Love/Hate - Eve Zorawski

Object I hate: IKEA Folding Chair

I don't usually hate things, but my IKEA spare folding chair is very difficult to love.

The Design is very basic and suggests an easy unfolding/folding process. Theoretically, this structural shape should be able to sustain at least 60kg as well. Unfortunately, the mechanics, cheap fabrication and poor location for grips, do not guarantee any of these basic expectations.

The affordances in this design have not been successful. Generally, unfolding chairs have seats that are already attached to the legs, thus making unfolding very simple and quick. Unfortunately, with the IKEA unfolding chair, the two inner corners of the seat are not attached to the legs. There is, though, a hook on both corners which works to help map their designated place (the hooks are shaped exactly for the metal tubing) and preventing the chair legs from slipping.

But the grips do not always work, resulting in the user flat on the ground in a bundle in plastic and metal tubing. An improved physical constraint is definitely necessary. Perhaps replacing the hooks with rings, so that there are no more "slips", literally!

Object I love: Corkscrew of the Future

I really appreciate my (relatively) new corkscrew. I have used many corkscrews, and this one requires the least amount of force and proved the process to be a lot faster and simpler (and much less tedious) than most corkscrews. Unfortunately, the visibility of the parts is not quite clear. This makes familiarizing yourself with the object somewhat difficult. I suggest better mapping of the necessary steps to complete the opening process. As well as improving the signal-to-noise ratio, by making the coupled handle (first step) larger so the user will be more likely to grab them first and be less distracted by the handle above (last step).