Design with Intent | Designed to injure

What’s the deal with angled steps?

By Dan Lockton ⋅ January 15, 2009 ⋅ 7 comments

It’s a simple question, really, to any readers with experience in urban planning and specifying architectural features: what is the reasoning behind positioning steps at an angle such as this set (left and below) leading down to the Queen’s Walk near London Bridge station?
Obviously one reason is to connect two walkways that are offset [...]

{In|Ex}clusive Design

By Dan Lockton ⋅ December 16, 2008 ⋅ 7 comments

Giving with one hand, and taking away with the other.
The juxtaposition of hand rails and anti-sit spikes outside this church in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire suggests a particular configuration of design priorities: helping people climb the steps, but forbidding anyone sitting on the wall.
Are the targets different groups of people? We might think so: older people [...]

Skinner and the Mousewrap

By Dan Lockton ⋅ September 17, 2008 ⋅ 4 comments

Dontclick.it, an interesting interface design experiment by Alex Frank, included this amusing idea, the Mousewrap, to ‘train’ users not to click any more “through physical pain”.
It did make me think: is the use of anti-sit spikes on window sills, ledges, and so on, or anti-climb spikes on walls, intended primarily as a Skinnerian operant conditioning [...]

Discriminatory architecture

By Dan Lockton ⋅ July 4, 2008 ⋅ 6 comments

The entries in B3ta’s current image challenge, ‘Fat Britain’, include this amusing take on anti- $USER_CLASS benches by monkeon.
(There’s also this, using a slightly different discriminatory architecture technique – don’t click if you’re likely to be offended, etc, by B3ta’s style.)

Destroy everything you touch

By Dan Lockton ⋅ November 19, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

We can’t help but be familiar with the concept of ‘malicious code’ in the context of computer security and programming, but in general the idea of products or technology which, as they’re used, sabotage or degrade the performance of a ‘rival’, is intriguing and not well-explored. Scott Craver’s Underhanded C contest is a fascinating example [...]

Design & Punishment

By Dan Lockton ⋅ July 26, 2007 ⋅ 8 comments

Design and Punishment, by Ben Cunningham. Photo from the Arts Institute at Bournemouth’s 2007 Three Dimensional Design graduate directory.
Very neatly linking the themes of the last two posts (devices to make users aware of their energy use, and intentionally uncomfortable seating) is the Design and Punishment chair by Ben Cunningham, a Three Dimensional Design graduate [...]

Bollardian nightmare?

By Dan Lockton ⋅ December 6, 2006 ⋅ 11 comments

Rising bollards near Darwin College, Cambridge. A man was killed here in May 2006 when his car hit the right-hand bollard; see third photo below.
Many thanks to Steve Portigal and Josh for suggesting this subject!
Bollards which automatically retract into the road surface to allow certain vehicles to pass, and then rise again, are becoming increasingly [...]

Shaping behaviour: Part 1

By Dan Lockton ⋅ November 9, 2006 ⋅ 16 comments

A couple of months ago I posted about the ’shaping behaviour’ research of RED, part of the UK Design Council. At the time I noted in passing a classification of design approaches for shaping behaviour, mentioned by RED’s Chris Vanstone: “stick*, carrot or speedometer.” It’s worth looking further at this classification and how it relates [...]

A vein attempt?

By Dan Lockton ⋅ October 28, 2006 ⋅ 7 comments

Blue lighting is sometimes used in public toilets (restrooms) to make it more difficult for drug users to inject themselves (veins are harder to see). The above implementation is in Edinburgh, next to the Tron Kirk.
It was more difficult to see my veins through my skin, but there was normal-coloured lighting in the street [...]

BBC: Surveillance drones in Merseyside

By Dan Lockton ⋅ October 17, 2006 ⋅ 5 comments

From the BBC: ‘Police play down spy planes idea’:
“Merseyside Police’s new anti-social behaviour (ASB) task force is exploring a number of technology-driven ideas.
But while the use of surveillance drones is among them, they would be a “long way off”, police said.
…
“The idea of the drone is a long way off, but it is about exploring [...]

Search

Designed to injure