Most doors have handles. Handles on doors are usually used to pull or push in order to open the door. Not necessarily, though, in those train coaches used by the BLS.

To get onto the toilet, there’s no way to pry open the door by pulling the handle. It stays closely shut, up to the moment you examine the handle closer to see some buttons to press, which, indeed, will open the door.

Obviously, people complained, so there’s now a sticker supposedly explaining the door. The problem is, of course, that the explaining is only done by language. The arrow still just points on the handle, and the graphic just depicts what doors usually do anyway: they open.

Even the big bold title is ambiguous: “Automatische Türe” (Automatic Door) sounds to me like a door that opens as soon as I approach it. If it doesn’t do that, it clearly has to be broken and with a bit of luck, I’ll be able to pry it open by pulling the handle …

The problem is, in my opinion, the handle. People are used to handles on doors, and they always are used to pull or push. Not this one: no one is supposed to pull or push. Why is it here then?

Remove it, give the door no visible object that the user suspects to be here to open the door manually. They will be forced to find another way to open it, which will then lead them to the buttons, that – just to make sure – could be a bit bigger anyway, and the problem would be solved nicely.

Or solve the problem altogether different: ditch the “automatism”. Doors do work manually, too.

Tagsoup: design, interaction design, interface design