In a world of mundane everyday products, it’s rare to find one that catches your eye for its thoughtful design. The Bisleri 5-litre bottle, with its curved sides for easy pouring, is a surprising example of clever, practical design that makes you appreciate the beauty of function.
Time and Price form interesting aspects of current B2C businesses. Uber for instance, has its routes generally optimized for speed (recommends a shorter route even if it is more expensive). Ola, on the other hand, at least used to have routes optimized for price (recommends a slightly longer but the cheaper route). One sees an…
Ever had your phone fall on your face while lying down, or been nearly spilled on by a waiter’s odd angle of serving? These everyday examples of gravity and Angle of Approach (AoA) reveal how design flaws can impact our experiences—imagine how much smoother life could be with a little more attention to both.
With 30–40% of seniors facing constipation, could the design of modern toilets be contributing to the problem? The squat toilet, long used across cultures, may offer a solution that’s often overlooked in favor of more “comfortable” Western designs.
Netflix keeps its content feeling fresh by changing thumbnails and preview clips—something other platforms could learn from to maintain user interest. But while it works for entertainment, it’s a strategy that might backfire on apps like grocery or food delivery, where simplicity is key.
In continuation of yesterday’s post (link here), which was about why involving users on either extreme of the bell curve (as opposed to innovating for the bulk majority) facilitates in creation of a more innovative and inclusive solution; another example came to mind from many years ago. Around 2015–16, I was tasked with identifying affordable…
Focusing on the “average” majority often leads to oversimplified, generic solutions. But by innovating for users at the extremes, you create more flexible, inclusive products that better meet everyone’s needs.
Ergonomically designed products are often comfortable for short use but can become more uncomfortable over time compared to plain designs. For instance, while sleek bike grips or beautifully designed wireless earbud cases feel great initially, they may be less practical for extended use.
I was recently at a few car showrooms, just browsing.. And I noticed something. Many of the popular brands tend to keep a higher or top end variant of different models on display. And interestingly, Toyota, at least the showroom I went to, had base variants on display. We could look at this in two…
Netflix does something admirable with its listing thumbnails. it toggles the image thumbnails of many of its movie and series listings, and also the hover preview clips, from one of 2-3 different ones. While it might make finding a specific movie or series just by scanning thumbnails a bit tedious for some, in general I…