Assignment 0: Bad design

So we are required to come up with a bad design. Before doing this assignment, I have had a look at how my fellows are doing and had some thoughts.

- I quite agree with the statement that this assignment is not quite easy as it looks. Why? Because there are TOO many bad designs that we are gradually getting familiar with them and accept them as a part of our life. I cannot count how many time I feel frustrated because of a stupid design, but when asked to tell about them in details, I get stuck.

- Good user experience design may not be the same as good usability, but good usability is a MUST for a good user experience design. The most beautiful design does not always guarantee best user experience. We have always known that Apple brand's design is considered as having most 'kool' designs, yet not all of them are usable (i'm mentioning about Apple's mouse which ppl have no idea where the button is when looking at it).

- However, I may consider the 'legendary" door knob along the Arts corridor to the canteen as the classic example of bad design. Instead of turning it downside, ppl have to turn it upside. Ridiculous, yet I dont know why and how ppl can think of such an idea. Yet I think this example is pretty popular.

Finally when I was on bus A1, I encounter this:

As all of you may have known, these are the buttons on our bus. Or are they really BUTTONS?

I dont know, because we cannot press them. Yes, they may look like buttons very much, and we thought that they are supposed to be pressed, but they are not. For this, many people have mistaken that the blue button is the "stop" button (even if they can be pressed, I cannot know all of the buttons' function beside the blue one, there's no label on them)

User's reaction:

I have seen many people tried to press the buttons many times only to discovered that the button doesnt work, and they have missed their bus stop for not being able to press the "stop" button on time. Quite confused, I can see, just like me when I first used it.

My friend felt that the buttons should be able to press. If not, then they should be removed completely, so that people will know they have to find and press another 'real' button early enough...