Bad Industrial Design Examples

Not to mention that if your hands are indeed not completely dry, there is the inevitable introduction and handshake with someone that observed your recent exit from the washroom, giving the mistaken impression that you are either very nervous, or that you peed on your hand.

This, coupled with the trail of toilet paper from you waistband back to the giant roll dispenser, can create a definite loss of credibilty.

How about those pop top sardine cans that open until the very last inch (or millimeter). This remaining stubborn section releases suddenly, splattering your tuxedo with sardine juice.

Life is a beach!

I hate it when that happens.

Besides, I miss opening the cans with a regular can opener which was sort of like your own miniature train set.

"Next stop Sardine Land!"

"Last stop Altoona!!"

Remember when sardine cans all came with a key?

I opened a non-keyed can with an electric can opener once. Slung juice all over the place.

There you go!

Another candidate for Bad Industrial Design Examples! Non-conforming overzealous electric can openers.

Jeez, I completely forgot about the keyed cans.

You have to flex it up 'n' down very carefully 'til it finds the yield point - which will reduce the splatter - but make sure your mate is in line to stop any unanticipated blobs of juice before they get on you/yours/your floor etc. Always do it towards your best mate (that's what my Grandad taught me).

As long as we're in the kitchen, how about plastic food bag clips, "chip clips" we call them in the colonies. They always break. A while back the Good Grips folks sold some really nice but pricey stainless steel chip clips. I bought as many as I could afford. I even gave $50 worth of them to some friends as a wedding present that they will actually use. Last year Good Grips went back to the plastic ones. So much for that great idea.

I did notice up on a high shelf in my shop a jar full of the old style wooden "2 piece plus a torsion spring" type clothes pins. Sometimes used and modified for delicate soldering jobs. They will be my probable fall back when the last of the plastic clips break. Actually some recent research indicates that bacteria in a food preparation environment die sooner on raw wood surfaces than on smooth plastic or metal surfaces. Seems like a plus for an old fashioned butcher block counter top....... and wood clothes pins. And wood handles on kitchen knives.......... good carbon steel kitchen knives. Uhhh.... Don't get me started on the stainless steel knife thing.

Ed Weldon

Off topic? Clearly there is some person/people that both doesn't seem to like my answers, choosing to mark them off topic, and also doesn't seem have a whit of understanding about what industrial design is. This is not the only topic where this "off topic" marking of my GA's is happening.

Let's quote Wikipedia on the subject of industrial design:

"Industrial design is a discipline whereby the aesthetics, ergonomics and usability of mass-produced products may be improved for marketability and production. The main objective is to create and execute design solutions towards problems of form, usability, user ergonomics, engineering, marketing, brand development and sales"

A product that continually breaks and becomes non-functional clearly fails the test of usability.

And by the way, citizen of the world, who ever you are, how about climbing out of your little dark hole of anonymity and presenting your case? Or if you can't bring yourself to comment publicly then send me a private email via the contact procedure under my profile.

Moderators: Please contact me if you have any grief about the way I participate in this forum. I make no claim to personal perfection and will respectfully follow your suggestions and requirements.

Ed Weldon

Hey don't look at me

good answer/bad answer I understand

the whole off topic thing is nonsense, the best part of the discussion/thread is usually one of the sidebars or in depth dissection of minutia

Ed,

I'm not sure what you are referring to. You show OT = 5.. which is the default you can get by voting yourself off topic when you post. When I hit the vote button, it shows existing vote counts, and I can't see any either way for your post about chip-clips. I thought it was valid, but didn't vote. but I'll give you a ga anyway...

Ed, you were replying to my #120, which I marked myself OT (so it was automatically 5 under).

Did you un-check the "OT" box (which is automatically checked if you reply to an OT post)? - if not, you've inadvertently shot yourself in the foot.

I have often wondered if there were a single word or a term to describe the action of "flexing it up and down 'til it finds the yield point" (please, no dirty stuff). I called it "bendy-breaky", for lack of a better term. You Know, like those plastic hinges on expensive test instrument cases.

Naw, the sardines are naked!

Ok who was it started on about washing machines?
What do I hear from Mrs Cat just when I'm about to get my lunch?
" There's water coming out from under the washing machine"
I managed to fix it..., it was leaking fro the water pump filter, a hair grip had jammed into the seal and damaged it. I cut an extra washer from some EPDM sheet (those off cuts of roofing material are worth their weight in gold).
I shall invoice her later tonight.
Del

Dearest Cat: 'Twas none other than me, bringer of evil spirits from the West.....

And who in your house attempts self administered haircuts over a towel draped across the bathroom sink and then bundles the whole thing up and puts it in the hamper? (Rather than going out into the rainy dawn and shaking it out where the birds can find stuff for building their nests).

Ed Weldon

Bad pun, Bad pun.!!

About products that require assembly.

