F21 GBUX Awards

Meet your professor!

I am

RULES:

1. Start your introduction with "I am"

2. Make it interesting/surprising

The Good

Legoland theme park

The Good

Waiting line was much more pleasant by having Legos in the middle of the long queue; waiting was so much more fun!

The Bad

Table knife by AMC

Most people try to cut using this side

The Bad

High aesthetics but poor cognitive affordance indicating the cutting side

The Ugly

Faucet in North Grounds Rec Center

Need to pull the whole knob despite the shape

The Ugly

Misleading physical affordance (need to pull up the whole knob); poor aesthetics and outdated design

The Good

Interactive Cat Lamp

The Good

This lamp is both aesthetic and has easy operability. All you need to do is tap to turn it on/off. In addition, the maintainability is very simple since you only need to charge using a mini-USB cable. In addition, the performance is satisfactory.

The Bad

Kung Fu Tea Application

The Bad

All the descriptions in this app (specifically the rewards screen) are vague and unreliable. There is no error prevention system and some links lead nowhere. In addition, there is no consistency (menu does not reflect store's stock).

The Ugly

Clem 4 Desks

The Ugly

These desks have huge holes on the sides that make them inconvenient to use. There is no clear use for the holes and this affects the aesthetic of the design and the operability of the table.

The Good

Spotify

The Good

Very flexible design as there are multiple ways to find the song/artist/genre. The interface has a very distinct look making it easy to remember (memorability). Information is well organized giving it good visibility.

The Good

Google Hangouts

The Good

Alternative

Along with being aesthetically pleasing, this app packs multiple features(like video-calling, taking a picture, sending your location, creating a chat group) without feeling clunky giving it a good visibility. Very intuitive to use and does not require any learning to use the interface giving it good learnability.

The Bad

UVA Swank

The Bad

Recently watched section is what students/faculty watched and not what you recently watched which makes it a poorly designed cognitive affordance. Need to use Advanced Search if you are interested in a particular filmmaker or actor making it inconsistent with other streaming platforms (consistency).

The Bad

Lanvin Watch

The Bad

Alternative

While the watch is aesthetically pleasing, it is poor in consistency when compared to other watches as there is no second hand and so you can't do things like measure a pulse with it. The lack of minute marks make you guess what time it is, making the layout of the watch a poor cognitive affordance

The Ugly

CAT Bus App

The Ugly

Bus route is inactive

Doesn't do anything when clicking on bus route making it inconsistent with other similar apps. Very poor functionality as bus routes and location don't update. Very poor aesthetics with ugly text and icons.

The Ugly

Heart Rate Monitor(Pulse Rate) App

The Ugly Alternative

Instruction is hard to recognize

Very poor aesthetics. Not very consistent in terms of the way the icons and fonts are designed. The instruction to check your pulse is in very small text that it almost blends in with the advertisement underneath it and could be placed in a better location.

The Good

Kindle

The Good

Has good natural mappings, resembling a physical book, great operability and visibility of status. Furthermore, it is easy to use and carry around, which makes it a useful design.

The Bad

Our Bathroom Switch

The Bad

Although functional, the switch doesn't turn off our vent when flipped down. The flip must be flicked up and down more than once to turn the vent off; a wrong functional affordance.

The Ugly

GoodReads Mobile App

The Ugly

Not the most user friendly user interface. A lot of texts on the screen, hard to see the book covers, repetitive information, and simply ugly.

Unique

Thermometer

Mackenzie Nguyen

GBUX 15

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

The thermometer’s overall design has simplicity as the main display shows the temperature recorded which allows users to see it easily. It has high visibility as the temperature displays on the front and the button is right there as well. It is high understandability as there is only one button that you have to press and hold down as you take your temperature. It provides good feedback because in order to take your temperature, you scan your forehead and as you are scanning it it provides beeping noises to help guide you since you cannot see the display when scanning your forehead.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Original

Aseprite

Colin Crowe

GBUX 12

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

Visually attractive pixel art UI. Important features are reduced to easily recognizable shapes, improving memorability. Consistent with other art software; color palette on the left, tools on the right. Highly understandable interface - almost everyone will be able to tell, for example, why the animation on the right is looping and that I've selected two characters on the left. Makes use of metaphors to communicate functionality ("onion skin" is a favorite of mine)

