Introduction
In our everyday life we come across various designs. Human centered design is a continuous act of communication. In the case of a successful design, the communication takes place not just between the designer and the user, but also with the user and the design itself. Among these we can term some as good designs (Martínez 134-144). There are many important aspects of a good design like the aesthetic quality of the object, the reliability of the product, usability, and finally the cost along with the functionality and service of the product. There are some certain aspects of a good design that must be apparent in the case. It must respond to the conceptual thinking of the people. We zoom on three objects, the chairs, the bar and the advertising. However, before that, there should be a word or two about Donald Norman’s vision.
Discussion
Donald Norman determines whether an object has good design or not, by four aspects of its design. In the following section we will discuss the four aspects. The first aspect is the visibility or natural mapping. One has to see the thing clearly, and it should be clear to the user in the aspects like shape, size and different features. Then one has to decide if the thing has any function in his or her world, that is the familiarity of the product or its relevance in the person’s environment, and whether the person knows what is the utility of the thing. The second thing will be the feedback. A person must test the object before acquiring it, and realize how the thing responds to his inputs. There are two important questions in the aspect, and they are what and how the product signals does to the person who is buying the product (Martínez 134-144).
There are different channels of feedback like auditory, kinesthetic and visual. Affordance is another aspect in the case. The customer has to think if the properties of the object will allow him to use other possibilities or alternatives and what are the ways he can use the object (beyond the object’s intended use and design). One must think about the constraint of the object in every aspect. For example, what are the things that it will prevent the person to do and if it can cause harm to the person in any circumstances (Thabrew 445-460).
The life line of New York is its subways, and with the basics of good design we can discuss the relevance of the subways of New York. It has been calculated that the total number of riders in New York’s subway system carries more passenger annually than all other mass transit systems in America. It is fourth after Tokyo, Moscow and Seoul as per the annual commuter is concerned. The author indicates, “Things are visible. There are good mappings, natural relationships, between the controls and the things controls. Single controls often have single function. There is good feedback. The system is understandable” (Norman 22).
Bench
The trains that ply in New York subway have comfortable sitting arrangements. All of the trains have installed chairs made from recyclable resources, so that it does not take any toll on the nature. If we look at a compartment of the train we will see there are a total of forty chairs, and they are installed in 3-7-7-3 formation (three sitters, seven sitters, another seven sitters and the last one is another three sitters on one side) in both the sides of the train compartment.
- Visibility: If a person boards a train he will immediately see the sitting arrangements, and he can choose a seat of his or her choice, or even sit on any available place. This approach of arrangement is very practical and offers extreme utility. This is a passenger friendly method for the benefit of the mass.
- Constraint: The benches are quite comfortable and they are designed for the safety of the passengers. At the end of the benches there are steel rods that are connected with the handles that people hold when they are standing. This prevents the person who is sitting on the edge of the chairs from falling. However, the other two forms of benches are flat and these are ordinary sitting objects with not much extra implications. However, minimalism in these two cases is noteworthy. But there are some constraints too. In the seats there is nothing for support if a person sits in a middle position of the arrangement. The person could really hurt himself if the train suddenly brakes or stops unexpectedly. Another very important aspect is, the chairs do not have foam-coated back rests. This could be very useful and relaxing for the passengers too.
- Affordance: It is known that the New York subway is one of the busiest subways of the world, and more than 1.5 billion people travel by it throughout the year. This is itself a statement that the subway system is really affordable. People get comfort in their journey through the subways, and the sitting arrangements in the trains are really responsible for it. The benches also offer passengers to lie down if needed.
- Feedback: Sometimes the people who are traveling by the subway tend to sleep. It shows that the sitting arrangements can provide a bit comfort to the people who are traveling. The number of passengers using the subway is it self a very important and positive feedback for the facilities of the New York subway system.
Bar
One of the typical features of the NY City subway trains is that it has a number of geometrically shaped bars in the compartments. The bars are basically posted in different geometrical shapes as per the shape of the compartment and also for the comfort of the passengers.
- Visibility: There are two types of visibility in the case. There are two big bars that go through the full length of the sitting arrangements and there are some bars that are perpendicular in the compartment. The bars that go parallel with the sitting arrangements are mainly used by the people who do not get to sit in the overcrowded compartments. Also there are four perpendicular bars in the compartment which do help the persons who are standing in the middle of the compartments. These bars are generally used by people who are short in height and can not reach the overhead bars. There are 12 bars in the ends of the sitting arrangements. The bars form a barrier with the sit so that the person who is sitting on the side does not fall from the sitting position in case of an emergency.
- Constraints: In many cases hands of people have slipped from the bars and these types of things can cause really serious accidents. The Transit Authority must think of covering the bars with some type of rubber coating so that the people can grip the bar firmly.
- Affordance: The bars are made of steel and they are not only strong but also durable. Along with the outside body of the train they are wielded into the walls of the train. And this reduces the risk of the bars breaking away. Though the initial costs of the bars is high as they are made of steel, but they provide the best kind of security for the people and this is the most important aspect in the case.
- Feedback: As per feedback, there are no major complaints about these bars. They are durable and very secure. They also give strength to the body of the compartment. Feedback is given by the sturdiness and rigidity of the bar when held on to when the train moves.
Advertising
Advertising in the New York Subway and in the trains have been a type of art form since 1947, when we can first trace an advertisement in the New York City subway.
- Visibility: In the aspect of visibility, the subway, the stations and the trains (both inside and outside) are very popular places for posting advertisement. It is said earlier that more than 1.5 billion people travel by these trains in a year so there are no questions of less visibility. In the trains there are positions for placing six advertisement frames in one compartment and also big advertisements can be pasted on the side of the compartments too. Some times we can see interactive advertisements in the advertising frames inside the compartments.
- Affordance: In recent times the companies are spending a huge fortune in marketing and keeping in mind the aspect of visibility in the subway, many organizations are eager to use the services. As the fares of the subway trains are relatively cheaper, there are people from different socio-economic levels, and this is also a cause that there are many different types of brand promotions and advertisements. From Governmental advertisements, to film promotion, from social messages to fashion label one can see every thing in the advertisements.
- Constraints: Apart from this excessive use of electrical lights to light up the advertisements, there are no other constraints in the case.
- Feedback: Once again, the marketing gurus are excited about the prospects of the New York subway system into a potential advertising hub. It can really start a new and much more unique system of advertising with its visibility factor. Another very important thing is that the subways are quite cheaper than the other advertising places too. But some also say that many people complain that the advertisements in the trains sometimes cover all the important points that are written in a train compartment. This is a very important aspect that the Transit authority should look after.
The New York subway is both a great public work and it can be valued as a piece of art and architecture. With the change of technology and passing of time, the design has changed and many modern and technological changes have been installed only to improve the service. As per Norman, “Technology offers the potential to make life easier and more enjoyable; each new technology provides increased benefits” (Norman 29). Still the design continues to evolve with the time, and some times it is reused and reinterpreted even restored only to make the situation better.
Works cited
Martínez, Mark. “The Citizen Participation of Urban Movements in Spatial Planning: A Comparison between Vigo and Porto.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 21.5 (2010): 134-144.
Norman, Donald A. The design of everyday things. New York: Basic Books, 2002.
Thabrew, Louis. Application of life cycle thinking in multidisciplinary multistakeholder contexts for cross-sectoral planning and implementation of sustainable development projects.” Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 5.3 (2009): 445-460.