The Flaw of Everyday Things

I enjoyed reading chapter one of The Psychology of Everyday Things. The examples are so real world and the embarrassing experiences of dealing with those things just happen in our lives. Take the faucets in my apartment for example. The image below shows the faucet in one of the two bathrooms.


It's very simple. I push the faucet backward and the water runs out.


However, what if I want to have hot water? I tried to push it to the left-it doesn't allow me to push. To the right-no allowance either! Just cold water running slowly... There's no handles with "H" and "C" on it like normal faucets. The visibility of the design is so bad!



I didn't figure out how to have hot water when I moved in the apartment last July. So, every time after using the toilet, I bother myself to walk away to the kitchen to wash my hand because I don't like cold water.

Just a couple of weeks ago, when I was cleaning the sink and faucet of the bathroom, it suddenly occurred to me that why not try to turn the faucet around-and it affords me to do that. What happened next is more interesting-A couple of seconds after I turned the faucet to the left, it gave me feedback with hot water! After I turned it to the right-cold water! Why didn't I think of that when I moved in last year in July?! The faucet does look like a knot, doesn't it? Though, the water flow is so small...It takes time to wet the whole hands. Therefore, I still prefer the faucet in the kitchen.

Simplicity is not always good. If the design does not have visible mapping to offer enough clue of the affordance of the article, feedback will not be given and you never know if it's the flaw of the design or the flaw of your mind.