The first few minutes people spend using a new shower can be uncomfortable. They have to decipher the complex mechanics of what should be a simple device to operate. People often accept their frustrating interactions with functional and mundane systems — such as a shower — as a way of…

Slicing open more than just the avocado. — I recently made Avocado toast on a rushed Tuesday morning when things went awry. First, my knife got misaligned while slicing an avocado. Instead of cutting through it in a perfect oval, I made a spiral. Consequentially, I had to tear open the avocado. Then, when I tried to get…

Smart thermostats have become commonplace in many households. They afford users a range of customizations and energy savings by replacing simplistic temperature dials with versatile touchscreens. However, some design flaws in these thermostats make interacting with them somewhat frustrating. Task analysis The interface of the Ecobee smart thermostat can be used for…

Grocery shopping involves a lot of decisions and reading a lot of information. We consume nutrition labels, prices, different units of measurements, production information, preservative information, allergen information, etc. …

Doing laundry is the worst. It involves weekly interactions with two appliances — the washer and dryer. Even though these appliances have come a long way in terms of their technology and custom modes, most suffer from poorly designed controls. Product: Samsung Washer and Dryer (I am specifying the company because this is the product…

For users living in apartments or shared spaces, ordering something online means picking it up from the mailroom. Mailrooms have multiple packages. The user must search for theirs by trying to find their address/name on a shipping label pasted on the box. Moving boxes to figure out which one is…

Unfortunately, the remote of one of the most widely used Smart TVs and portable streaming devices suffers from an easily fixable design flaw that affects a frequent use case. Product: Amazon Fire TV and Firestick Remote Use case: The user is watching TV while eating food with their hands or is holding cutlery in their hands. They want to…

Air fryers have become an essential appliance in most kitchens. One of the most versatile kitchen appliances made, it can cook a steak just as well as it bakes bread. I’ve found one easily fixable design flaw in my air fryer. Machine: Ninja Air fryer (I suspect what I will be writing about includes…

The roadmap from research and ideation to design and execution — Designing an effective interface takes a lot of research and time. Even a conceptual one. Read on to get a glimpse of what the application of Human Factors research is all about. Project This work was done as a part of an Ecological Interface Design Class by a team of four…