It is very obvious that I hate the design for the lift interface as I experienced a few misinterpretations once I entered the lift. For a safety-critical system, of course, it needs to have the right Mappings principle, but the other design also needs to be emphasized too. Having too many labels on one button is making it difficult to understand the level I am in and the level I will be going to. There was no sound to signify which floor am I, just the sounds of the door slides open or close. Here, it breaks the Signifier principles. As mentioned by Norman (2013), signifiers are more important than affordances since it specifies the way we can identify all the possibilities. I tried to use the lift for the second time that day, but I stand at the left side of the lift and saw a small screen displayed which level am I every time the lift moved. I was quite surprised that the small screen only appeared at the left side. Questions running into my mind, why did they not put the same screen at the right side and why must all the labels be too close to each other with no proper explanation for which shop is at which floor. There were only a few labels with L where most of us would say that L means the Level and there was more label with P that I could not even understand the abbreviation is for which floor until now. This is why I hate the design of the lift in Vivacity because it is difficult to interpret the labels for each floor.

According to Norman (2013), it is difficult to determine a good design because it fits our needs very well that the design is harder to identify. I really like the design of the water vending machine because it covers almost all of the 7 fundamental design principles. From the previous description, I have described the machine to fulfill the Signifiers principle. The sound coming from the machine as soon as I insert my RM1 note into the money slot indicates the machine is currently accepting my money. This particular procedure actually consists of two different sounds, the money being accepted and the money being rejected. It tells me to proceed with choosing the water or I need to reinsert the money again. The fully green lights displayed below each can is an example of Feedback principle. It lights out fully after the money is being accepted by the machine, which is to notify the users to proceed to the next step and choose only the available water. If there is no available can for a particular water, the button will glow in red. The architecture of the water vending machine is very easy to understand, which leads me to Discoverability, another design principle. There are a lot of vending machine around us and most of them using the same concept and displayed the same interface. Looking through all the buttons and slots, it is easier to identify the roles of everything. The rectangular slot exactly the same size as the money, the buttons in green and red below each can, and the compartment below to pick up the can. This is the best design so far, and it is cheaper to buy can drink here.

I was feeling hungry and exhausted while walking along the waterfront that evening. There were a few stalls along the way but I was craving for McDonald’s burger. Walking back to Plaza Merdeka would be more tiring. So, I decided to continue my walk towards the McDonald’s self-service kiosk, near to the Kuching’s Cat Statue. I entered the restaurant and saw three kiosks available to be used. I choose the leftmost kiosk and touch the screen as instructed by the main screen, Touch to Start. Then, I touch the button for Take-Away. There was an option to choose the language which is English or Malay, but once I choose the Take-Away button, the screen immediately changed to the payment method, not giving me a chance to change the language. It was not a big deal since there must be another reason why the screen changed as soon as I choose either Take Away or Eat In. I was stuck for a while, to choose either to pay using my credit card or pay at the counter. Maybe being a first-time user, I am used to be a little bit extra careful to pay using a credit card. So, I choose to pay at the counter and the menu screen appeared. I went through the menu and choose to order my desired burger, Big Mac. There was no option to add the amount of burger directly after I choose one. I need to add one burger and back to the menu, then I can add another burger. Once I had chosen my desired food, I pressed Done and it goes to the confirmation screen. The kiosk then printed out the invoice for me to pay at the counter. This case study can be related to one of the fundamental design principles which are the Conceptual Model.

It has been a while since I used my scientific calculator. Most of my assignments and projects for a few semesters only require programming with a simple calculation. I never thought this semester I need to use my calculator again, especially for the logarithm calculation. I pressed the ON button and the screen displayed the cursor and a few modes on top. It takes a few seconds for me to recall back the function for each button. I pressed the log button and entered the value needed. Then, I pressed the SHIFT button, the top-left button and the screen displayed S on the top-left, indicating that I have pressed the particular button. After that, I pressed the fraction button and the screen displayed the improper fraction template. I entered the required value and pressed the equal button to get the answer. The screen then displayed the answer below the equation that I have made before. This case study can be related to one of the fundamental design principles which are Feedback.

