Usability Hell: Archive

14 tags

Top 9 Worst Email Unsubscribe FAILS (+1 Hero)

Just let me f****** unsubscribe already…. Wrong: “If you think you might like to unsubscribe from our awesome emails, which incidentally are like totally life changing and shit what you should think about doing at some point - but only if you’re sure - is unsubscribing by clicking on this next bit click here. BTW my moms address is: 1 who gives a frak street, San Jose,...

May 14th

1 note

4 tags

Why You Should Delete 90% of your iPhone / Android...

If you’re like I was, you use about 20% of your iPhone / Android apps, 80% of the time (Pareto Principle). (and probably 5% 70% of the time). I recently deleted all the apps I never use. I was ruthless (you can always re-install them - or use the mobile website instead). If you sort apps by size in iTunes - some are surprisingly large. I’m now down to 30 apps - most of them are on...

Feb 23rd

1 note

13 tags

A Broken Path.com

The new Path iOS app seems to have got almost universal acclaim - and it is a nicely designed iOS app. Hats off to anyone with the guts to try a social network at this point. However, they’ve made several major strategic mistakes…. iOS Only Approach = Insanity If they had developed a responsive website (1 website that adapts to different devices/resolutions) instead of iOS app, they...

Jan 7th

34 notes

5 tags

Text Crimes of the Telegraph

Most websites do this - but I’d expect more from The Telegraph - check this out I know, shocking isn’t it. Just in case you havent spotted it look at the end of that paragraph: Read older posts by Tom here. This is basic stuff. They would never allow fluffy, wasteful writing like that into the paper, but all standards seem to vanish online. Here is how it should read: ...

Dec 19th

78 notes

4 tags

Soundcloud's Unsubscribe HELL

Soundcloud is a pretty cool service - which is why it pains me to write this. I don’t use it much & wanted to unsubscribe from their emails. I wasn’t expecting a Lord of the Rings 4 part epic. All emails should simply have 1 click ‘unsubscribe’ button at the bottom. For the record unsubscribe shouldn’t be formatted like this: click here to unsubscribe from our...

Nov 15th

2 notes

4 tags

Google's Captcha Hell

We really should be past captcha by now. I could hardly think of a better way to screw up the user experience than forcing someone to read a hard to read word. Actually I can - that’s failing to log you in, but not telling you whether the login was incorrect, or the captcha was incorrect. As an exercise in ‘how pissed off can we make our users’ it’s A+. Sure, in theory...

Nov 7th

6 notes

5 tags

Google+: E- For Usability

Google+ has been interesting to play around with & will probably be at least a medium sized success. I also like the fact since Larry Page took over again design seems to be getting a higher priority at Google. However, there is some usability feces just waiting to hit the giant Dyson Airblade that Eric left behind. Google clearly liked the old days, pre 2000, when they could spend their...

Sep 1st

1 note

4 tags

Thanks Steve Jobs

Probably the guy who has done most for usability - thank you. RIP

Aug 25th

8 notes

7 tags

#TfailL - Requiring Capital letters in password...

Transport for London - who have a pretty good website, do one thing so brainless, so webtarded that it must be the work of a person who can only exist in the public sector (because any profit making business they work for goes bust rapidly). The type of brain dead fool that is ‘promoted out of the way’ by their dumb ass boss so they’re no longer their problem. I’d...

Aug 8th

7 notes

6 tags

All Signs Point to #FAIL

I stood at this sign - on the London Underground - for about 2 minutes. Initially in extreme anxiety - should I go left if I’m going to one of the branches on the left of that sign? I went left for 10 paces, then went back. That can’t be right. Many other people looked equally puzzled. Turns out both directions link up - it doesn’t matter which way you go. Problem is -...

Jul 7th

7 notes

6 tags

FAILBook: Facebook's Usability Fail

It was gutsy - abandoning the ‘submit’ button for comments, and just accepting the ‘enter’ button to post instead. Part of me loves this idea - less is more. However, it ignores convention and it seems it confused people. Facebook recently added the above text ‘Press Enter to post your comment.’ below the comment box. So they replaced one well understood,...

