Need a Hand?

Have you ever felt like you were trying to do too many things at once and could really use a third hand? Like trying to answer the phone while carrying the groceries in (as the bags are breaking) while keeping the dog from escaping…. As our lives get increasingly busier, our hands have more to do than they can keep up with. It’s easy to take for granted the little things in life that free up our hands so we can take on more activities, but we sure miss them when they’re not there! Today’s post was inspired by Ryan’s return to the Everyday Usability thread last week and brought to you by Hurricane Sandy.

With the weather monster that has been dubbed Frankenstorm upon us, I’ve come to depend on my umbrella a LOT more than usual, so much that I will probably feel like I’m missing a limb when things dry up. The thing I appreciate second most about my ordinary umbrella (the first is that it keeps my head dry in this monsoon and hasn’t collapsed yet) is that the button I push to open it up also serves to close it. This isn’t revolutionary, but I’ve come to depend on the ability to operate my umbrella with one hand because I’m usually grabbing my purse, briefcase, coffee mug…phone, keys, breakfast, etc. with the other. Recently my mom left her old school brown paisley “manual operation” umbrella in my car and I realized I’d have a hard time functioning like that now!

This post has not been sponsored by Ford, but I had to mention this because it’s cool and related. You’ve probably seen the commercials for the 2013 Ford Escape - a guy with his hands full walks up to the back of his Escape, kicks his foot under the bumper, and the tailgate opens like magic! It may be just a new use for a motion sensor, but I bet the guy with the big heavy box was relieved to be able to put the box in the car without trying to balance it with one hand while searching for his keys with the other and inevitably dropping either box or keys.

Sometimes little improvements make a big difference in our daily lives and they become the new normal once we get used to them. This holds true for medical devices just as well as for cars or umbrellas. If a device is well designed, the user should be able to operate it so easily that it fits into his or her workflow or lifestyle without a second thought. (The first thought will likely be appreciation for a good design.)

-KB