written on the road like so:
Image source
It got me thinking that it ...
- 3,032
0
votes
1
answer
454
views
Is there a human advantage to painting heavy equipment (aka "baggers") bright yellow?
Is it just branding, decoration, or is there an actual human-centered reason for it?
- 2,666
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Why do we say that door knobs afford twisting?
So many basic discussions of affordances begin with the example of door knobs affording twisting. It seems to be the second example used in Norman's 1988 definition, even.
However a symmetric round ...
- 171
9
votes
2
answers
674
views
Using warnings to reduce printer waste
I've seen where businesses try to limit printing usage by limiting users from printing more than 100 or so pages per month with an application like this:
download bmml source – Wireframes ...
66
votes
9
answers
7k
views
How to convey: "don't move until the task is done!"
Our local public transportation system uses electronic cards (something like RFID technology) to validate rides. Users enter the vehicle and place their contactless card against a reader, and a beep ...
- 1,008
24
votes
17
answers
16k
views
How can I get people not to put trash in recycling bins?
In my office space we have a main trash can and "recycling" can in the break room. They are simply two bins, with the same color, that are hidden in a cabinet. Outside of the cabinet are two doors,...
- 4,026
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
UX to consider on a business card design
On a UX stance, what are the best practices to consider when designing a business card?
I've done some research in order to find some that I might not have considered and I have to admit that I've ...
- 1,064
1
vote
5
answers
12k
views
Why to loosen always by rotating it counterclockwise and to tighten by rotating it clockwise?
For example:
Screw / bolt
Bottle design
Why this intuition works for most people? Does it have anything to do with the right-hand rule?
- 119
108
votes
13
answers
29k
views
Why do showers have "hot" and "cold" knobs rather than "temperature" and "quantity" knobs?
I do not understand the advantage of the popular "hot" and "cold" controls in showers, as opposed to "temperature" and "quantity" controls.
Is it simply because the latter option is harder to ...
- 2,787
4
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Why do revolving doors rotate counterclockwise?
In all my life I have never seen a clockwise revolving door. How did counterclockwise become standard?
- 269
1
vote
2
answers
536
views
Why are elevator doors always too small? [closed]
I noticed that elevator doors are always narrower than the compartment, so people get jammed up trying to exit.
Why don't they just design elevator doors so they are wide enough for everyone to exit ...
- 101
1
vote
1
answer
4k
views
What is the purpose of jackets having small zipperless back pockets just below the neck?
I was a little bit surprised to find that my Bench-branded 100% polyester jacket had a little zipperless back pocket just below the neck, especially since placing something like keys there would make ...
- 121
6
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Are dial format speedometers more effective than numeric speedometers?
I recently criticized a sketch of a automobile instrument cluster concept that indicated speed with a bar gauge and a numeric readout. I and many others suggested that a dial speedometer was easier to ...
- 11.5k
38
votes
12
answers
12k
views
Why do speedometers (in the US, at least) go so high? [closed]
Typically one doesn't drive much faster than 80 MPH. Even in an emergency passing situation, it would be extremely rare to drive more than 100 MPH. In fact, as far as I know many cars have governors ...
- 514
13
votes
4
answers
267
views
How to indicate which way the boards plug into each other?
I'm developing a board like this that serves as an adapter for a given board that needs to be plugged like this
given that the board size is the same, users tend to plug it the other way, the way ...
- 319
13
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Why are coiled cables rarely used?
Yesterday I saw an interesting idea:
What are some potential reasons why so few cables have a coil in their middle - like old telephone cables? I know that we don't want all cables to be like that, ...
- 900
28
votes
7
answers
14k
views
How can a retractable pen design be enhanced to discourage users from clicking the pen frequently?
Retractable pens typically have a rather noisy mechanism. Some users periodically start pressing the pen button frequently (while they're talking on the phone or while they're waiting for some result ...
- 5,847
4
votes
1
answer
181
views
What is the best way to visually indicate correct plug alignment with socket (hardware)?
I currently have a problem where users are not correctly aligning a plug with a socket on an electrical device, leading to the plug being forced and the pins breaking.
Users have suggested putting a ...
- 221
22
votes
3
answers
7k
views
What was the reason behind total transition towards wide screen displays by the manufacturers?
I often hear complaints by users who are not satisfied by the wide-screen monitors and prefer traditional screen ratios of 4:3 and 5:4. Unfortunately, such monitors now are quite rare and the laptops ...
- 329
1
vote
5
answers
1k
views
How to design a physical device?
I have an idea for a product startup. It is a wearable device with one functionality, around which I and my friend started to think. We are pretty sure that we can develop it with only this ...
