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Product Design – Bottle Necks

I recently got some (plastic 😬) bottles for home. Not proud of it. But anyway, I noticed a small design anomaly with them. Normally, the neck of most bottles are only slightly shorter than their lids.   Now while these bottles are fine otherwise (except, plastic!), I wonder how many people who’ve bought them have…

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How the Future of Text Content Should Be

Pic: source As our attention spans go from low to almost non-existent in an increasingly noisy world, I get especially wary whenever I need to read a verbose report. Especially ones with unusually large paragraphs. You know it might be important, but just the way it is structured makes it very difficult to read to…

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Product Use and Experience – Range and Layers

There is a beauty to how some products (and software) are designed. Think scissors. If we want to cut something fast, we use the forward section of the blades (speed multiplier). Want to cut something fatter or tougher, use the rear end of the blades (effort multiplier); and cut slower, or risk breaking the scissors….

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Dettol Liquid Soap Refill’s Cap Seal Ring

Dettol liquid soap’s refill packs (above) have a small flaw in their cap seal rings. The tiny ring that stays on the refill pack (after breaking off from the cap), is not secured in place, and tends to fall into the soap dispenser. Lifebuoy liquid soap refills (above) on the other hand, seemed to have…

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All We Need is Somebody to Lean On

Sometime before lockdown, I was in another city, attending a wedding. The reception was in this beautiful open ground. I’m no fan of wedding ceremonies, so once I was done admiring the place, I was a little bored. After some time at the bar, I caught up with a few people, and was back to…

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Even Flow

Image: source In the past few months, I happened to come across some books and a lot of articles around habits. What at least some of us who struggle to build a good habit (or get rid of a bad one) assume, is that habits are like finding a nice, quiet spot somewhere (at a…

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The ‘Sample Size of One’ Concept Simplified

Given my growing interest in behavioural science and behavioural economics, when there was quite some news about the replication crisis in the field, it got me wondering if there might be a better way to undertake studies so that they remain relevant, if not replicable. The thought was triggered by a random interaction in the…

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We Need Better Staplers

Pic: source It took a nice bleeding cut, thanks to a tough staple pin that held some car mats together, for me to realize how hostile the world was for animals. Staple-less staplers exist, but are far from commonplace. Got to wonder why they are so expensive. A cursory look on Amazon showed the cheapest…

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What Might Automotive Lights Look Like in Future?

When it comes to automotive light designs, a few occasionally catch your eye. Like the sweeping indicator lights from some years ago. Those still are impressive. I think Audi SUVs were among the first to have them. And you occasionally see some very strange designs. Like those on the Toyota Innova Crysta. What I call…

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Where Should Laptop Charging Lights be, and Why are Laptop Keyboards so Small?

Firstly, should laptop charging lights be put on the side the charger plugs in? That is where the charger plugs in, but not where we sit. Which means many a times, it would be an effort to confirm charging. How about on the front? Better, since most often, many of us (remember to) charge the…