Sometimes a good design means some tasks are deliberately made difficult: good design for the creator and the user might not be exactly the same.
Here at Cupcake Royale in Seattle they’re taken a clever approach to both only allowing patrons in restrooms, but also ensuring the keys don’t get lost.
Update: Anne Hjortshoj commented on twitter that this isn’t really bad design, it actually works quite well.
My point was, imagine if all keys had cooking equipment attached to them. Wouldn’t that be annoying?
This design is good for Cupcake Royale because:
- Easy way to prevent losing the key
- Controls who can access the bathroom
- Is funny for some patrons, in that they’re using something related to Cupcakes
This design is bad for customer usability since:
- It’s hard to hold – I have big hands and had trouble holding it with one hand
- You may only discover you need a key after you try to go the bathroom, causing an extra trip back to the counter, and back to the bathroom
- You have to find a place to put the key *in* the bathroom, since there isn’t a place to hang it inside
Can you think of a design (or object) that satisfies all of the store’s needs, but is still easy to use for customers?
I think, If something difficult to use that it has bed design.
Bed design is an entirely different challenge
If the customers can help themselves to the key, what’s the point of locking the door? I thought that having a key (that you had to retrieve from a store employee) allowed the store employees to notice and control who was using their restroom.
That’s a good point.