I consider myself somewhat mechanically inclined ( I can recognize the line drawings showing tools required, like screwdrivers, pliers, etc).

It is the instructions that make me wonder if they were written by CR4 "Guests" who, having been criticized for posting ridiculous questions,are having their revenge, as without at least a bit of aptitude, a person would be reduced to a sniveling twit trying to follow them.

We are victims of "transnational translation".

Country A spec's a product. Country B produces it. Country C writes the assembly instructions based on country B's interpretation of Country A's expectations, according to Country B's interpretations of expectations.

Then, when it doesn't work and you finally get the "Help Line" it's in Country BFE who has just embraced English as it's second language.

Just about any power tool sold by Sears

I do have a soft spot for the Dewalt cordless drills and all Milwaukee tools. And Sears sells them. But...I do love my Craftsman Miter saw (don't now who builds them ) compared to alot of others. Because when your cutting with it and you happen to have your thumb on the side of the handle, it would get pinch by alot of others as you pull it and the cut rotates the gaurd up.

It was the main reason I bought it.....no, wait.....it my girlfriends saw......smart girl.....I just use it.

This will give you an idea, I've compared them with the sliding bar. also

Craftsman

Dewalt

p911

yeah those work great,

but lt's missing a hole so a thong can be fitted & worn around your wrist to prevent it from being dropped off the top of a ladder or or the inconvenient place, the attic insulation also comes to mind

cost for that type of differences can be higher. Where the only change will be ink. . . . That type/brand of butter wouldnt have a picture of a indian maiden on it by chance. ; )

I had a hydo-heat system be Amana.It had a boilr powered by gas, that circulated water thru a coil in a tank for hot domestic hot water, and an air handle coil for house heat.Pretty neat eh?The problem was a zone valve with an end switch that energized the heat sysem for the water tank.The water tank had priority over home heat,so if it called for hot water, it energized the valve, which is motorized, and when the valve reached full open, the switch closed to call for heat.No one anticipated that the end switch would fail in a closed position.The result, was hot water all the time, even when the A/C was running, which needless to say, generated an exorbitant light bill.I tried to get Amana to acknowledge the error without success, so I rewired it to turn off the heat directly when the tank was satisfied,which they should have done from the start.A very simple modification by putting the end switch and tank thermostat in series.(IMHO)

The system is long gone now, but the taste of their "engineering" lingers still, and I will not buy any of their products.

There's one of those new new-fangled personal telephones on the market (trade name withheld) that relies on the outer case for its radio antenna, reportedly. If it's used in the left hand, it works fine. If it's used in the right hand, the hand shorts-out the gap in the metal casing, causing the antenna not to work properly, and the call drops out. Is that stupid or what (rhetorical question)?

Anyway. Knife blades go blunt when used to break up cast iron baths. Anyone could see that.......

Oooooh! What an opportunity for the KrisDel^TM Corporation!

Duct Tape Fix For iPhone 4G Problems - KPLR

As Milo pointed out, the maker is giving away free cases to help solve the problem.

It's still bolx.

No doubt! Think of the bad publicity. I can't imagine paying that much for a phone and then having to immediately put a patch on it.

Sounds like they have taken a page out of Bill Gate's play book. Put out half assed baked stuff and let the consumer troubleshoot and fix it.

It sounds like we are being used for an antenna! Will this phone cause the "hairy palm" syndrome?

Saves money on the engineering side when you let make the customer sucker do it for you! And those guys are loath to EVER touch hardware. They probably don't even think that is engineering.

Philistines!!

So, I just bought a new utility knife today. All of my old ones, except for the one that never opens until after you disassemble it, are lost/"borrowed"/? At Home Depot, I saw a nice little retractable job for $.99. Try as I could, I couldn't force the locking mechanism, so I bought it and brought it home. Went to put the blade in, and WHAT THE HEY? The screw does not screw through the lift-off side into the side that has the sliding mechanism. No, the screw goes through the side with the mechanism and screws into the other part. So, you insert the blade, carefully line it all up, turn it upside down to insert the screw and YEP! the blade fell out.

Are there people out there who are that stupid?

Yes! They are who we are writing about, here.

D --- OOHH!

I just had to fix a problem on my Vauxhall Vectra, the front & rear screen wash stopped working. This turned out to be a blocked pump filter but the handbook instructions for getting at the washer bottle start with "remove the front bumper"!!!

I managed to get at it by pulling back the wheel arch liner but you wonder if some car designers have ever had to maintain a car.

Funny you should say that..
I had similar, I had a minor shunt a while back, only just noticed the rear washer wasn't working. The garage had done all the front end repairs but not re-connected the rear washer to the bottle...had to loosten off the bumper and grovel about for half an hour... it was still quicker than getting them to rectify it. ... hmmmm thinks...
Dear CR4, I have a problem with my windscreen washer bottle, if I drop a couple of diodes in there will it rectify it?
Del

The problem is that designing a light compact car

& designing an easy to maintain car

are at odds

a late 70's Buick regal, with a v6. I once spent hours attempting to replace the rear plug on the drivers side, Finally I gave up & took it to a shop. The mechanic used a 2" hole saw on the inner fender, took him all of about 15 minutes to change the plug, still got charged for an hour

"if I drop a couple of diodes in there will it rectify it?"

