Usability Observation #1: Office Door

Which way would you open this door? Push or Pull?  If you said, “Pull the handle, Moron!”, you would be dead wrong. I’ve been pulling on this door handle for 2 years straight. My brain is hardwired to pull handles not push them. Why does this door have to make me like an idiot every day?!!!!

2 comments

  1. Violates a basic rule of usability: the form should reflect the function. Handles are for pulling, while flat areas are for pushing.

  2. I should add that I once worked in a building with a modern glass lobby, and there were no clear handles of any sort, so not only did you not know whether to push or pull, you didn’t know which side of the door to push or pull on, because the hinges were hidden in the ceiling. You’d see people all day smack into them, push, pull, then realize they were on the wrong side of the door. I bet the architect installed a camera just for laughs.

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