Good designThe sharpener that keeps things clean
Two hole sizes, a built-in eraser and a transparent case that holds the shavings. You can see when it’s full.
Small objects designed right bring unexpected joy.
Introduction to DesignSemester 1 · 2025
Good design, bad design
Ten everyday objects around campus, judged by how they treated me in the moment I needed them.
The brief was to find five good and five bad designs in daily life. I wrote each one as a small story, because that’s how design is actually felt.
Good design
Good designThe bottle that understood me
A 2.2 L bottle with a wide grip for sweaty hands, a sling strap and visible level markings.
Design for the real context: gym, sweat, carrying.
Good designThe stand that had my back
Adjustable angles, rubber grips and a fold-flat body, so devices sit at eye level without neck strain.
Good ergonomics is often invisible.
Good designCorridor grills that breathe
Iron grills on both sides of a hostel corridor bring in air and light all day, with no switches and no power.
The best designs sometimes work with nature, silently.
Good designThe sign that didn’t let me get lost
Late at night on a cycle: a roundabout diagram, a few clear arrows and a “Keep Left” board.
Fewer words, more clarity.
Bad designThe LAN socket that fought back
A rigid inner flap that has to be lifted with a fingernail, with no label and no grip, on a deadline day.
Even a 30-second hassle feels like failure under stress.
Bad designThe router button that bit back
A needle-hole reset button with no click and no feedback, so you never know if it worked.
Without feedback, users can’t trust their own actions.
Bad designThe invisible door
A wooden panel hiding electrical wiring, with no handle, no indent and nothing to say it opens.
If it can’t signal how it opens, it isn’t a door.
Bad designThe cap that wouldn’t let go
A 20-litre water-jar cap with no tab or grip; opening it ended with a knife.
Making access a battle makes it dangerous.
Bad designThe bamboo ladder
Rope-tied bamboo that creaks and wobbles: no grip, no lock, no reassurance.
Without safety, function becomes danger.
01 · Approach
Why stories, not specs
Each object is written as a small moment: a deadline, a late-night ride, a gym day. Writing them this way forced me to notice context, emotion and stress, which is where good and bad design actually show up.
What I learned
Takeaways
- 01Design quality is felt in moments of stress, rush or confusion.
- 02Feedback (clicks, visibility, labels) is what makes people trust an object.
- 03Some of the best designs are passive, like corridor grills that ventilate without power.
- 04Safety and affordance failures can turn everyday objects into hazards.