Multi-cord Wire Dongle:
Description:
This is a multi-cord wire dongle. It has multiple wires coming out of it, such as a USB, microUSB, miniUSB, an Apple Lightning connector, and a USB-C connector. It is used to charge and transfer data to and from a variety of devices. Now comes the problem with this device: it is a mess.
(Misleading) Affordances
- All of the wires are coming out of the same side, so they are all equally important.
- All the wires can be used for power in.
- The remaining wires can all be used for power out
Actual Use
- Only USB can be used for power in.
- Only one wire can be used for power out at a given time.
Problems:
It is a tangled mess of wires that are all connected to each other; and have specific purposes that are not made clear with the end design. From a first glance, there is no indication of which port should be the power in, so the assumption is that any of the wires can be used to power the device. In reality, the only compatible wire, the USB, is the only one that can be used to power the device. The other wires are only used as power out. For me, with a Macbook with only USB-C ports, I tried multiple times to power the device, but it did not work, which became quite frustrating. Additionally, since all the wires are coming out the same side, it is difficult to tell which wire is which, and also makes it seem like multiple wires can provide power out. However, this is not the case, since only one wire will provide power out at a given time, and the other wires are useless during this operation.
Design Principle Failure
Learnability suffers most from this design. The design is not intuitive, and it is not clear how to use the device effectively. The design is not consistent, since the wires are all coming out of the same side. Safety could also potentially be an issue, since if by plugging the wrong wire into power in and multiple wires for power out, it could potentially cause electrical damage to the device or the user.Dimmable Lighting:
Description:
This is a dimmable lighting switch, controlling the brightness of the lights in the room. It consists of four buttons: one on the top to turn the lights to max, one on the bottom to turn the lights off, and two in the middle to increase and decrease the brightness of the lights.
(Misleading) Affordances
- By hitting one of the buttons, there will be an immediate response (just like a normal, on-off switch)
- Trying to go past the max or min brightness should give some feedback (like a beep, light, or a vibration)
Actual Use
- There is a few second delay between hitting the button and the lights changing brightness
- There is no feedback when trying to go past the max or min brightness
- Holding the button down counts as one click, so it is difficult to increase/decrease the brightness by a lot
Problems:
The biggest problem with this design is that there is a delay between hitting the button and the lights changing. This is a problem because it is not intuitive, and it is not clear how to use the device effectively. The delay is also not consistent, sometimes near instant, and sometimes taking a few seconds. Consistently, even though I've used this switch for a while, I still have to wait a few seconds to see if the button is working or not. Additionally, there is no feedback when trying to go past the max or min brightness, so it is not clear if I should keep on clicking the button or not if I am trying to increase/decrease the brightness to a specific amount. And when I'm trying to find the right brightness, I have to keep on clicking the button, which is quite annoying when I expect that holding the button down should work.
Design Principle Failure
Learnability also suffers in this design, along with efficiency. The design is not very intuitive for the user, and, because it does not provide feedback during utilization, it also hinders efficiency. The design is not consistent, since the delay is not consistent, and the lack of feedback increases the time needed to find the right brightness.Window Opening Mechanism:
Description:
This is the mechanism in dorm rooms to open, close and lock the window. It consists of a knob on the bottom that can be turned to open and close the window, and locking mechanisms on the left and right side that can be pushed down and out to unlock/lock the window.
(Misleading) Affordances
- There should be a clear indication on how to open and close the window
- If the locks are pushed down, the window should also be locked
Actual Use
- It is not clear which way to turn the knob to open the window
- It is not clear if the window is locked or not, since the locks can be pushed down without the window being locked, if it is not closed ALL the way
Problems:
The biggest problem I initially had with this design is in figuring out which way to turn the knob to open and close the window; after many iterations of trial and error, I eventually figured out which way to turn it, but I still mess it up sometimes. It is not intuitive, since, mentally, rotational movement does not translate well to opening and closing. A more annoying problem that I've had with this design after getting used to the weird knob mechanism is that the window can still be open even if the locks are pushed down, and if it is in this state, the locks actually stop the window from closing all the way. As such, the only way to close the window is to push the locks back up, and then close the window. This is very annoying, especially because there are two sets of locks, so I have to push both of them up, and when it is dark outside, it's hard to see if the window is closed all the way or not; looking at the position of the indoor locks is not indicative of whether the window is closed or not.