It was the same day when I washed my clothes at the self-service laundry. Some of my clothes were still damp but luckily the self-service laundry also provides drying machines. Since I still have a few of the special coins, I decided to dry my clothes there. Furthermore, if I were to bring back all my damp clothes back to my room, it would be a hassle. I loaded all of my clothes inside the machine and closed the door tightly. Then, I pushed the button with label medium temperature. I took out the special coins and inserted them one by one into the coin slot until the number of coins left to be inserted becomes 0. Lastly, I pushed the Start button and the machine started to do the operation. The steps were just short and simple, making it easier for me to understand. The simple screen also made feel at ease as it displayed the time left for the operation to be completed. This case study can be related to one of the fundamental design principles which are Affordances.

Few days have been raining and I haven’t done my laundry. That Saturday morning, I decided to do my laundry at the nearest self-service laundry in Desa Ilmu. I took out my RM20 note and change it into special coins using the Change Machine since the washing machine only accept the special coin to do the operation. I loaded my clothes on one of the empty machines and closed the door. Then, I pushed the button with the label 40C that seems to be the temperature of the water that I would prefer to use. There was a green light appeared on the left of the button to indicate that I have chosen the temperature. The screen on top of all the buttons also displayed the coin needed to start the operation. Before proceeding with the coins, I poured a cup of detergent powder and half a cup of softener into the dispenser on top of the machine. Even though the machine might have it owns detergent and softener, I still preferred to use my own. After that, I took out 7 of the special coins and inserted them one by one into the coin slot. Every coin inserted, the screen displayed the number of coins needed left to be inserted. Once everything settled, I pushed the Start button and the machine started to do the washing. The screen then displayed the time left for the washing operation to be completed. Besides, I can see myself for each step that currently ongoing inside the machine through the green light displayed on each label; Wash, Rinse and Spin. This case study can be related to one of the fundamental design principles which are Discoverability.

My friend and I went to Vivacity Megamall, just to release stress after hours of sitting in front of the laptop and do coding. We parked our car at the multilevel parking space and luckily we found one with the shortest distance to the nearest the lift. As soon as we arrived in front of the lift, I quickly pushed the button to go down the level. The door opened and we both entered the lift. Unfortunately, none of us remember at which level did we parked the car and to which level should we pressed the button inside the lift. We were both a bit panicked since there were only the two of us inside the lift at the moment. The button and the description for each level was a bit confusing. I tried to press any button and we ended up at the same level. There are only two buttons that I understand, the G and LG label button which is going to the Ground Floor and Lower Ground Floor respectively. Instead of using the trial and error concept, I just pressed the G button and down we go to the Ground Floor. We reached the Ground Floor safely and walked out from the lift. This case study can be related to one of the fundamental design principles which are Mappings.

I went to DIY Supermarket the other day to look for a new pillow, the neck pillow to be exact. There was a pillow that took my attention away from the others, a white pillow with a few stripes of blue sky colour. I could not find any price tag on the display rack nor the pillow itself but luckily there is the barcode tag attached on the pillow. As far as I know, when there is only barcode tag attached on an item, I can check the price at the counter or use any price checker available around the supermarket. Maybe it was my lucky day because the price checker was just beside the rack. So, I took the pillow with me and placed the barcode tag correctly, just below the price checker where a red laser is being emitted. It takes me a few seconds to scan the barcode since the laser is very limited to a specific size and distance to detect the barcode. There was a beep sound, notifying that the barcode has been scanned and the interface displayed the name, ID and the price of the pillow. This case study can be related to one of the fundamental design principles which are Constraints.

It was a very busy evening and I need some water to keep myself hydrated for the next few hours. Since I was stuck at my faculty due to the heavy downpour outside, I decided to walk down the stairs to the Lower Ground Floor to buy a can of 7 Up which will only cost me RM1. It does not just save my money, but it is also saving my time from walking to Student Pavilion to buy drinks that will cost me more than RM1. Upon arriving in front of the vending machine, the button on the display rack showed green outline light for all cans. The light indicates the availability of the can and green means the can is available. So, I took out my RM1 note from my purse and insert it inside the money slot. The machine gave me a sound to tell me that my money is accepted and the button beamed in full green. I immediately pushed the button below the 7 Up can’s display and the machine gave me another sound that indicates the 7 Up can already be picked up from the lower part of the machine. This case study can be related to one of the fundamental design principles which are Signifiers.