[rationale]The Fox Front

Language

Foot Door Openers

Lili Gomez

GBUX 5

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

The new door openers are designed with high learnability: the signs are clear in intention, decreasing user error. There is also high feedback, where the foot handle is jagged to catch the user's shoe. This addition to doors is desirable amidst the pandemic, and in general to decrease transmission of everyday germs.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Unique

Dryer Lint Catcher

Hannah Tuma

GBUX 10

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

The lint catcher has low findability because it is difficult to spot within the dryer and it has low ease of use because it is too hot to remove right after a dryer cycle ends. Although the two holes provide some physical affordances, it has low understandability because it is not immediately clear how to remove the screen once the lint trap is taken out of the dryer. It also provides no feedback, so you don’t know if you replaced it properly.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Original

Wilsdorf 101 Chairs

Grace Parzych

GBUX 6

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Inconsistent back stiffness causes discomfort

Rigid arms cause discomfort

-----------

Original

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Small support radius causes discomfort

Red button + useless knob

This chair is highly inconsistent: some have very stiff backs and others don't. The red button + knob combo demonstrates poor cognitive affordance. The red button lowers/raises the seat, but the knob does nothing. Students often mistakenly attempt to twist the knob. The rigid design only allows minimal height changes, forcing most students to rest their feet on a small support, causing discomfort. More discomfort comes from the stiff back and rigid arms. Despite its aesthetic, high discomfort levels cause poor user satisfaction.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Language

Provolone Cheese Package

Joseph Mastrullo GBUX 7

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

The packaging for my provolone cheese represents a bad design. First, the ultra-thin slit/opening makes pulling cheese slices out difficult, decreasing the utility of the design. Furthermore, as a result of the packaging, there is only about a centimeter of grip available to pull apart the Ziploc, thus reducing the accessibility to elders who have less control over their hands and who cannot provide enough force to a smaller area. I also have trouble at times pulling apart the packaging, further showing its lack of operability. For closing the packaging, the design is still lackluster given there is little feedback to inform the user that the package is sealed. Sometimes the user can feel the Ziploc lock in place, but other times this is not felt and thus the user is unsure of whether the package is actually sealed. Finally, the durability of the packaging is low. Given there are 4 people sharing one refrigerator, items have been placed on the packaging, it has been squished, tossed around, and overall manhandled. As a result, the cheese is fairly beat-up (design does not protect its contents), as well as the packaging being torn and squished in some areas, reducing its functionality. This further reduces the designs navigability as well given the information on the packaging (expiration date, nutritional information) is harder to read.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Unique

Thornton Hall

John Kim

GBUX-3

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

Navigating to rooms is unintuitive as the wings aren't connected fully. Decreasing findability and understandability. The hallways are cramped and poorly lit with low natural light, so when there are large classes there are traffic jams making using the building undeseriable.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Original

Urinals

Christian Ro

GBUX-4

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

Aesthetically terrible. Low user satisfaction because people feel pressured or scrutinized as they use it. Desirability is also low because people end up waiting for the outside urinals and the inner two are not used which leads to decreased functionality.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Language

The cbord Laundry Machine Box

Erin Ganley

GBUX-16

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

Not only is the cbord machine aesthetically unappealing, but it is difficult to use and offers low feedback. After clicking each button, it lags before registering the click, and is very slow in providing a message on the small, hard-to-read screen, offering little to no cognitive affordance. It also has low learnability, as it takes many clicks for it to start a laundry machine, and even to this day I am not sure which click finally starts it. Because of this it has low operability and desirability.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Good - Unique

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Handheld milk frother - Sierra Arnold

Unique

Very intuitive UI and high satisfaction. Sleek and simple aesthetics without compromising learnability. Lets you easily create drinks that usually require more complicated equipments/processes

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Good - Novel

Archive of Our Own - Anna

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Novel

This site is designed with functionality in mind. It is extremely useful and accessible. I love its aesthetics but if you don't you can change it (or make your own) which shows its flexibility and focus on satisfaction. It is really easy to use.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Good - Language

Google Wifi - Terry

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

Great simplicity and learnability, take 5 min to set up, and have high ease of use with the Google Wifi app. Small in size, easy to carry. Can be used in both large apartments and small apartments. Good coverage. The design is aesthetically appealing.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Good

Christian - GBUX 2

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

Pineapple Corer-Great affordances - handle style, screw shape, width of a standard pineapple. High understandability and usefulness. Tactile/auditory feedback upon hitting bottom of pineapple.

