UMO-2nd Boycott Bad-Design Contest'’06

UMO-2nd Boycott Bad-Design Contest'’06

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The contest is closed now!

Click here to see the Gallery

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  • Open to everybody
  • No Limit on number of entries
  • No entry fee
  • Awards worth Rs 30,000/-
  • Deadline: November 3rd, 2006

UsabilityMatters.org [UMO] is holding this competition for identifying Bad-Designs as part of our activities towards the World Usability Day-2006. The entries will be exhibited on 14th November 2006 on the World Usability Day.

Participation is open to everybody from every country in the world, and from any background- designers and design sensitive consumers!

There is no Entry fee .

Please go through the rules and regulations – and in particular – the conditions applicable to the intellectual property rights.

Theme for the Competition

Day-to-day nuisances with Technology

Technology has become a way of life, but at the cost of ease of use. We come across so many products and systems at offices, banks, restaurants, theaters, reservation counters, transport stations and for that matter even in our homes. Most of them are pleasing to look at and offer great features but are rarely of any use. The common experience that has been observed amongst the users of these new age products and services is frustration leading to annoyance. I as a user need to learn how to use a product that I would buy; often I get annoyed in figuring out how it works, what it offers and how to go about using it.

No two ATM machines of the same bank installed in two different locations of the city behave similarly as expected. In offices we need trained attenders to fetch us beverages from vending machines. In public places we need human help to get general information even though it is displayed through signage, often in bad ways. There are about 30,000 unusable objects around us, not just in public places but everywhere else including our homes. In all it will take about five years of our precious life time to learn using these badly designed products, systems and environments.

The objective of this competition is to identify most badly designed product or a system or a service that we use in our day-to-day lives, get annoyed with and eventually ignore.

For inspirations and ideas, you can refer to Boycott Bad Designs'05, this was a program organized by UMO to identify and raise awareness about the badly designed products.

Awards and Acknowledgements

A jury will select the top 10 examples of bad design, all the short listed entries will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 3000 /- (Rs. Three Thousand Only) each.

The top examples will be identified based on their relevance of content, and the context in which the bad design is been identified.

We are in process of putting a jury of well-known professionals and socially active personalities. The names will be announced in due course, depending on confirmation.

An exhibition of the winning and short listed entries will be held and UMO will publish an exhaustive report of entries.

Deadline for Submission

Bad-Designs will be accepted through November 3rd, 2006

Rules and Regulations

Entries : No Limits on entries

Format : Image/photograph with description of the problem area.
The image/photograph could be either in digital format or a hardcopy.
The digital images should be of jpeg format (not more than 500x400 pixels and with a minimum resolution of 200dpi)
The photographs should clearly depict the problem identified.

Entries in hard-copy/print format will not be returned.

Exhibition and Prize distribution

On World Usability Day, November 14, 2006, at Hyderabad.

Submitting your entries

Mail your examples of bad-designs keeping the competition name in subject line to usabilitymatters [at] gmail [dot] com.

If you are sending through snail mail, use the following address:

UMO- Boycott Bad Designs Contest ‘06
UsabilityMatters.Org,
Plot no.12, Penthouse, ICRISAT colony,
Road no.11, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. India.500 045
ph: +91-0-9849301500

Please mention a little background information about yourself that may help identify you with your work and your email id that will help us get back to you with any communication.

Intellectual property rights

UMO, in its sole discretion, may use the art-work (images, photograph, written content) for any purpose, and change, alter, amend, add to, delete from and otherwise modify, including but not limited to, any and all the content that is submitted or posted with cuts, edits, rearrangements, additions and deletions and other alterations.

The responsibility for authenticity of all the submitted content, including the art-work and the personal information rests solely with the provider, and UMO will assume no role in case of litigations and copied works. The involved parties shall have to settle the matter themselves, within the conditions the original work was published/released.

We respect your privacy and will not be giving out, or sharing your personal information with any third party, for commercial or non-commercial use.

