Design: It’s The Little Things That Matter…

“Don’t be alarmed, but I’m literally right behind you!”

Okay, I don’t normally take photos in the men’s bathroom, but I’m always thinking about design and how we experience the designed world around us, so I couldn’t let this one go by unnoticed.

I was at a work event (at an undisclosed location) and had to go to the bathroom, which I though would be a pretty unremarkable thing to do. As soon as I entered though I realized there was an awkward problem created by design. Someone designed the bathroom layout in a not so great way.

“Don’t be alarmed, but I’m right behind you. If you back up, know that I’m literally right behind you” I uttered.

Now I’m all for making friends, but usually not in public bathrooms, and certainly not at the urinal…maybe the sink while washing hands is okay.

See, the way this bathroom was designed the two urinals are at a 90 degree right angle to each other with the “butt brush” space for each…pee-er? er, person occupying the same space basically. So if you’re standing at the one on the left, any new bathroom attendees have to slide in behind you which feels super weird.

Yes, there is a stall, and in hindsight maybe I should have just used that. And if someone was using the stall I could have just waited. But what’s the point of having two urinals if they both can’t be used simultaneously in a (psychologically) comfortable manner?

No worries, we had a chuckle and no one was scarred for life. My point is though design does matter. Think about the entire experience for your guests, for every facet of their visit, and think about their physical, psychological, and any other category of comfort they might have. The more we design spaces and experiences that allow people to focus on the positive and forget the negative in their lives the better off they will be, and we will be.

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From products, to retail, to built spaces, if you don’t want your guests discomforted or, worse yet, scarred for life, contact us at Neon Carrot and we will help you create meaningful, nurturing, non-awkward designed experiences for your guests.

-Chris