Original

Ali Chercher GBUX 2

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

4 in 1 pencil - Use it most of the time for homework,simple to use,easy to carry around...(useful and efficient)

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Good- Language

Owen

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

Cashapp- Has very high simplicity and understandability. It is very easy for a new user to know exactly how to use it. It also has good error prevention as it requests confirmation for all payments and provides feedback when money is sent or not

[rationale]The Fox Front

Original

Noah GBUX 13

Scannable App

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

The simple directions and auto detection give this app a high learnability and understandability. The lack of clutter gives it a good attractiveness and high satisfaction.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Original

Allen GBUX 10

IKEA LILLNAGGEN Shower Squeegee

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

This item has high usability and the suction cup allows for easy storage while minimizing the space taken up. There is also high learnability given that the angular rubber surface ensures that there is only one way to use this product on the glass. The design is also relatively ergonomic as the handle tapers down as it approaches the rubber part of the product.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Language

Mykim GBUX 14

Trane Thermostat

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

Once the user touches the screen, it opens up to the homepage to display additional information, demonstrating high visibility. It also has many useful features in the bar menu, such as a schedule for heating and cooling, which demonstrates high operability. Lastly, it gives immediate feedback when the user inputs a desired temperature because you can hear the AC turn on to change the room temperature, giving the user high satisfaction.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Bad - Unique

IBCM - Sophie

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

Although IBCM is functional for educational purposes, it does not extend past 2150, ultimately making it an unnecessary pain to learn. Although learnability is moderate, real world functionality is zero,

and it is not attractive at all. I would appreciate more functional affordance!

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Bad - Novel

Venmo - Owen Haines

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Novel

While the design is nice aesthetically, it lacks visibility and simplicity, the majority of the screen is filled with unnecessary information and the useful functions are harder to find. It also lacks the functionality to search

previous exchanges and it is difficult to find information

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Bad - Language

photo hanger - kristina

Language

While this is attractive and does its job, the photo display’s hanging mechanism does not work correctly. From the shape constraint of the hole the user intuits to use a nail, but because of the size of the holes a nail does not hang the display effectively. This problem effects operability and efficiency because the user must slowly and gentility hang photos on the display, so as to not knock it off the wall.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Bad Unique

Hillary - GBUX 10

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

Sink in the bathroom at CHO - The design may look attractive and simple, however there is poor functionality. You are supposed to be able to use the water sensor in the middle and the fan sensor out to the sides, however there is very little room for error. Oftentimes the fan turns on when the user doesn't want it and when the fan is turned on it sprays up all of the ater in the sink into the user's face.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Bad

Anthony- GBUX 12

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

Subaru - constrains drivers against inadvertent reversal of a manual vehicle. The lever lacks visibility and is not intuitively learnable.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Bad - Language

Christina

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

While this is attractive and does its job, the photo display's hanging mechanism does not work correctly. From the shape constraint of the hole the user intuits to use a nail, but because of the size of the holes a nail does not hang the display effectively. This problem effects operability and efficiency because the user must slowly and gentiliity hang photos on the display, so as to not knock it off the wall

[rationale]The Fox Front

Unique

Hilary GBUX 10

Sink in the bathroom at CHO

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

The design may look attractive and simple, however there is poor functionality. You are supposed to be able to use the water sensor in the middle and the fan sensor out to the sides, however there is very little room for error. Oftentimes the fan turns on when the user doesn't want it to, and when the fan is turned on it sprays up all of the water in the sink into the user's face.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Original

Lona GBUX 7

Outlets in my bedroom

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

These outlets are not easy to use. When I tried to plug in two things at the same time, it didn't work. I can only use one at a time, so the usefulness is half of what it should be.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Language