- 614
4
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Is there a benefit from driving on one side of the road, while sitting in the other side of the car?
I've noticed that cars/automobiles manufactured for countries with right-hand traffic (where vehicles drive on the right hand side of the road) place the driver's seat on the left hand side of the car ...
- 151
164
votes
12
answers
32k
views
Why do idle elevators close the doors?
If the elevator stops on a floor, opens the doors to let the passengers out, and hasn't received a command to go on another floor, why does it close its doors afterwards?
If the elevator is not on my ...
- 1,691
7
votes
9
answers
4k
views
How can employees be subtly reminded that when they talk loud in the cubicle farm corridor they disturb people in the cubicles? [closed]
We have a software shop with a cubicle farm where cubicles have non-transparent (painted drywall) walls about 1,5 meters high. There's a corridor running through the farm.
Most of the time all the ...
- 5,847
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is it really a bad thing to place an ad TV in front of the stairs?
We have the following room arrangement with a plan on a 40 inch TV mounted on the wall.
download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups
In this place people usually walk ...
- 869
6
votes
4
answers
292
views
How can railroad operator help passengers find power outlets below their seats?
There'a railway car with passenger seats looking roughly like this (please ignore the seatbelt):
Seats are arranged in ICE fashion - two rows with a passage between them, two seats in each row, each ...
- 5,847
3
votes
6
answers
950
views
Volume controls and mute order
I'm designing a remote control that only have Volume Up, Volume Down and Mute. But I can't decide where to put the mute button, in the middle or on the bottom.
And what should I have for the Mute ...
- 151
6
votes
1
answer
798
views
Is an office-lobby monitor slideshow any more usable than a homepage carousel?
I've got a real-world variant on the classic "Are Carousels Effective" question. My office, like many others, has a 40 inch LCD TV hanging on the wall in the lobby, and on it displays a looping ...
- 2,311
17
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Board game design: Which design is clearest to indicate failure?
I'm trying to design a board game (and am not an artist) but want to ensure that I've got some practical aspects designed appropriately for the layout of a card. I tried asking on boardgames....
- 747
2
votes
5
answers
1k
views
What is the best way to arrange chinese words on a menu [closed]
On a English menu , the food items can be arranged according to alphabetical order
For a Chinese menu , there are no alphabet, only chinese characters , what would be alternative way best to arrange ...
- 1,496
44
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Why don't ATMs show blank arrows for unused buttons? [closed]
Have you ever had trouble lining the arrows up with the correct button on ATM consoles and other similar interfaces? Height of user can affect perceived alignment, as well as poor installation or ...
- 379
5
votes
6
answers
747
views
Encourage use of only one roll at a time from toilet paper dispenser
The toilet paper dispenser in a bathroom stall at work made me think of an interesting problem.
There are two rolls hooked up and ready for use at any time. As the rolls get smaller and smaller, the ...
- 161
4
votes
1
answer
336
views
The usefulness of home appliances sound notification?
In our homes we now have home appliances such as a dish washing machine, a microwave oven, a washing machine, a tumble drier. Every one of these appliances makes a little sound notification when it's ...
- 54.9k
1
vote
2
answers
209
views
Optimising urinal use [closed]
When you visit a urinal (so one for the gents), you’ll find that where urinals are arranged in groups of 3, the middle urinal and floor are typically cleaner than those to either side. This stems from ...
- 5,585
-1
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What shape should toilet seats be? [closed]
This is something which has been annoying me for a while now. It seems a simple question: what shape of toilet seat is nicer for the user?
However, I've asked around a bit and there's quite a lot of ...
- 791
2
votes
3
answers
225
views
How technical should airline pilots be?
I've been on a few flights recently, and idly listening to the captain talking to the passengers got me thinking:
The captain's world is very different from the passengers' world. The captain has to ...
- 791
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Toaster's "bagel button" does not work. UX or engineering issue? [closed]
Below is picture of my toaster's front panel.
I put bread in, press the "bagel" button, and a bagel does not come out. I simple get toasted bread. A bagel is totally different.
I claim this is an ...
- 25
29
votes
9
answers
5k
views
How can wiring systems be designed to not rely solely on colour?
Yesterday I was faced with the challenge of replacing the stock radio in my vehicle. The stock radio had broken, and it was time for a new one. As it is, building the proper wiring harness is already ...
- 1,100
7
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Does drawing a dash across the numeral 7 (seven) increase legibility?
The RBRC battery recycling logo was recently updated to add a dash to the final digit 7 (seven) in the phone number:
Does this make the phone number more legible? In what situations, if any, is ...
- 517