2006 - 09.16.
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Satya Prakash on 29-09-’06 16:12 said:
I want to understand what is the thing we will achieve by this competition. Prizes and awards are ok. There should be a clear purpose of this whole thing for folks to participate actively. Which groups are expected to visit the exhibition?
shashank shekhar on 11-10-’06 10:31 said:
Hi! just wanted 2 know dat how do u take the initiative of further promoting the award winning entries of the relevant theme for the betterment of the human society (causing a general awarness),if any??
TeamUMO on 11-10-’06 12:23 said:
Hi Shashank,
First, you can opt to be a volunteer, see http://www.usabilitymatters.org/blog/console/entry.php?id=292.

Reshma Parveen from your institute is already in touch with us for promoting the awareness of usability and spreading the word for the event.
Then, we do host all the entries for future reference purpose, just point the link to relevant archives in the next discussion you want to promote the award winning entries (http://www.usabilitymatters.org/blog/Boycott_Bad-Design_05.php)

Hi Satya,
If reading the post, and the theme does not help, write to usabilitymatters-at-gmail-dot-com for a detailed discussion :)
B. Newsome on 19-10-’06 23:45 said:
Since getting aclimated with this profession (current student - RIT), I want to know if this competition is open to college students as well as professionals in the field?
TeamUMO on 23-10-’06 10:48 said:
Dear B. Newsome,
Yes this is indeed open to all (and the first line in this post says so).

Please use correct credentials to post.
Cheers
Srinivas on 24-10-’06 10:52 said:
Basically this competition is really good to have , the reason being see in our daily life we interact with many things like TV, Computers, Glossary Items etc when you are interacting sometimes you feel bad, hssshsuuuu what is this sick sick....
if this have been like the other way then it might be good this idea will come only to people who deals with usability and all and this contest idea is something similar to that ...

UMO wants us to tell what are the bad designs you see in your daily life.... and coming to gifts ... its only to let more people participate ...... in other countries we need to enroll (pay ) to participate in these type of programs and here UMO is giving us opportunities for FREE and this is something good ... start joining hands ... then you will know why things contest it ...


Nothing personal wanted to let you know the theme of this contest..

-srinivas ( www.laksinu.com )
Raj on 01-11-’06 18:03 said:
Can i enter the competition with pictures take from my 1.3 mega pixel mobile camera?
mannan on 06-11-’06 17:51 said:
he cheated us in his previous company i know him very well, he don't even know abcd's of flash too. used the company employees for personal freelance jobs and never paid us too(devil)
Srinivas on 07-11-’06 17:18 said:
Hello Mannan, For your comment please donot say that this is hopeless contest ... Everyone knows why this contest is and what is the advantage of this .... we are using many many unusable products and we are still living with it cause we have no choice .... bapu or rather i would say UMO is trying to tell us to figure those unusable products and make it as a unusable product ...
To your questions

1) He even sells his ideas
Do you know did he sell any idea of anyone before do u have some proof for that ?

2) i really dont know a guy doesnt even know html properly is working for microsoft.
Usability Professional need not know HTML but its a good to have as you said he should only complain on designs and give solution for that being a designer you may need to accept it and take critisium ... DESIGNER IS NOT A REALLY GOOD DESIGNER IF HE/SHE does not know to take critisium.

3) About Freelance
This contest is no way releated to that he is not asking you to pay Rs 0 also to get into this .... Btw why did u accept work without taking the advance its your problem....
Anyways ... pointing finger is very easy taking back is hard ...
I do not see your personal details anywhere ... )

-Srinivas
http://www.laksinu.com
nmluuosdg on 08-11-’06 22:59 said:
yes i worked with him at cordys, he ditched the company by using all the resources for his works. he even wrote some articles taking the base of our ideas. and every one at cordys know about it. and ofcourse every hates him now. except 2 or 3.if he is so talented then let him give one problem and its solution. usability doesnt mean only pointing the problem but should also give solution to that problem. as you said pointing finger is very easy ". and thats what is happening here.


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