How many times a day you've felt some things could just be "slightly" better than they are now?

It may be your wash-basin tap, that tries hard to impersonate gym equipment by being hard and clumsy when you are all sleepy in morning, or it could be your phone bill that poses more intellectual challenge than toughest of the cryptic-crosswords.

We live in a world that is a consequence of conscious or unconscious design decisions made by the manufacturers or designers of the various systems. Most of times these decisions are resultant of hasty time-lines, compromise on quality or just plain ignorance about 'you'- the one who is going to use them.

The UMO-Boycott Bad-Design Contest'05 was organized with the view of calling attention to the bad design in everyday things with the theme : Annoyances with day-to-day things.

Boycott Bad-Design Contest'05 Winners

The following ten entries were chosen as the best submissions for the "Bad design contest"

Details about the above and also the other entries chosen for the exibition for World Usability Day at Hyderabad are displayed below.You can see the details of each entry, vote for it and add your comments to it.

Team-UMO duly acknowledges it's gratitude towards all the participants.

Entries Preview

13 November 05 - 17:32

Clogging of Kitchen-sink  

After the dish-washing the kitchen sink gets choked.

Bad Designsone commentRead More

02 November 05 - 22:51

Car Bumper Hitting the Pavement  

While parking the car along the pavement there are chances of the bumper hitting the pavement.

Bad Designseight commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:48

No Bus Number on Side of the Bus  

Bus number is only displayed on the front and the back but it should also be present on the side of a bus.

Bad Designssix commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:42

Window Position for People Standing in Bus  

Window position is improper when we consider people standing in bus who need to bend down again and again to catch the glimpse of approaching bus stop.

Bad Designstwelve commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:40

Foot-rest of Honda Activa  

Every time one has to open the foot rest by hand, the position of this element is such that it just cannot be opened by foot.

Bad Designsone commentRead More

02 November 05 - 22:38

Ketchup bottle  

Ketchup being viscous in nature, it is difficult to pour it from a glass bottle.

Bad Designsone commentRead More

02 November 05 - 22:37

Shampoo Sachet  

Shampoo sachets cannot be easily opened with wet hands.

Bad Designsthree commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:36

Train Berths of a 3 Tier Bogie  

The berths of a 3 tier bogie don’t provide enough head space. When someone is sleeping on the middle berth, people on middle as well as lower berths can no even sit due to less head space.

Bad Designssix commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:35

Styrofoam Cups  

While using a Styrofoam cup one does not have any clue of the temperature of the liquid contained inside it.

Bad Designstwo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:32

Tip of Adhesive Tape for Tearing  

Adhesive tape rolls tends to stick back on the roll after use, if not mounted on a tape dispenser properly. Each time one has to search its end.

Bad Designsten commentsRead More

In Indian scenario, most of the people prefer to use water in toilets. But in public toilets, in toilets at railway stations or at the bus stations it is unhygienic to use flush, mugs or even the soap bar with hands.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:30

Toilet pan  

The level of water in the commode is such that with every chunk of stool that falls in water has to spill and splash on person using the commode.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:26

Chips Pack  

Many branded potato chips sold in pillow pouches cause problem because opening those packet requires considerable amount of pinch grip strength.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:23

Oil Containers - Pouches and Bottles  

The medium sized (1 liter) liquid filled pouches like milk pouches; edible oil pouches etc. used in homes have many issues of handling. Same is the case with oil bottles.

Bad Designstwo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:21

Fevikwik Tube Outlet  

The outlet of a small Fevikwik tube is hard to re-open as it easily gets stuck due to strong adhesive.

Bad Designsseven commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:20

Honda Dio  

While pillion gets off the seat, be it a Saree or pant, it invariably gets struck in he side protrusion of the stand being.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:18

Bajaj back kick  

Bajaj Scooter needs to be tilted before starting.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:16

Plastic moulded chairs  

The plastic molded chairs are light weight and made of brittle material. With heavy load they tend to split at the bottom.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:15

Silencer Placement  

Silencer of the a is badly placed as after some time it produces heat which is dangerous if someone happens to touch it unknowingly.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:12

USB Drive and USB Insertion Port on CPU  

By looking at a USB drive or even the USP insertion port on the CPU one cannot make out the way to insert into the port.

Bad Designsfour commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:10

Ventilator Pane Cleaning  

Cleaning of ventilator panes is a very tedious job and becomes very difficult if one has to clean each and every component of it.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:07

Power Adapters in Cell Phones-02  

Most of the mobile phone chargers or power adapters come with two point pin that doesn’t always fit well into a normal switch board and as a result it keeps on hanging from it.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:05

Usha Lexus Mixer Grinder Lid  

One needs to open the lid at least 5-6 times, to grind something in this chutney jar!!

Bad Designssix commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 22:02

Lead Pencil  

Lead pencil pen has poor lead holding mechanism as it does not utilize the last 25% of lead’s length.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

When ever scanning a page the scanner will add a shadow or water mark effect to the scanned image.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 21:55

Computer Keyboard Cleaning  

Cleaning the keyboard is a task in itself as the dust gets in between the keys.

