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By Root 2596 0

where the gulf of evaluation is infinite. True, we often know the product too well to envision how people will use it, yet we are separated from the end users by multiple layers of corporate bureaucracy, marketing, customer services, etc. These people believe they know what customers want and feedback from the real world is limited by filters they impose. If you accept the problem definition (product requirements) from these outside sources without personal investigation you will design an inferior product regardless of your best intentions. If this initial hurdle is overcome you are only halfway home. The best design ideas are often ruined by the development-manufacturing process that takes place when they leave the design studio. What this really points out is that the process by which we design is flawed, probably more so than our conception of how to create quality designs.”16

The Complexity of the Design Process

“Design is the successive application of constraints until only a unique product is left.”17

You might think that a water faucet would be pretty easy to design. After all, you merely want to start or stop the flow of water. But consider some of the problems. Suppose the faucets are for use in public places, where users may fail to turn them off. You can make a spring-operated faucet, which operates only as long as the handle is held. This automatically turns the faucet off; but it is difficult for users to hold the handle while wetting their hands. Ok, so you add a timer; then one push on the faucet handle yields five or ten seconds of water flow. But the extra complexity of the faucet design adds to the cost and lowers the reliability of the faucet. Furthermore, it is difficult to decide how long the water should stay on. Somehow it never seems like long enough for the user.

How about a foot-operated faucet, which overcomes the problems of springs and timers because the water stops as soon as the foot leaves the pedal (figure 6.4 A)? This solution requires slightly more elaborate plumbing, again raising the cost. It also makes the control invisible, violating a major design principle and making it difficult for a new user to find the control. How about a high-technology solution, with automatic sensors that turn on the water as soon as a hand is placed in the sink, turning it off as soon as it leaves (figure 6.4 B)? This solution has several problems. First, it is expensive. Second, it makes the controls invisible, causing difficulty for new users. And third, it is not easy to see how the user could control either the volume of water or the temperature. More on this faucet later.

Not all faucets are designed under the constraints of public faucets. At home, aesthetic considerations tend to dominate. Styles often reflect the social and economic class of the user. And different kinds of users have different requirements.

The same considerations hold true for most everyday things. The variety of possible solutions to the usual problems is enormous. The range of expression permitted the designer is vast. Moreover, the number of tiny details that must be accounted for is astounding. Pick up almost any manufactured item and examine its details with care. The little wiggly bends on a hairpin are essential in keeping it from slipping out of the hair: someone had to think of that, then design special equipment to create the bends. The felt-tip pen I am examining as I write has six different sizes on the pen body, two different sizes on the cap. The pen changes its taper at numerous spots, each change serving some function. Four different substances comprise the pen body (and I am not counting the ink, the container that holds the ink, or the felt tip). The cap is made of two kinds of plastic and one kind of metal. The inside of the cap has a number of subtle indentations and internal structures that clearly match up with corresponding parts of the pen body, both to hold the cap on firmly and to prevent the felt tip from drying out. There are more parts and variables than I would ever have imagined.