Mar 21st

2 notes

6 tags

Tablets Are Toys: Not For Geeks

Many of the millions of geeks who purchased iPads will already have realised it’s actually pretty useless when compared to a small laptop (such as an 11” MacBook Air or 3G 11” Sony Vaio X) The problem is - it stops you doing so many things, it can never replace a laptop. On the flip side, there aren’t any killer apps - there’s nothing you can do on it you...

Feb 20th

1 note

9 tags

Dumbest Invention of 20th Century

This post is fuelled by a burning pain. Something most of us have, which takes form OVER function to new heights of stupid. Metal kettles on the cooker top - OK fine it needs to conduct heat. Metal kettles on your work top powered by electricity? Which prick came up with that idea? Seriously. OK plastic kettles can look a bit crap - but making something look good at the expense of having a...

Jan 19th

1 note

6 tags

Seth Godin on JetBlue.com Usability Issues -...

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/12/tragically-stuck-with-the-status-quo.html

Jan 9th

13 tags

Conran in Door Handle Abuse Scandal

Latest on the list of ‘pull handles where push plates need to be’ is trendy cafe Albion in shoreditch. Part of design legend Terrance Conran’s Boundary Project you’d think door handles would be easy. You’d be wrong. It was the all too familiar push pull shuffle. For the un-initiated few here’s how it goes: Pull right door - nothing. Pull left door -...

Dec 16th

7 tags

JustWhatsOn.com - Extremely Simple Usability

Time I put my money where my mouth is you might say? So I have - welcome to JustWhatsOn.com. An extremely stripped down, primarily mobile website that takes less is more to the extreme. Listing whats on in London in the next 24 hours & London Top 10’s things like Markets, Street Food & Espresso Bars Usability; short wording, minimal design, few images, fast loading, quick...

Dec 9th

1 note

9 tags

iPhone 4 (2010) & SonyEricsson M600 (2006) -...

Before I had an iPhone I had a SonyEricsson M600. It was a great phone and I had to dig it out recently for a friend to use - and the similarity between the M600 (released 2006) and the iPhone 4 (released 2010) became apparent. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery right?

Nov 5th

10 tags

Signs: DONT MAKE ME THINK

Toilet Door Sign, Costa Coffee As Usability Celebrity Steve Krug said of websites Don’t Make Me Think! . Same is true of signs. This is the kind of sign a committee would come up with. Sadly, I’ve spent quite a bit of time trying to work out the point of this sign. Does it mean that I’m not allowed to use it if I’m not disabled or a child? Probably not as it says...

Sep 16th

14 tags

London's TOP Business Bullshit

Heron Tower construction site, City of London I’d love to have been a fly on the wall at the meeting where they came up with this hilarious piece of business bullshit. The Heron Tower - a 46 floor office building currently under construction is apparently not an office tower. No - how could you be so obtuse, no its an (the photographic proof is above) - “Advanced Business Life...

Aug 27th

3 notes

10 tags

Tap Porn

Taps & Sink, new Apple Store, Covent Garden, London. Closest thing I’ve ever seen to the perfect sink….

Aug 23rd

9 tags

Swiss Army Knife - Crap at 100 Things

The Swiss Army Knife. They’re shit. But somehow have become a metaphor for usefulness. Have you ever tried to open a bottle of wine with one? DON’T. Some personal favourite tools: Saw (wow thats a REALLY SMALL tree) Screwdriver (for microscopic phillips head screws) Tooth pick (GROSS) Tweesers (soldiers gotta have perfect eyebrows right?) Nail file (the Swiss army must be...

Aug 3rd

3 notes

10 tags

Literally a Shit Sign

Starbucks, Planet Earth You’re thinking what I’m thinking right?

