A flawed product

Everyday we encounter things with design flaws. It is hard to pinpoint a single item with a flaw because after the multitude of bad design, we use knowledge in our head to simply learn how to cope, so poor design does not stand out horribly. Nevertheless, a product that has design flaws is my desk lamp. The lamp was designed by a designer, not a common person. conceptually, it is thoughtful, and organized. A desk lamp with a tape despenser, pencil holders, and other goodies.



But in the real world, many frustrations exist.

The most important aspect of a lamp is to provide light. But the round knob at the top of the light makes it unclear whether the user should push it in, or turn it, to produce a sunny glow. The knob does depress, and turn both to the right and left. The lamp only works when one turns the on swich to the left (if one is staring dead on at the object), but do not forget it clicks no matter which way you manipulate the knob.

Secondly, it is impossible to put tape in the tape holder. The round, plastic holder that a spool of tape sits on does not come out of the lamp no matter how the angle, pressure, or what have you, while trying to extract it.

Three other compartments do not really old anything except post-its. They're too small for writing utensils, rulers, pretty much anything bigger than post-it size. And they're too shallow for paper clips or rubber bands.

I have a big desk lamp that can hold 3 pencils, a pen, and a pair of scissors that can be turned on some of the time.