Renita GBUX 7

Sliding Pantry Door

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

Has poor operability because the doors are heavy and don't slide smoothly. Poor robustness as well because the doors have come unhinged multiple times. Not a desirable feature of the house at all because makes it difficult to look at both halves of the pantry at once.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Ugly - Unique

UVA Motorcycle Parking - Gun

Unique

At UVA there is no designated motorcycle parking spots. So the motorcycles have to use the regular car parking lot as motorcycle parking. This causes parking issues when there are excess amount of motorcycle parking at one same place.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Ugly - Novel

Shower Rod - Jeremy

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

This shower rod has low operability because it does not even cover the whole shower. Terrible satisfaction because you either have half of a shower or a wet corner of the bathroom, horrible aesthetics because it looks stupid, no consistency with how people would expect a shower rod to function. One point for function and operability because it does protect one side of the tub.

Novel

The Ugly - Language

Ice machine - Janessa Jiang

Language

The ice machine in my fridge does not come with a tray or container to catch the ice. Additionally, the design makes it difficult to store items around the lever and easy for the machine to accidentally turn on. There is not much error prevention because there is no indication of which direction to move the lever. Additionally, turning off the machine is difficult because the lever is made of weak material and fails to stay in place. The material and design are not aesthetically pleasing. Overall, the operability and satisfaction of using the device is low.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Ugly

Joe - Full Knee Brace

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

The Knee brace is obviously not an aesthetically appealing piece of equipment, but it also suffers from issues. There is slippage when worn for a long period of time, the ankle strap is too big for the ankle and the locking mechanism often jams.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Original

Noah -Pymol

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

This software used for 3D modeling of protein structures lacks functionality and usefulness because it loads a known protein from an online database. Other than looking at overall structure you can't doanything else with it. Also this program has bad aesthetics and provides bad user satisfaction

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Ugly

Sarah - Mango (NIFTI file viewer)

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

They took simplicity too far because the interface is too simple. I would like to be more immersed in the program than have little popups on the side. The visibility is also horrible because you can't see which parts of the NIFTI image have data and which don't, and you can't change the color settings. And finally, it is neither memorable or attractive

[rationale]The Fox Front

Unique

Robin GBUX10

2-Faucet Sink

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

Hot water comes out of one faucet and cold water out of the other. Violates effectviness because faucets are far away from eachother, so no way to mix and get warm medium temperature. Violates satisfaction because user either uses very hot or very cold water. Also an unattractive sink with too much going on, a strange shape, and unconventional 2 faucets.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Original

Sophia GBUX 6

Outlets in Thornton Stacks

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

The outlets cannot fit more than one big laptop charger. The design seems aesthetically pleasing at first, but you soon realize its limited functionality.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Ugly

Emma GBUX 14

Gas Pump Card Scanner

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

The left side says, "Instructions" and lists instructions below, while the right side has an arrow pointing up that says, "Follow directions above." For this reason, it lacks cognitive affordance. It also locks your card in place instead of the user quickly pulling it out, which is unintuitive to most users. Therefore, the system lacks consistence. Finally, it is not aesthetically pleasing.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Good

Christian - GBUX 2

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

Pineapple Corer-Great affordances - handle style, screw shape, width of a standard pineapple. High understandability and usefulness. Tactile/auditory feedback upon hitting bottom of pineapple.

Original

Ali Chercher GBUX 2

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

4 in 1 pencil - Use it most of the time for homework,simple to use,easy to carry around...(useful and efficient)

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Good- Language

Owen

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

Cashapp- Has very high simplicity and understandability. It is very easy for a new user to know exactly how to use it. It also has good error prevention as it requests confirmation for all payments and provides feedback when money is sent or not

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Bad Unique

Hillary - GBUX 10

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

Sink in the bathroom at CHO - The design may look attractive and simple, however there is poor functionality. You are supposed to be able to use the water sensor in the middle and the fan sensor out to the sides, however there is very little room for error. Oftentimes the fan turns on when the user doesn't want it and when the fan is turned on it sprays up all of the ater in the sink into the user's face.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Bad