Jul 20th

7 tags

Toilet Seat HELL

The only toilet in a cafe in Clapham, London. The top is taped; it wont stay up itself. We’ve all seen some variation on this… Scenario Female uses toilet. Situation Green. Male with circus experience manages to relieve himself and hold seat up *at the same time*, with no mistakes. Situation Green. An average dude enters the room. Situation Orange. Average dude tries same...

Jul 13th

2 notes

13 tags

'Sale Advisors Required.'? You Mean 'Staff...

Sign in Sunspel, an underwear shop, East London. What the f*** is a “Sale Advisor”? I’m sure you think that your shop is special. That your customers deeply consider their underpants and spend hours contemplating - and being ‘advised’ on which pair to buy. They don’t. They’re underpants. What you have is Sales Staff. Everyone will translate...

Jun 29th

1 note

8 tags

World's WORST Menu

Menu at the not bad Troubadour Cafe, west London. Grids are key in graphic design for both ease of reading & beauty. This is as true for a menu as it is for a website. I guess Troubador didn’t get the memo. Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Muller-Brockmann is a classic book on the subject that everyone should have on their coffee table (if you can find it - its scarce). It...

Jun 18th

1 note

9 tags

Herbal Essences Bottle Designer "On Crack"

Herbal Essences Shampoo & Conditioner Bottles Crack is great fun, probably. But - if you have to be productive, think logically or design bottles you should probably stay off it until the weekend. Is it REALLY that hard to differentiate shampoo & conditioner bottles? (notice text & lid orientation - confused yet?!) Green transparent bottle on left - says shampoo to me. Middle and...

Jun 8th

14 tags

Cooker Tops: The Moral Tragedy

How many people have a cooker top? It’s a trend that’s really caught on in recent years; they’re fairly popular. Why do they all look like that above? (forget the mess - I’m talking knobs). Perhaps I’m slow; I look at the little symbols next to the knob every time I use one - even cookers I’ve used hundreds of times. This is worse where it’s rubbed...

Jun 1st

2 notes

16 tags

iPhone Search is Broken

Times Ive Loaded iPhone Search: ~800 Times Ive Loaded iPhone Search On Purpose: 0 This feature might be useful for some people (anyone?) - but I can’t think of any use cases when I’d want to search my whole phone?! But thats not really the point; the problem is the search implementation breaks the iPhone’s UI. You get to it by either swiping left or pressing the home button on...

May 28th

14 tags

Why Dyson Airblade is Shit

Analysis of Dyson’s Response to this post: Dyson’s Social Media Abortion Dyson Airblade Hand dryer - a bar in London I love what James Dyson has done - the wheelbarrow was OK but the vacuum idea was excellent. Dyson is a company that should be commended for thinking different. It made vacuum cleaners, handdryers & fans sexy - lets see kettles and toasters next? However - after...

May 9th

1 note

9 tags

A Sign So Bad I Almost S*** Myself

New Fugly Sign - Hackney, London For me this is now what I see out of my windows every day. When I saw ‘Dave’ putting this up, if Id had a gun, I would have committed murder - no doubt. Can I preface this by saying - Im sure the Hackney Carers Centre do some great work; that makes this even more sad. What Happened (probably) The work experience boy, told to ‘get us a new...

Apr 16th

1 note

5 tags

The Stupidest Door in The World!

Door, One of London’s Best Cafe’s (near Brick Lane) This truly is State of The Stupid Art - A Fine Vintage: A Classic. Check out the sign - put there out of sheer despiration. You should only EVER use a sign if you can’t come up with a solution that doesnt need one (how many doors should require a sign? NONE!). I sit near the door here quite a lot. About a third of people...

Apr 5th

5 tags

Train Lightswitch Stupid

Brand new train - Brighton > London UK Which switch goes with which light? An otherwise very well designed train had these light switches. In the life of this train the wrong light might be switched on - 100,000 times? x1000 lights just on this train, x500 trains? Thats a lot of wasted time. Im all for giving kids work experience, but letting them design your new train might be a bit...

Mar 26th

5 tags