I'm resisting the idea current-ly, but if you have the capacity to transform the tubing circuit, then go ahead. If everything functions correctly, your Volt won't drop off the bridge into the current. If you can't get it working, just wash the window with your Kirchoff.

Blimey, whatever inducted you to come up with that? Are you reacting against the idea? I don't wish to impede your thought processes (which may be a bit complex), but may I suggest you take my lead - go ohm and sit in a dark room, and try to remain neutral.

(Forgive me - I'm running out out of bad puns - I'm treading on dangerous ground).

stop impeding, he's got a right to voice his ohm ohmpinion

do you think this is winding down yet. It seems a bit out of phase. I like to dance... the impy dance... with your re sister.

BBROYGBVGW

or...

Better Be Right Or Your Great Big Venture Goes West

or...

Bad Boys Rape Our Young Girls But Virginia Gives Willingly

or for the really straight laced...

Black Brown Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Violet Grey White

Bill

that sounded like the anouncer on bullwinkle and rocky cartoon

Have you been spying on us?

I stay away from that thread............then you tricked me..........I will not be tempted to cross over to the dark side.....must...resist

Come on in - the water's fine. You know it makes no sense. Enjoy !

HEY! - My sister's name is Virginia.

Besides, I thought the name was Violet, just like in the SL version.

Loupy.

Way, way back in the old days (25 to 35 years ago), a Generation has come and gone, and has passed peacefully away. (We used to be known as "Customers")

"'The Customer is always right'", used to be the motto of good faith, in whatever you were buying for your needs, and the product or service was to be expected to be satisfactory, at the very least, as well as the trust that was instilled in the person or establishment that you purchased from.

That Generation, (G), as well as the G's. that had preceded the last G., mentioned, up to the recent history, has been misled due to extreme pressures placed upon the expectations of what the definition of what a "Customer" entails, as diametrically opposed to what is presently, (incremental growth in "Consumer"), descriptions.

Therefore, within a period of the past generation and a half, we have found our present sad lot to have been somehow subconsciously recruited to change our very soulfull concepts of ourselves to accept the lowly moniker of the present day "Consumer".

Yes, we all "consume" things - you name it - we will consume it. - We are all humans and beasts (of all kinds: bacteria, to amoebas, to trees, to us, to extinct T-Rex) living on this rock, after all - that is the basic sustenances of life and living.

My argument, in this discussion, as far as Bad Industrial Design goes, is that the powers that be are considering us "CONSUMERS": - as exactly that - "CONSUMERS".

We are not known as "CUSTOMERS", anymore, and so whatever the corporate powers that be, with all their multi-million $ advertising, both psychologically and analytically produced market "target" subjects, et al, with constant bombardment upon ours, as well as our loved ones sensory inputs, they have somewhat succeeded, in that they have, over the past G. and a half, to fool all of us to actually believe, and with sheep-like acceptance, to "their idea" of all of us to be considered by them as "CONSUMERS" and not as "CUSTOMERS"

There is a BIG difference!

Thank you for allowing my rant on this subject.

I promise that it will happen again,

Loupy

Yesterday I was in the local big box tool store looking for a sanding drum (No, we don't carry those; nobody would buy them) when I noticed they had a special pack - three (3!) very fancy, very expensive utility knives shrink-wrapped together for less than the cost of my car. Why three? Do they know they're gonna break?

I just had to go look. Harbor Freight has sanding drums up to 3 inches. 80 grit paper.

Bill

Yep. The guy in the big box store suggested I look at Harbor Freight.

that's service, I was in a box store and needed a fastner. Simple standard item. A saleslady came up to me and ask if I needed help. I told the size I needed, she didn't know what I was talking about, and promptly told me they didn't carry it and to try another store. Funny part was, right behind her was the fastener. I think it's too easy to say they don't carry, then to actual assist. p911

Perhaps this "box store" was actually a "Covert CIA Operation" and the "saleslady/agent" was asking if you needed help finding the exit?

Most of the of the staff at the "store" I try to use are retired Chuck-E-Cheese walk-around characters, or so it would seem.

asking if you needed help finding the exit?

Yes, or it could be just me and the affect I have on people. But that would be too arrogant to think I'm on someone's $#i*list.

p911

all those pesky customers, cutting in to time they could be texting their friends

I love when I go in with a goal, but the route to the goal has yet to be determined

I can see their little brains are about to explode, when a key component is unavailable or too expensive & I do a 270° shift

at that point [or sometime before] they wander off & avert their eyes everytime they see me