Laura Keller

Less interesting than the technology that eliminates the need for deposit slips and envelopes was Bank of America's approach to changing customer behavior at the ATM machine. Visuals in multiple locations on and near the machine made customers aware of the shift. Most interesting, however, was strategic size of the hand-outs that customers could take: they were the exact same size as the deposit envelopes customers had become accustomed to using...and located in the same place as envelopes were previously.

Although the lid of this garbage can is lovely - nice, seamless brushed steel - the actual use for it winds up negating its aesthetic, making it dirty and less than attractive. The design is intended so that the weight of the item you are throwing away opens the lid to the full can. However, the typical use in a coffee shop - throwing out very light-weight coffee condiment remnants - causes consistent “malfunction.” Instead, you either have to touch the lid (ewwww...) to throw anything away or let your trash sit perched atop the lid waiting for something with true weight to be tossed.

For wine newbies or wine savvies, this store delivers a fantastic experience, guiding you to select the appropriate wine for whatever the occasion. The store employs a NetFlix like approach, allowing you to find wines easily categorized into relevant areas: take-out, food type, flavor, staff recommendations. If you are more knowledgeable, the walls have a different presentation method, relying on a combination of constructs to guide you (region, type, etc.) Each wine has a consistent description so you can begin to compare bottles. The store even has a nook for reading up on wine and to have children hang.

I have a special place in my heart for coffee overall, especially Dunkin Donuts. I recently told a local D&D that I liked their new retro signs, with one exception. I didn't appreciate - given the obesity problem in the states, the re-alignment of the sizes to read from left to right, “Extra Large...large...medium...small,” which is the opposite of what customers expect. Talk about using human factors to cognitively trick the consumer into buying larger sizes....

At a fantastic bowling alley, bar, music venue in Asbury Park, I noticed an inherent structural problem that was attempted to be solved with, well, lots of signs. Apparently, people intuitively approach Snack World thinking they can order alcohol because no fewer than 8 signs told people to go elsewhere for drinks. My fave: “eat here, liquor in the rear.” You get the sense that management believes by adding just one more sign - even 2 inches away from the last addition - it may prevent people from approaching. But intuitively, newbies go to the first area that shows the potential for libation, and that place is Snack World.

I take Amtrak all the time. Every now and then I splurge on Acela, the business-oriented “bullet” train. Although more contemporary looking than the standard Amtrak train, I have found a major design flaw in their streamlined seats. Instead of the typical tray table that is pulled DOWN, the Acela tables come UP from the seat in front of you. Unfortunately, a structural element prevents them from staying down and without question within 10 minutes of putting my coffee and phone down, they have tilted.

Berlin and NYC exhibit are both undergoing large urban development shifts, tackling similar issues in both similar and dissimilar ways. The Center for Architecture exhibited urban development projects for both cities in an engaging way, against a backdrop of statistical data about both cities. Instead of designing a wayfinding system through the exhibit space that clearly outlined “here's NYC's issue and resolution...and here's the similar Berlin issue and resolution,” the Center elegantly displayed categories of information where the visitor didn't immediately know which city was being referred to...and a key message was that it didn't really matter.