When Design Undermines Function

I took time during the Christmas holidays to read Simplexity by Jeffrey Kluger upon the recommendation of a good friend. The book holds a series of different articles arguing that simplicity and complexity are not as straightforward as is conventionally held. Reading this article by Alice Rawsthorne in the NYT has reminded me about one of the chapters that posited an explanation for the increasing complexity in electronic gadgets.

As that story illustrates, the increased tendency to design digital functionality in many ordinary gadgets has made them almost incapable of common use. I would ask that what does it benefit a person to purchase and install a faucet so sophisticated that it requires an Internet search to turn off? It appears that designers are opting for sophisticated gadgets as a primary factor and thereby delegating to second choice the question of function. Other gadgets that are getting unnecessarily complicated are the common household entertainment gadgets which have a plethora of inbuilt functions that are rarely used.

As the book suggests, the greater driver of the digitization euphoria comes from the fact that most of the software designers are designing for themselves. They forget that a majority of people want good looking things but do not wish to have to refer to a 300-page manual to install and watch their Plasma screen. There's no doubt that programmers are smart people but there's no reason to show off with my Plasma TV or mobile phone.