The Accidental Brilliance of Makeshift Signs | Kate Canales | TED — Transcript

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1. 0:04My name is Kate.
2. 0:05I am a designer.
3. 0:07And my design superpower is noticing.
4. 0:11I am pretty much always watching how people navigate the designed world.
5. 0:19And one of the things that I notice a lot
6. 0:22is stuff like this.
7. 0:24[Use other door]
8. 0:25(Laughter)
9. 0:27For over 20 years,
10. 0:29I have been taking photographs of signs
11. 0:32that help us get around everyday situations.
12. 0:36Places where, for whatever reason, we just need a little extra coaching.
13. 0:43Signs like this.
14. 0:44[Push then pull]
15. 0:45(Laughter)
16. 0:47And like this.
17. 0:48[Broken]
18. 0:49(Laughter)
19. 0:53I really love this kind of sign a lot,
20. 0:56where something is technically fully functioning
21. 1:00the way it was designed,
22. 1:02like this keypad,
23. 1:04but it's not really usable without this extra layer of instruction.
24. 1:09And I've come to see the makers of the signs as designers.
25. 1:14They're coming in after the work of the original design team,
26. 1:19to make it so that you can actually do the thing that you're trying to do,
27. 1:22in this case, unlock a door.
28. 1:26Sometimes these signs are kind of subtle.
29. 1:30You just know what to do.
30. 1:32(Laughter)
31. 1:34Other times ...
32. 1:36[This is a light switch]
33. 1:37(Laughter)
34. 1:40This sign is actually helping us think.
35. 1:44We have been so trained to see red as danger.
36. 1:48Thankfully, here, someone is letting us know it is just a light switch.
37. 1:53I think of myself as almost like an anthropologist
38. 1:57in the world of everyday instructions.
39. 2:00I am obsessed.
40. 2:03I have hundreds
41. 2:05and hundreds of photographs like this.
42. 2:08[Please use your finger to complete the transaction]
43. 2:10You've all seen signs like this.
44. 2:12You've probably seen them already today.
45. 2:15Especially if you have paid for something.
46. 2:17[Do not remove. Please insert or tap above]
47. 2:19We have a very consistent issue --
48. 2:23[No chip]
49. 2:25with point of sale machines.
50. 2:27[Tap: hold card over screen]
51. 2:29[Insert chip face down]
52. 2:30(Laughter)
53. 2:33[Flush this toilet twice. Srsly, at least twice.]
54. 2:35We also, as a group ...
55. 2:37(Laughter)
56. 2:40Seem to really be struggling in the public bathroom.
57. 2:45[Gently pull]
58. 2:46An inexplicably large proportion of my photos
59. 2:50were taken in a public bathroom.
60. 2:53I could have done the entire talk using only public bathroom photos.
61. 2:58[Close the lid before you flush Do not sit on the sink]
62. 3:02And I find this bewildering.
63. 3:04[Notice: Toilets and urinals flushed with reclaimed water]
64. 3:07[Do not drink]
65. 3:08Audience: Oh!
66. 3:11Kate Canales: But also weirdly delightful.
67. 3:14[Women]
68. 3:15(Laughter)
69. 3:18A place that we all use, every day,
70. 3:23still requires so much guidance.
71. 3:26[Please flush toilet after using it]
72. 3:28[Hover hand here. Set cup here.]
73. 3:30This machine fills cups with water.
74. 3:33That's all it does.
75. 3:34You would be forgiven for thinking it could do more,
76. 3:37like send a fax or analyze a blood sample.
77. 3:41It has been so overdesigned, so slicked out.
78. 3:46Its function is not legible to us until someone made these signs.
79. 3:53When I started taking these photographs,
80. 3:56I really was on a mission to document examples of bad design,
81. 4:00the way it frustrates and interferes.
82. 4:03But I've become much more interested in preserving the signs
83. 4:07as examples of ingenious human problem solving.
84. 4:12[This is not a restroom. It is that other way]
85. 4:14(Laughter)
86. 4:16Not. Is not.
87. 4:17(Laughter)
88. 4:18When we arrive on the scene, the sign is already here.
89. 4:23But I love to imagine what was happening before there was a sign.
90. 4:28(Laughter)
91. 4:30Visualize with me this scene before there was a sign.
92. 4:34People are starting to congregate outside of this fourth-floor elevator
93. 4:39that does not stop on the fourth floor.
94. 4:42Until someone fixed it with a sign.
95. 4:45[Pole is closer than you think. Caution!]
96. 4:48Who hasn't?
97. 4:49Who hasn't backed into something that was closer than they thought it was?
98. 4:53A sign would have been helpful.
99. 4:56[Sorry closed until we reopen!!]
100. 4:58(Laughter)
101. 5:01Now
102. 5:03when you are solving problems for humans and you yourself are human,
103. 5:07sometimes it can be hard.
104. 5:09And I have several examples
105. 5:11of how hard sometimes it is to get this right.
106. 5:14[Please use the other door]
107. 5:16Audience: Oh!
108. 5:19(Laughter)
109. 5:21[To lock, push Schlage button Turn to right (outside) Do not turn]
110. 5:24KC: Sometimes you just don’t know which way to Schlage.
111. 5:27(Laughter)
112. 5:31I think we have all been on this airport elevator.
113. 5:36Metaphorically.
114. 5:38Where is the plane?
115. 5:39(Laughter)
116. 5:42[Sorry -- Temporarily out of service]
117. 5:45Temporarily.
118. 5:47This is not temporary.
119. 5:48(Laughter)
120. 5:50[Do not inventory mannequins]
121. 5:52(Laughter)
122. 5:55OK.
123. 5:57[Champagne bottles only]
124. 5:58(Laughter)
125. 6:01Don't you love that there's someone out there
126. 6:03who needs an entire recycling bin just for their champagne bottles?
127. 6:07Good for them, good for them.
128. 6:10The reality is that most of the signs in my collection are as simple as this.
129. 6:15Downstairs, upstairs.
130. 6:17It's almost invisible.
131. 6:20The original design assignment here was not complex,
132. 6:24but it still missed the mark.
133. 6:26And I think a version of this is always going to be true,
134. 6:29we're all out here, designing experiences for one another.
135. 6:32Sometimes we nail it, sometimes it is terrible.
136. 6:35Sometimes we need someone else to come in and put a layer over it.
137. 6:38Make it OK.
138. 6:40[Push. Push.]
139. 6:41Walking through a door should be very intuitive,
140. 6:45but doors are an area where we still need a ton of support.
141. 6:49(Laughter)
142. 6:50This is a reality that I actually find reassuring.
143. 6:55These "push" signs with their little scotch tape borders,
144. 6:59the very fact that there are two of them.
145. 7:02(Laughter)
146. 7:03This is so tender to me.
147. 7:05This is so human.
148. 7:09No matter how you may feel
149. 7:11about the advancement of technology in our everyday lives,
150. 7:16these signs are evidence that we still need each other
151. 7:20out here in the real world,
152. 7:22to do some very basic things.
153. 7:25The person who came before us took the time to leave some instructions
154. 7:30to make sure that our experience is a little bit better than theirs.
155. 7:34And that is a sign of humanity that I am always happy
156. 7:38to stumble upon.
157. 7:40Thank you.
158. 7:41[We are not responsible for accidents]
159. 7:43(Cheers and applause)