Bad Designsthree commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 21:53

Power Adapters in Cell Phones  

People find it very inconvenient to carry the Adapter / Charger along with them where ever they travel.

Bad Designsone commentRead More

02 November 05 - 21:51

Wire of Pressing Iron  

It is very inconvenient to lift up the iron and place iron at its base as the wire always hinders. Hence the iron keeps falling down and may end up burning clothes if not noticed immediately.

Bad Designsthree commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 21:50

Clothes Hanger  

Clothes always slip off the smooth metal hangers with tapering sides and sometimes fall down or fly off when there is wind blowing.

Bad Designsone commentRead More

02 November 05 - 21:48

Thumbtack (Hardboard pin)  

The problem with the thumbtack has everything to do with the thumb or thumbnail to be more precise. Using it to secure something on a soft board is not a problem. The problem lies in taking it out.

Bad Designstwo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 21:46

Paper Wastage in ATM’s  

Many people take statement printouts for every transition and throw it in the dustbin in the ATM-Room. In one hour we can see the bin gets filled.

Bad Designsthree commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 21:44

Currency Note  

The currency notes are too confusing if one goes only by their size and color, which form the criteria for choosing a currency note for payment. One has to recheck every time he or she has to make some payment. Checking has to be more careful while counting a bundle of notes or a big amount.

Bad Designsone commentRead More

02 November 05 - 21:42

Soluble Detergent Cakes  

Detergent cakes are ‘actually’ soluble in water. After using it for a while one can actually dip the detergent case into a bucket full of water and you have liquid detergent ready.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 21:40

Glasses for People with Spectacles  

While watching a 3D movie one has to wear 3D spectacles, which is quite exciting. But what about those who are already having their glasses on.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

‘Hit and try’ or better call it ‘put and try’! If one forgets to throw away dead batteries right at the first time, then they are sure to be thrown out the next time.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 21:33

Two Way Switches  

A two-way switch can be identified by looking at it, but what about entering a dark room and figuring out whether it has been switched off or the tube itself is gone?

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 21:31

Nokia 7600  

This leaf shaped mobile is not comfortable to hold.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 21:29

Three Way Switch  

Switch is a connotation for any on-off situation. The switch here works actually three ways but only two conditions are represented.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 21:19

Fuel Indicator  

The fuel indicator of Honda Unicorn bike indicates the value as zero even if there is 2 to 3 liters of petrol left in it.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 21:10

LCD Projector Remote  

This remote control of a Sanyo projector has very confusing and improper interface which hampers its functioning.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 20:49

Eureka Forbes Water Purifier  

This product is designed in such a way that one has to hold the bottle/ glass in his or her hands always while filling water.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 20:47

“Insert Card” Message  

Mobile phones are not available offline i.e. without inserting the SIM card one cannot access even the independent features which could be used offline, e.g. Games.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 20:45

Canon 300X SLR, 350 DSLR "Lens Cap"  

Canon is one of the best known camera makers. This particular camera, no wonder is good but has a lens cap with out any string that holds it to the camera.

Bad DesignsNo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 20:43

Flair Angular Pen  

This is a ball point pen with "strangely" shaped front tip, called Angular Tip by the manufacturer. This angular point adds nothing to the utility on the contrary only adds to the inconvenience while writing.

Bad Designsthree commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 20:41

Nail Cutter  

Cutting nails with a nail cutter is an easy job, but collecting the pieces of nails scattered all over the place is definitely not as easy.

Bad Designstwo commentsRead More

02 November 05 - 20:30

Power Switch  

This is the MCB Main Power Switch in any house. People generally get confused with its On/Off functionality.

Bad Designsone commentRead More

Driver does hardly switch to Upper/dipper of headlights and create a glare, driving during night time. Moreover the proximity between the headlights and the side indicator becomes a problem; one cannot see the blinking indicator due to the glare of the headlight in upper. The glare does not only hurt eyes of the driver but also increases risk while driving.

Bad Designstwo commentsRead More

12 August 05 - 17:43

Mixer lid  

MixerLid Operation

While operating the mixer, the snaps act as locking device. But these snaps are not sufficient enough to hold the lid of mixer jar. It needs an external force for keeping it on the jar as the operator has to push it by one hand. This keeps the operator engaged unnecessarily.

Bad Designstwo commentsRead More

10 August 05 - 17:34

Gear shift knob in cars  

Gear shift knob Thumbnail

The gear shift knob requires considerable learning efforts for somebody new to the car. Instead of linear and simple gear shifts system dictates the user behavior.

Bad Designstwo commentsRead More

There is confusion between the directions in which the knob is pressed to activate indicator and finally the direction in which the indicator glows. The indicator is shown in left and right sides whereas the knob has to be moved in up/down direction.

This particular design is observed in Maruti 800 and Opel Corsa.

Bad DesignsRead More

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