Bad Design

On the same note as my previous post, I thought it would be nice to have a comparison of something I feel is a bad design. Although the actual "interface" is designed fairly well, the implementation goes against the standard of what it should be. On that note, I present the following:

The first I present is the control. This faucet is located in my bathroom. It follows all the standards that apply to faucet technology as best is can:

• The hot is on the left, the cold is on the right.
• You can control temperature independent of amount/pressure.
• The handles pull towards you for on, away for off.
  

Of the three faucets in my apartment, this is the most conventional.

This faucet is located in my kitchen. It appears to follow the same standard as the previous faucet until you go to actually use it. Although it you can't tell in the picture (or even standing over it) the hot water is on the right and cold is on the left. After constantly scolding or freezing myself with dishes, I acquired some additional help for me to remember the switch.

This nifty gadget turns the water red when it is hot and blue when it is cold. The need for the addition clearly is evidence of a design flaw (most likely in the plumbing while the faucet just followed along).

As with the previous two examples, this design flaw is not immediately noticeable either. Unfortunately, the flaw affects me the most being that it is the shower where I spend more time than the other two faucets.

The problem here is not that the hot and cold are switched but that the knobs must be turned clockwise to get the water flowing. A minor inconvenience when turning on the shower, but a major pain when attempting to adjust the water with soap in your eyes. Reaching for the cold water knob and turning it counterclockwise expecting a nice transition to warmer waters only to get a big chill is great for that much needed wake-up shock but not very pleasant.

And there it is. Right in my own apartment. Not one, but two failures to conform to the standard of faucet design. Whether by choice or mistake, it is unbelievable to have three separate faucets with three different ways of controlling them, all under the same roof. Even if it is against the standard, it would have been a lot easier to just pick one and be consistent. At least then I wouldn't have to learn how to use three different faucets.