Identifying a Bad Design

Recently I found a good article while going through my archives of Machine Design. "Telltale signs of bad design" is authored by Mike Hudspeth, ISDA from the issue dated March 8, 2007. The direct link to this article on their website is not active, so I thought to share it here with appropriate mention.

"Most industrial designers have seen a bad design or two in the course of their careers. Bad designs are difficult to disguise. they are hard to figure out..."

The negative attributes of any design are sometimes difficult to identify for a designer. This is partly because of the sense of ownership and pride. A designer can get so much deeply involved in the designing process that (s)he may go father than the customer requirements or the intended purpose of the product.

" A few telltale signs to watch include:

• Form without function
• Useless features
• Unidentifiable controls
• Knobs, buttons or switches that are too far away
• Instruction labels can be helpful when they inform users where to stick plugs or connectors."

Now when I think about the products I use in my everyday life, I occasionally see some of these bad design features. Similar features can be found in processes too. A badly designed process can be a result of improper controls, instructions labels not at correct place or not legible, knobs not identified or calibrated properly or function without desired form resulting in rework/scrap.