Design Review

The first product that I chose to look at is actually one of my favorite kitchen tools due to its ease of use. I decided focus on a cutting board with a cheese slicer attached to the cutting board itself as my example of a positive design. Check it out.

The beauty of this product is that it seems like such a normal household item but the addition of the cheese slicer really takes it to a whole new level. It really speaks to the design of this product when I say that operating it doesn’t require a degree in rocket science. The concept is extremely straightforward, intending the user to utilize the board itself as a cutting board and the added wire cutter as a cheese or other food product slicer. In terms of design techniques, it has an incredibly straightforward conceptual model and it really isn’t trying to do anything above what it is intended for. The handle on the cheese slicer allows the user to look at that thing and know exactly what it is supposed to do, proving to be an efficient signifier to its purpose. It isn’t only incredibly easy to immediately see what this product is used for, but also super easy to use the thing (depending on how hard your cheese is). I can say that, in my personal experience, the ease of use of this product paired with the delicious byproduct after use makes for a very satisfying experience.

For my second and arguably less intuitive design piece, I chose a relatively common classroom appliance. Although I have seen been seeing this machine for years I am still uncertain of how to use it, despite its ultimate purpose being clear. Check out this good ol’ fashioned classroom page projector.

For everyone that has been exposed to this, the purpose is clear, but for those exposed to it for the first time, that purpose may not be as obvious. The good news is that this machine has a very pronounced On/Off button paired with a common wall plug which immediately allows the user to realize that it is a machine that indeed requires electricity to operate. Unfortunately, that’s about as far as the signifiers of this design go in terms of allowing a user to know how to operate it. The conceptual model is relatively difficult to get a grasp on without a pre-conceived notion about what it is used for and how it should be operated which, unfortunately, defeats the purpose of a conceptual model. The good news is that it will likely only be found in a classroom or presentation setting which allows users to at least formulate a guess as to the purpose of this machine. I think the main confusion as to how to operate it stems from it’s dependence on other machinery to operate in the manner it was intended. I would like to see more labeling on the focus lens and an indication as to what type of port to plug the machine into in order to project its output. Then there is the question of what type of paper to put under the lens itself, which users would have no idea about unless the “plastic film” were either provided when purchasing the machine or specifically referred to somewhere on the machine itself. This machines dependence on other machinery and specific materials in order to operate it properly paired with minimal explanation on how to actually operate it have led me to the determination that it is poorly designed. Of course, you could just read the manual, but who wants to do that?