Michael Grace

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should”

Sometimes trying to be efficient results in less than efficient results. You have all probably seen manifestations of this even if you didn’t recognize it. I challenge you to take the next few days and try to recognize these things around you and in things that you might be trying to design, build, or do. I would like to present to you one example that I have encountered since moving to Austin.

 

 

Exhibit A:

Now I’m guessing that one day a person was put in charge of deciding on a layout for the men’s bathroom. They probably calculated the remaining distance left for the urinal area and exclaimed, “Hey! There’s enough space for 2 urinals!”

 

 

 

 

SEE! There’s enough space… or is there?

Let’s put it in context of its use.

 

 

 

 

Woah!! That’s close! And we know it! This is why both urinals almost never get used at the same time. What a waste! If only one urinal had been put in place it would be a much more luxurious experience and other guys wouldn’t be forced to decide to use a stall or break the universal protocol.

Please! As you are designing, building, and going about your every day life, don’t just do something because you can. Make sure that you take the time to consider the use cases and the context in which the disign, tool, app, etc. will be used.

 

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