Yesterday while visiting my alma mater, I decided to enter a building that was basically my least favorite place on earth during the fall of my freshman year.  Motivated partly by nostalgia and partly by nature’s call, I wandered the now renovated halls in search of a bathroom.  

Upon finding one and, er, utilizing it, I noticed a sign at eye-level on the back of the stall door.  The sign read: “Water-Saving Dual-Function Handle.  Pull up to flush #1 (liquid waste) and down to flush #2 (solid waste).”  

I instantly appreciated the environmental consideration, the clever form factor and the subtle humor. And being the designer I am, I also asked myself, “Would I have placed this sign here on the stall door or above the toilet on the wall opposite?”  I turned around to flush and, there the sign was, again… on the wall opposite.

Bravo!  I thought and then proceeded to appreciate the handle and adjacent “cheat sheet.”  I appreciated it so much that I got out my iPhone and took a picture.  

Then, finally, I flushed. (and inadvertently pressed down on the bright green handle.) 

One, I felt like an idiot.  After spending all that time thinking about flushing, which is an atypical thought process during an activity I experience several times a day, I failed at doing it right.  

Two, I wanted to flush the toilet again, which is in direct opposition to the design’s intent.  I wanted to experience an “up flush.”   I didn’t, of course, and therefore left the stall (experience-wise) unsatisfied.

Had I the opportunity to visit this bathroom on a regular basis, I’m sure I would adjust my flushing tendencies.  I presume, though, that if this were the case, my re-learned behavior would result in unsatisfactory flushes in lesser advanced toilets, which are the majority of toilets I use.

This begs further research, but for now I’ll say this:  As interaction/industrial designers, we are often asking our users to re-learn something so that it can be done “smarter” or “better” or “more easily.”  Expectation and habit are powerful forces  and they need to be reckoned with. 

Download a PDF of the slideshow here.