To the product designer in you
Hi,
i thought of posting something to think about for the blog reader.
OK, this is a faucet. Now, how will you make it more user friendly than what it is now?
By user friendly, we mean
1) The user should know which is the control for hot water and cold water respectively.
2) The faucet should provide for ways to control the temperature (hot water cold water mix) without confusing the user.
3) The user should also be able to increase the volume of the flow without altering the temperature.
4) Children sometimes get burns by hot water. At the same time people prefer hot water while shaving…
Something has to be provided for this.
Please come up with your designs. You can choose your medium of expresion so long as others can understand your design. Even scribbling/sketching is fine. What matters is your ability to communicate the concept.
I want to see how many people can come up with different ideas. One can even try this as a tag. Think and have fun 
NOTE:
It is not necessary that you need to use the three piece set for design.
All we want is a user friendly faucet.
August 9th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
p.k, I have one setup in home, that’s perfect.. but we should come up with our own model, ilaiyaa..
moolai ya naan India laiye bathiramaa vachitu vanthuten, neenga risk eduka solreenga, vilaivuku neenga thaan porupu..
;p
August 9th, 2006 at 7:54 pm
srikanth,
andha faucet a base a vechu modify panna mudiyuma paaru..
worst case adhaye post a podu:)
August 9th, 2006 at 8:45 pm
Differentiate the hotwater one with a colour indicator preferably red. Flow of water speed can be controlled by the same knob. The knobs can be also designed in the shape of letter ‘H’ for hot water and letter ‘C’ for cold water.
Thermostat connection could be linked to the screw on top of the tap. The thread should provide the required thermostat.
Podhuma PK…
August 9th, 2006 at 10:08 pm
balaji sir,
first,
Try panninadhuku thanks! and
nalla attempt kooda.
Second,
Neenga solirukaradhu oru option. it attempts to meet the requirements.
But is it the best ? or can it be made better?
>>flow of water can be controlled by the same knob
You mean flow of hot water to be controlled by hot water knob and flow of cold water by cold water knob?
so pipe adaikaanumna epdi? do i need to close the two knobs?
And also tap open pannanumna
if i open the Hot water knob first i will get hot water only till i open the cold water knob to moderate the temperature..
the other way i might get just cold water till i open the hot water knob.
warm a irukanumna maybe i need to open a notch on the left and a notch on the right. and have to do this slowly…
i am just trying to understand your design here so that we know how it will function in a particular scenario.
aprom indha thermostat. i guess its something like at a particular temperature it will cut of the water supply…correct me if i am wrong.
but again oruthar tap thirakumbodhu is the user in control of the temperature?
will it be mildly warm or terribly hot or terribly cold? how does he know that?
August 9th, 2006 at 10:13 pm
another note to all,
please dont feel constrained by the given image or the practicality.
neenga unga sowgaryathuku products gadgets yosikalam.
only that it you should be able to
tell how functional it is and how it meets the requirements
we r not constrained by actual manufacturing issues here.
so free your imagination and think out of the box…
August 9th, 2006 at 10:23 pm
Balaji - nice idea..but Thermostat problem vandu ….if someone suffers burns? Indha oorna..mottai dhaan..andha manufacturer.
PK - Fantastic post. Let me think.
August 10th, 2006 at 7:37 am
narayanan sir,
dank u.
and u too try pls:)
August 10th, 2006 at 8:42 am
Karthik,
3 designs..
1.
antha taplaiye straighta kodu mari antha knoboda line irukanum..Ore tap than.Athai kobai ezhuthu car mari..Vechhutu open pannalam tapai..
2. Same hot cold from red to blue is around like in an Iron you rotate the tap to the desired
hot/cold level. Then the amount or flow control is how much you pull..
Lever in the tap handle..
3.
Instead of hot cold..red to blue have the colors but have definite limits like hot,less hot, moderate,more warm, warm, cool, cold, icy..with pictures..Settings..that is more readable..
In all my designs hot and cold water get mixed up when the knob is pushed..no two taps.
The best design would be the second..But karthik whatever the design tapai thorantha thanni varanum esp in Madras is the only thing that can make me happy..Ella design user interfacesum ennaku pidikum ana manasu kullai eppovume niraiya feature tharennu vandhapuram niraiya thevai illa thevai..not needs but wants.. vandhamari irukku ennaku. So simple usage features cut pannalum pannuven..So ennai romba design panra alukku pidikathu..
August 10th, 2006 at 8:59 am
How about taps for Chennai usage ? Often, there is the sound of air escaping from the tap, when you open it. You need to consider that as well when designing it Remember that Vivek comedy track in Run ?
Seriously though how about a slider - push it down, you get cold water, push it up, hot water.
August 10th, 2006 at 11:32 am
priyums,
un standards ku nee idai varanchu kamicha dan othukuven…:)
but u r on the spot as for as design in option 2.
seri indha pulling part, thanni varanum na it has to be puled constantly or edhavadhu landing irukuma? where it will stay in a prescribed volume?
nee mattum ennoda mail ku answer pannirudenna indha poste e irundhirukaadhu:)
BNB,
cool!
how abt adjusting the water volume for a partiuclar temperature?
August 10th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
the 2nd option what priya said is the exact i have in my apartment. i’ll better take a photo of that and mail it to u..
;p
August 11th, 2006 at 12:42 am
eina kodumada sami, pipula thanni varathe perusu, athilayum madrasla eppavumae hot water thaan, ethuku separate pipu ?. gapunu mela thukina thani varanum, thati vudda mudikanum - avlavuthaan mammae. ethuku athuku poye design, interface-inu summa bulb addara. seri asapadara pudichuko, entha linku. http://homedepot.com , ella vethamana pipum enga pakalam, hot-cold separatu pipu, orae-pipu, color coded pipu, you nameitu, they gotitu, so next timemu pipu, bathroom fittings, shower system, garden hose, nuttu, boltu, etc, etc , mothala inga check panu.
August 11th, 2006 at 11:45 am
anon,
matter madras ku illai.
enga oorile thanni varanumna pipe poda venaam.
lorry irunda podum..:)
matter innana, ipdi ellam pannalaam nu yosikka daan. neenga solra site la ella designum irukku.
namalum oru designer irundhu yosikanumngradhu daan. adukku daan indha post!
August 11th, 2006 at 3:39 pm
srikanth,
first, andha foto vai podu.
second, think how you can improve
August 11th, 2006 at 3:58 pm
namu ooru designer, pakathu ooru designer apadi ellam onu illa naina, “why reinvent the wheelu”?, mothalla anga anga perainchu paru, madaliya, apparum alla arivu jivalukum post podu.
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August 17th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
Is this just to exercise the minds of your readers or are you really looking for such a design?
Over here (Malaysia) we use a single faucet with a lever which when lifted up releases the water. To get hot or cold you need to turn to the right or to the left. The increase in flow after getting the right temperature is controlled by the upward movement.
February 20th, 2008 at 12:47 am
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