The Ticket Test
This may seem ridiculously unimportant, but being a communication designer I just can’t understand why the ticket machines in Freo have been designed against the visual rules. E.g. in the western world people read from left to right and from top to bottom. So what I read first on a Freo ticket machine is ‘2 Tickets’ (but I just need one…). Well that’s not nearly as confusing as the fact, that to get my ticket I have to press the red button. Generally red is used for stop, warning and danger signs, so one would instinctively hesitate pressing a red button. Red means’ stop’, green means ‘go’, but for the Freo ticket machines this rule has been turned around – crazy world.
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I think the problem here starts when the engineers just worry about the machine working properly, but don’t think a human will actually use it reading a visual interface. Then the company that manufactures the machines will get some undereducated, underpaid designer to solve this problem using clip-art and Microsoft software for the execution. Another factor could be that an important part of product development was ignored, and this is the involvement of an Industrial Designer on the conception of this machine. The result is a poor (and ugly) product.
wipdoodle
October 20, 2009 at 8:06 am
I think it’s just those nasty Freo parking nazis trying to confuse us so they can sting us all with another parking ticket. Catch the train to Freo people…it’s safer;-)
Kate
October 20, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Not to mention they only take 4 types of coin! Oh no, you couldn’t possibly have a machine that takes 50s AND $2s >:/
alpaca
October 24, 2009 at 6:14 pm
If you think those meters are bad check out the new ones which are appearing. Horrific. I can remember the very old ones in Freo (36 years back) A one cent coin bought six minutes parking.
Roger Garwood
November 13, 2009 at 7:00 am
Now that is a bargain, bring back old school meters.
Orla
November 13, 2009 at 5:15 pm