Bad Design

Context: Birkenhead Point



Sensor Bathroom Tap

Problem
As an employee working at Birkenhead Point, it is commonplace to find frustrated and confused women and mothers with small children unable to turn; what should be a simple functional bathroom sink ‘on’. Therefore making what should be a quick consumer encounter in visiting public toilets into a dreaded and sometimes humiliating experience.

The designer’s focus on designing a modern, slick and environmentally friendly sink, involving the removal of taps to increase hygiene and reduce wastage, has lead to the misjudgement of the basic functional necessities people relate and interact with when using bathroom sinks. Human error as made evident in the pictorial exhibition, is thus inevitable. The introduction of a sensory system, misleading the consumer by a large black hole centrally located in the sink, does not turn the tap on. It is in fact two small dots unseen to the human eye, below the head of the tap that acts as the sensory device.

• Human Error 1
  After noticing the absence of taps, the consumer immediately puts their hand underneath the head of the water tap. No water flows.
  


• Human Error 2
  The consumer directed to a large black hole at the front of the sink, places their finger inside. It’s hollow, and the tap doesn’t turn on.
  
  
• Human Error 3
  After the failure of pushing the black hole, the consumer, in response to confusion quickly swipes over the hole at a comfortable distance, underneath the head of the sink. No response.
  
  
• Human Error 4
  In frantic frustration, the consumer begins to hold and touch the sides and head of the tap, in search of a sensory motion on the tap itself.
  

At last….
Two small dots placed at the bottom of the tap, blinded to the human eye, towering directly over the head, lay a sensory device.


Improvement
I propose three concepts to significantly decrease human error, while also maintaining a modern and environmental sink to create a pleasant consumer experience while visiting public bathrooms.

The sensory device will be constructed of silicone rubber making it aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly. The consumer will immediately connect to the symbol of the tap templates and can either swipe or tap the circles to activate the sensor.

The moveable tap allows a mother to move the tap lower for a child to wash their hands or position it upright to even fill up a drink bottle. A tap that many consumers can immediately relate to in bathroom design.

The feminine organic basin and surface communicates to the consumer immediately to place their hands inside the basin, to wash their hands. The massaging sink head, significantly adds a pleasurable experience for women, while washing their hands. Instead of white the colour of the front surface could compliment the colour of the basin, to create liveable objects within the bathroom.