A DESIGN CHALLENGE

The paradox of technology — a design challenge

Upgraded complex technology leading to less intuitive designs

The same technology that simplifies life by providing more functions in each device also complicates life by making the device harder to learn, harder to use. This is the paradox of technology.
- Donald Norman, The Design of Everyday Things (1988)

Let us take a step back and think if technology makes our life easier or harder? Does it simplify things or complicate it further? Is the paradox valid even now? I am not saying that the knowledge and know-how of technology is a bad thing. In fact, I am so addicted to my smartphone that I cannot step out of the house without it. The plethora of activities and tasks it does for me it just commendable and unimaginable. The problem, however, is the complexity, the design of the tech products (software/hardware) brings to us. Many products are designed very well and easy to use. However, many are just designed for features and not for ease of use. Is it the fault of users who does mistakes in using a particular product or is it a shortcoming on the product designer side?

Most of the time when we do mistakes in using a product and blame ourselves as dumb, the fault is on the designer side. This is a very bold statement, yet a true one. Let me take some examples from the real world to validate this idea.

Parking labels and signs

The sign displayed in the picture below assumes that a driver will stop in the middle of the road, read and try to digest all the information, analyze through the current time of the day and situation and then decide on whether she should park there or not. On the other hand, the second image perfectly identifies the slot length, 2hr parking limit, and days for parking through minimal use of colors, shapes, and numbers.

ATM machine that keeps the card

The machines which take the card in and eject after the user gets the cash, assume that the user will remember about the…