Usability Hell

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 ‘priority’ not ‘only’.

Hmm, so does it mean if I’m in the queue, a disabled person or child gets to push me out of the way? Or does it mean if there’s a queue I should go to the downstairs convenience? That’s all unclear. Most people will probably have an interpretation of this sign that works best for them - which causes more problems than it solves.

So either drop the sign or say ‘Disabled & Children Only’