Box
Ergonomics
0-Draft
– December
2000
Essay1
– Explanation of Box Ergonomics--will cover the following topics:
>500
words
1. The general definition of Box Ergonomics,
that everything should fit, that it should be boxy and functionally integrated.
2. Will preach the theory of box ergonomics and
why it is important.
3. Why box ergonomics makes things easier to
use—the importance of unity, having everything on hand when it’s needed, the
feeling of tight integration.
4. why clutter, especially cords and tangles
and piles of stuff are bad.
5. Why a box?
Because a cube is the most efficient way to store stuff in 3d, and thus
cubes and cube like shapes are ideally ergonomic containers.(rectabgkes)
Perhaps
work on idea of Meta(Mother) Box and sub-boxes
.
Box
Ergonomics – Essay 1
Explanation
of Box Ergonomics
Box Ergonomics is a philosophy of
design with one main motive:
integration. It’s philosophy can
be summed up in a sentence:
Everything
should fit
That said, this essay will examine
what Box Ergonomics is, and how it got started.
I once bought a universal power
adaptor that plugs into a bunch of different types of socket. The adaptor itself was a giant block with a
cord dangling out. Included in the plastic
package was a clip with the extension sockets to attach to the plug. Inevitably the plug and extension sockets
became separated, if only for a little while, and I began cursing the
design: “Why can’t they just fit
together?” I thought. It was bad enough
having to wrap and unwrap the cord every time I wanted to store and use the
plug, but having to search around for the container containing the adaptor
plugs was wholly unacceptable. That’s
when I conceived a philosophy that would end all such troubles, Box
Ergonomics. My first thoughts were that
it would deal mainly with small consumer electronics and corded products, but I
realized after probing it, that it could apply to any design whatever. At its core it is just a philosophy of
unity. Tight integration, both
spatially and in terms of aesthetic design, makes things easier to use. I will first discuss integration of space,
and why rectangles are ideally containers.
--Getting rid of wires and other
appendages--
Back in my Nintendo years, I remember my mom always
complaining about the tangle of cords that my Nintendo controllers were
responsible for. My friend’s mom was
constantly wrapping the cord around the controller and storing it next to the
Nintendo, only to be unwrapped again at each playing session. Clearly something was wrong; it is natural
to want to store things in an orderly way, and if the only way to store
controllers is to spend a minute wrapping and tying each cord around the
controller, people are willing to do this.
Obviously this is a very strong urge.
I believe controllers should be cordless and should have a recharging
rack built into the console set. If it
is impossible to make a controller cordless, they should have a spool to wind
the cord in.
--Why Box Ergonomics makes things easier and more
enjoyable to use—
Box Ergonomics makes everything feel
connected and unified. People enjoy
order, and the more order, the more enjoyment and peace of mind. If everything has a place built in, then
order will naturally follow. As an
additional benefit, if a place exists for a product not yet bought, consumers
will want to fill it. It is a natural
urge to fill empty spaces, and this can lead to purchases along the same
product line.
Ease of use is heavily based on
familiarity. Integrated design is
essential for maximum familiarity along a wide range of products. More importantly, actually, is having
everything at hand the instant it is needed.
As with the plug example, if I had the adaptors on a tiny rack built
into the plug, and the cord was in a spool, and the plug itself folded down
into the box, it would be much more pleasant to use and own. Right now the cord is wrapped around the
plug and its stored in a box with the adaptor.
Why is a the cord wrapped around the plug? Because this is the most natural way to store things not in use –
as a box. The plug is wrapped up in its
boxiest state and stored in a box, so clearly there is something about boxes
that is important.
--Boxes, the most efficient shape
for storage—
A cube is the most volume efficient
3d object. This is why cubes and cube
like structures are used for all kinds of storage (almost all buildings are
based around cubes, for example.) Ideal
Box Ergonomic design uses cubes to maximize space efficiency and create a sense
of order. Obviously, not all devices
can be cubes. If it is impossible to
make a device cubic, it should at least fit into a cube for storage
purposes. For example, a friend of mine
once had a TV with a hole to store the remote control when it was not in
use. The remote control was often in
the socket, signaling his desire to put it away whenever he wasn’t using it.
Essay
2—Application of Box Ergonomics -- will explain how to apply box ergonomics to
all manner of products.
1. Will explain how companies can use box
ergonomics to increase sales. Making
people buy into a family of integrated products.
2. The dangers of box ergonomics for the
consumer.
3. Case studies, console systems, apple
computer. my drill, my razor, Eric’s TV
4. Bags with extra pockets for missing items. Lego mindstorm bag.
Box
Ergonomics-Essay 2
Application
of Box Ergonomics
Box
Ergonomics can be a powerful tool for increasing sales. By designing products that fit into each
other seamlessly, consumers will be tempted to buy other products in the product
family to create a sense of unity. This
goes back to the principle of filling gaps, if manufacturers intentionally
leave gaps for extra add-ons and other related extras, consumers will naturally
want to fill them. The greater and more
obvious the gaps, the greater the desire to fill them.
That said, it is important that
consumers not be abused by a family of Box Ergonomic compliant products. Box Ergonomics can pose a potential danger
to consumers, because once they buy into a product line they are “locked
in.” If a consumer wants to change
product lines, he or she must start from the ground up with another product
line. Box Ergonomics should not take
the place of interoperability. It is
primarily a design philosophy, not a marketing philosophy. An excellent example of Box Ergonomic abuse
is razors. My Gilette Mach 3 razor is
not interoperable with any other brand of razor. Gilette makes certain the handles are widely available, and
charges a fortune for blades. There is
no reason why handles and blades should not be interoperable, but they are not
simply for the reason that it is more profitable the way things are. In other respects, however, the razor is an
excellent example of box ergonomics.
The blade fits onto the razor, the razor snaps into a case. On the bottom of the case are slots for
extra blades. The entire design is very
nice because it reduces the clutter and puts everything in a tidy little
box[Picture of Razor].
Box Ergonomic design does not
necessarily have to fit into a perfect cube.
As with my razor it can have curves on the surface, but the over all
shape should approximate a cube, and there should be no appendages that cannot
be wound in or otherwise “tidied away.”
---Some
More Examples---
Apple has complied with Box Ergonomics
more than any other company I know.
Their G4 cube [Picture] is a perfect example of Box Ergonomics in
action-it is a box, everything fits-and it has only a minimum of cordage. Possible improvements to this design could
include an infrared keyboard and mouse with docking bays beneath the monitor
for recharging. This way, if the user needed a clear desk he could dock his
keyboard and mouse and have a completely free desk. Apple’s iMac is also a perfect example of Box Ergonomics-more so
than the cube, even, since everything –the monitor and the computer- does
actually fit.
My drill has spaces for much used
components such as the screwdriver heads and the tightening tool
[picture]. These have proved immensely
useful whenever I use the drill.
In conclusion, Box Ergonomics
essentially calls for space efficiency and reduction of clutter. It also makes available all components
necessary for operation of a device, attached to or packaged with the device
itself.