Anthony- GBUX 12

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

Subaru - constrains drivers against inadvertent reversal of a manual vehicle. The lever lacks visibility and is not intuitively learnable.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Bad - Language

Christina

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

While this is attractive and does its job, the photo display's hanging mechanism does not work correctly. From the shape constraint of the hole the user intuits to use a nail, but because of the size of the holes a nail does not hang the display effectively. This problem effects operability and efficiency because the user must slowly and gentiliity hang photos on the display, so as to not knock it off the wall

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Ugly

Joe - Full Knee Brace

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

The Knee brace is obviously not an aesthetically appealing piece of equipment, but it also suffers from issues. There is slippage when worn for a long period of time, the ankle strap is too big for the ankle and the locking mechanism often jams.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Original

Noah -Pymol

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

This software used for 3D modeling of protein structures lacks functionality and usefulness because it loads a known protein from an online database. Other than looking at overall structure you can't doanything else with it. Also this program has bad aesthetics and provides bad user satisfaction

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Ugly

Sarah - Mango (NIFTI file viewer)

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

They took simplicity too far because the interface is too simple. I would like to be more immersed in the program than have little popups on the side. The visibility is also horrible because you can't see which parts of the NIFTI image have data and which don't, and you can't change the color settings. And finally, it is neither memorable or attractive

[rationale]The Fox Front

Original

Noah GBUX 13

Scannable App

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

The simple directions and auto detection give this app a high learnability and understandability. The lack of clutter gives it a good attractiveness and high satisfaction.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Original

Allen GBUX 10

IKEA LILLNAGGEN Shower Squeegee

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

This item has high usability and the suction cup allows for easy storage while minimizing the space taken up. There is also high learnability given that the angular rubber surface ensures that there is only one way to use this product on the glass. The design is also relatively ergonomic as the handle tapers down as it approaches the rubber part of the product.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Language

Mykim GBUX 14

Trane Thermostat

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

Once the user touches the screen, it opens up to the homepage to display additional information, demonstrating high visibility. It also has many useful features in the bar menu, such as a schedule for heating and cooling, which demonstrates high operability. Lastly, it gives immediate feedback when the user inputs a desired temperature because you can hear the AC turn on to change the room temperature, giving the user high satisfaction.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Unique

Hilary GBUX 10

Sink in the bathroom at CHO

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

The design may look attractive and simple, however there is poor functionality. You are supposed to be able to use the water sensor in the middle and the fan sensor out to the sides, however there is very little room for error. Oftentimes the fan turns on when the user doesn't want it to, and when the fan is turned on it sprays up all of the water in the sink into the user's face.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Original

Lona GBUX 7

Outlets in my bedroom

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

These outlets are not easy to use. When I tried to plug in two things at the same time, it didn't work. I can only use one at a time, so the usefulness is half of what it should be.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Language

Renita GBUX 7

Sliding Pantry Door

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

Has poor operability because the doors are heavy and don't slide smoothly. Poor robustness as well because the doors have come unhinged multiple times. Not a desirable feature of the house at all because makes it difficult to look at both halves of the pantry at once.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Unique

Robin GBUX10

2-Faucet Sink

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Unique

Hot water comes out of one faucet and cold water out of the other. Violates effectviness because faucets are far away from eachother, so no way to mix and get warm medium temperature. Violates satisfaction because user either uses very hot or very cold water. Also an unattractive sink with too much going on, a strange shape, and unconventional 2 faucets.

[rationale]The Fox Front

Original

Sophia GBUX 6

Outlets in Thornton Stacks

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Original

The outlets cannot fit more than one big laptop charger. The design seems aesthetically pleasing at first, but you soon realize its limited functionality.

[rationale]The Fox Front

The Ugly

Emma GBUX 14

Gas Pump Card Scanner

[product/system title]Rock Sox Front Fork

Language

The left side says, "Instructions" and lists instructions below, while the right side has an arrow pointing up that says, "Follow directions above." For this reason, it lacks cognitive affordance. It also locks your card in place instead of the user quickly pulling it out, which is unintuitive to most users. Therefore, the system lacks consistence. Finally, it is not aesthetically pleasing.

[rationale]The Fox Front