See this water tap. Now when you want to turn it on, what do you do? What I did, is grab the handle and try to turn it anti clockwise, around its vertical axis. And nothing happened, it refused to budge. Here’s how you turn the water on with this tap: You see, it has … Read more
I was at this coffee shop and saw the two machinettas. Of course I didn’t buy one – as coffee lovers, we have all the machinettas we need at home – but I did notice how the pair represents two different solutions to a small but important design bug that the classic machinetta had subjected … Read more
An important element of everyday product design that is all too often ignored is the footprint of an object. I mean, look at these two electric kettles, which are very common kitchen appliances. They serve the exact same purpose; they use the exact same technology; they have the same water capacity. But there’s a big … Read more
Was on a United flight enjoying my coffee (such as it was), when I noticed the text on the paper cup. Nice cup: Makes them feel very ecological, no doubt… someone in Marketing must’ve though it a good point to brag about. Except that it’s completely meaningless, of course. This statement remains true even if … Read more
Here is an item I saw on the wonderful Nostalgia Online site. They have a large collection of vintage kitchen utensils, most of which I do recall from my childhood, and many of which I run into as I rummage in flea markets in search of computing history items. However, this one I’ve never seen … Read more
We’re all familiar with the spring-loaded paper napkin dispenser to the right. Every low-priced restaurant and diner has these; you’d think it has hit a sweet spot of stable cost and performance. After all, it works, doesn’t it? And yet, recently I’ve run into a major improvement on the theme: a competing design that has … Read more
Most cafeterias sell water to their thirsty customers in plastic bottles full of mineral water. The water is no better than the tap water in most countries, its environmental impact is dubious, and of course it turns a tidy profit for the business. As a customer I find it annoying to pay for one of … Read more
I was at a fancy home and kitchenware store and saw the box in the photo here, containing – it says on the front – “Salt & Pepper Napkin Rings”. This sounded weirdly intriguing, like “Oregano & Thyme Spark Plugs”, so I took a closer look. Turns out this is one of the stranger design … Read more
Here is the control panel of a counter-top cold/hot Tami 4 water bar. Push a button – you get hot water. Push another – here’s a refreshing cup of cold water. But… which button?! Of course, that’s why the buttons – all seven of them, for there’s a lot more you can make this glorified … Read more
We all know these automatic coffee machines: you place a paper cup under the nozzle, hit a button, and out comes a flow of some sort of coffee or chocolate drink. The machine at right is a good example. The problem with such manual cup placement is that you risk misaligning the cup to the … Read more
