Cognitive Ergonomics: Life Hacking

Cognitive Ergonomics: The study of the mental processes (perception, attention, cognition, motor control, and memory) that affect interactions among humans and other elements of a system. We are in constant interaction with the world around us, but how much of our time could be saved if the things we interacted with each day were better designed by keeping the brain in mind?

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Please Answer by April 11th

Can you think of a way to improve a kitchen appliance that you use every day? Use some of the principals we've talked about in class.

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"They weeble and they wobble, but they don't fall down!" Finally a toothbrush design that stops the one thing we all hate - toothbrushes touching the sink! The DEWS Toothbrush!

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Often, where one design flaw is fixed, another can arise. This is similar to the case of Analog vs. Digital displays. Although Digital is easy to read, there are also several potential flaws in its design, including the inability to read fluctuations or range. This is often why analog is used over digital in the cockpit of a plane.

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I took these photos of the shower controls on The Norwegian Epic cruise ship.  My issue is that the surface of the controls are very smooth and do not offer a good grip to turn it, especially when they are wet.  The temperature indicator is very difficult to read because the markings have low contrast, are small, and are placed in a non-standard place.  It's not clear what the little button on the knob does. Finally, it's not intuitive which direction you would turn the knob when you first encounter it.

Instead, they should have made a more grip-able handle, and I could even go as far as suggesting that the grips be in the shape of  the different labels (some form of raised, heat resistant material) that are provided on the shower handle. This would cover both issues, and make for a much better design.

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When life gives you lemons, use something simple to get the goods! There are dozens of different lemon juicing devices on the market (like the bottom image), and all of them are either cheap and flimsy, or expensive and over the top. The first imagine is a Philippe Starck design - and what a good one at that! Starck's designs are simple, elegant, and yet extremely functional. They do what they are intended for, and all while looking great!

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When stove tops are designed with a basic linear layout, like the top stove, cognitive errors often occur. The Human brain, although capable of eventually understanding what button controls what burner, would be much better suited with a layout that matches the layout of the burners - as in the case of the bottom stove.

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Cognitive Ergonomics is ready to go!

Our Website is now officially up and running! Feel free to send us any cog-erg mess-ups and we'll be sure to post it on our page!