Universal Design...for the Shower?

My Shampoo and Conditioner!

"Universal design, designing for everyone, is a challenge, but one well worth the effort...there is no excuse not to design usable products that everyone can use." 
 Emotional Design, Norman (p.78)

My shampoo and conditioner are just a lighthearted example of 'Universal Design' in action!

There was once a time when I did not need to wear glasses to read anything, let alone the writing on a shampoo or conditioner product! However, over time this has become more and more of a challenge. As you can imagine, it is not exactly convenient to wear your glasses in the shower which has led to many difficulties in reading the labels on such products to find out which is the shampoo and which is the conditioner! Believe me, I have tried many brands but most have almost identical shaped containers, display similar colors and images, and have the identical method and lid design for extracting their contents. Many a time I have washed my hair in conditioner before I realize my mistake. Or, I have soaked the bathroom floor, as I open the shower door to reach for my glasses! 

Then...innovation! Modification! A design for all who have trouble seeing! Look carefully at the above products and you will notice that they are still almost identical in bottle shape, color and decorative image, and believe me, still hard to distinguish by their individual titles. However, a simple modification has been made that helps enormously-the lid for one is at the top and the lid for the other is at the bottom! Easy to feel and understand even without my glasses! A simple design change that means so much to the user.

This speaks somewhat to Behavioral Design for Norman, who states:

"...everyday things have to be used by a wide variety of people: short and tall, athletic and not, who speak and read different languages, who may be deaf or blind, or lack physical mobility or agility-or even hands." (p.78) 

Norman, however, does admit that usability is a complicated topic and requires a dedicated application of the principles of universal human-centered design.  

For Vicente:

"...we design technology that's tailored to our knowledge of the human factors that govern our behavior." (p.60) ..."we don't realize that our apparent shortcomings aren't necessarily signs of human frailty...the problem is that technology hasn't been designed to fit our bodies..." (p.66)


Being finicky about what seem to be small details in design may be all that makes the difference  between a somewhat successful adoption and universal usage and appeal. More importantly, it may prevent people berating themselves for 'errors' or seeming 'inabilities' in the face of day to day interactions with tools and objects in their world.


Every context needs its own Universal Design...for the Shower!