315
votes
What's wrong with USB sticks that you need 3 tries to plug them in correctly?
In my experience a USB plug needs a bit of pressure to go in the port. It’s enough pressure to make me wary that I might break it if I’m putting it in the wrong way.
After reversing the plug, it ...
- 3,353
165
votes
What's wrong with USB sticks that you need 3 tries to plug them in correctly?
Short answer: Design commonly causes misalignment
Most plugs or ports have a flared edge, beveled plug or some other design that allows for the orientation of the plug to be slightly off and still ...
- 1,421
156
votes
What's wrong with USB sticks that you need 3 tries to plug them in correctly?
Physical symmetry without symmetry of use
I'm surprised that so many of these answers are addressing the consequences of poor design without discussing what made it a poor design in the first place. ...
- 1,725
146
votes
Accepted
Why are aluminium soda cans typically round instead of square?
It is a combination of manufacturing and usability... but mostly manufacturing.
Doing a quick web search for "why are soda cans round" (Google does a decent job) yields multiple insights in the issue....
- 17.6k
131
votes
What is the benefit of 2 drive thru lanes at a fast food restaurant?
I am in the fast food business having owned five units for over 30 years but don't have a unit with two lanes.
The reason for two lanes is a matter of timing from McDonald's research into this that ...
- 2,823
119
votes
I'm designing a no-data USB cable : How should the end be marked?
Unfortunately such cable is not compliant with USB specification, as even in usb power delivery the data lines are used to negotiate power.
You should not mark it with USB (or even USB-like) logo at ...
- 1,195
81
votes
What's wrong with USB sticks that you need 3 tries to plug them in correctly?
The underlying problem, as I think we all know, is that the tactile feedback you get with an incorrectly oriented plug is hard to distinguish from the tactile feedback with a slightly misaligned plug. ...
- 914
80
votes
Accepted
How to avoid the "local elevator" problem?
Replace the panel A with buttons “to rooftop” and “to garage” instead of “up” and “down”. Now elevator 1 is reserved for special floors and most people use elevators 2-4.
- 3,353
75
votes
I'm designing a no-data USB cable : How should the end be marked?
You can never beat straight text ("Power Only"); that way, there can be no confusion.
That said, I actually have such a cable at home which has an icon very similar to this in a raised profile on ...
- 849
68
votes
How to avoid the "local elevator" problem?
On further thought, another solution could be to implement a singular, digital wall panel where users can indicate to which specific floor they are intending to go, much like the ones found in many ...
- 1,061
59
votes
Accepted
Why put a warning sticker over the warning on this product?
Is there any chance the label pictogram is actually 10x10mm?
Guidance on Labelling and Packaging Version 2.0 - September 2016 states in section 5.2 (Size of the label and of the label elements) that ...
- 71k
57
votes
Accepted
Why do we prefer shiny finish on cars and dull finish on devices?
Practical origins defined our tastes
When car finishes became shiny (because they weren't always) [1,2] due to the availability of the required technology and paint materials, it was mostly for ...
- 11.6k
51
votes
Accepted
Color choice for maximum legibility of text on glass
There is a better solution, at least in terms of legibility, perhaps not so much aesthetically. And I'm 99% sure you've already seen it.
Black border, white letters.
White letters are almost always ...
- 8,311
49
votes
What is the benefit of 2 drive thru lanes at a fast food restaurant?
It's better for some situations like a quicker user gets through the line faster. Example: a car full of kids takes 3 minutes to order. A single person who knows what they want takes 30 seconds to ...
- 501
47
votes
Why are aluminium soda cans typically round instead of square?
Other people have already said "manufacturing" so I will not repeat that.
What is worth emphasizing though is that soda cans are pressurized to 2 atmospheres of pressure or more.
https://www....
- 856
47
votes
Accepted
Why do most smartphones not have a physical keyboard?
While space is an obvious part of the equation, it's not the main one, you could simply have a sliding physical keyboard just as previous generations of smartphones and be a happy camper. However, ...
- 37.3k
45
votes
Accepted
QR vs Barcode vs Custom Code
You can add quite a bit of visualization to your QR codes, see for example https://github.com/x-hw/amazing-qr
Some examples of that page:
If the QR code will be shown on a screen you can even use an ...
- 556
41
votes
Accepted
Door handle on automatic doors - why?
This is a classic door design problem. Don Norman, the author of the book "The Design of Everyday Things", is quite vocal about door problem faced by users throughout the world.
Interactive product ...
- 491
35
votes
Why do most smartphones not have a physical keyboard?
What caused this decline in the use of physical keyboards?
The iPhone
What is the impact on the UX of mobile devices?
This is a pretty deep question and is tough to answer objectively.
I would ...
- 679
34
votes
I'm designing a no-data USB cable : How should the end be marked?
As others have stated, icons are unlikely to be seen.
As this question shows, a common way to solve this is to make the cable end visually distinct using colour.
In this case, the red end is power ...
- 441
34
votes
What's wrong with USB sticks that you need 3 tries to plug them in correctly?
Failure to follow the USB specification
I've had trouble with USB devices that completely fail to provide the tactile indicator that the USB specification mandates:
6.5.1 USB Icon Location
The USB ...
- 966
32
votes
Accepted
Does an on/off switch still means on/off when positioned horizontally?
I think your assumption that vertical switches are always up=on and down=off is wrong. In instances where two switches control the same thing then it is very easy for them to get out of sync. For ...
- 7,061
29
votes
I'm designing a no-data USB cable : How should the end be marked?
Leaving aside the question of whether there's a better solution than a custom USB cable, if the 'lightning bolt' symbol is not obvious enough, or is too similar to the Thunderbolt symbol, an ...
- 524
28
votes
What is the benefit of 2 drive thru lanes at a fast food restaurant?
Time
Note: just like David Meister mentions in his great answer, this is based on Theory of Constraints
Let's say we have 2 rows of 4 cars and it takes 3 minutes to each car to make an order, plus ...
- 37.3k
28
votes
QR vs Barcode vs Custom Code
I prefer the custom solution because ... well, because it's custom and gives us aesthetic and emotional design options
If this is your graphical solution and your collaborators prefer a practical ...
- 18.3k
27
votes
Accepted
Why was the "Airport" icon chosen to mean: "radio emissions on your device are disabled"?
Context is everything.
Yes, you are right in questioning that some people might be confused by this.
However, the usages of this icon each show in dramatically different contexts. The icon is used ...
- 2,291
27
votes
QR vs Barcode vs Custom Code
Let's look at each of your options in-depth.
Barcode
Pros
✓ Well-established technology. Can be used with many types of hardware.
✓ Familiar; recognizable.
✓ Requires minimal image processing.
Cons
× ...
- 19.5k
26
votes
I'm designing a no-data USB cable : How should the end be marked?
It's not the answer you want, but it might be the answer you need...
Whatever graphical treatment you apply to your product, it will never fully convey the difference between 'charge-only' and '...
- 922
25
votes
How to avoid the "local elevator" problem?
In an office building where I worked, they solved a similar problem by making panel A a bit less obvious than panel B. Panel B was right out in the open, on the wall between two of the elevators, ...
- 351
24
votes
Metro station stop design to prevent people from commiting suicide
Turin's unmanned tube (Italy) has barriers that extend from the quay to the ceiling of the basement. It is virtually impossible to fall on the tracks without tampering with the automatic doors.
...
- 341
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible