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Made by Design · Chapter 4

Good Design, Bad Design

Doors that lie, handles that guide, and the design behind everyday things

A door tricks Milo into shoving instead of pulling, and Rio has a name for that: bad design. Together they explore affordances, ergonomics, honest design, and why Dieter Rams believed less is more.

12 panels · ~6 min read

A boy leans away from a glass door, hauling on its large pull handle with all his weight, while a designer watches with a knowing smile.

Panel 1

A designer taps a door handle while explaining to a curious boy why the door tricked him, both standing near a propped-open glass office door.

Panel 2

A designer's hand rests on a flat push plate beside a boy gripping a curved pull handle, comparing two kinds of door hardware.

Panel 3

A designer holds up small hardware samples, a flat plate, a curved handle, and a grooved drawer front, while a boy leans in to examine them.

Panel 4

A boy happily lifts a kettle by a cool insulated handle arcing over its body, steam rising from the spout beside it, while a designer points out a raised bump on a nearby electrical plug.

Panel 5

A designer measures a boy's outstretched hand with a soft tape in a bright studio, wooden handle mockups of different sizes laid out on the table.

Panel 6

A boy's hands try a pair of ergonomic scissors, a curved-handled knife, and a two-handed game controller in a warm, sequential montage.

Panel 7

A designer gestures at a small push plate at hand height on the opening edge of a push-only door while a boy tugs in confused frustration on the decorative handle bolted to it.

Panel 8

A boy turns one of four stove knobs laid out to match the four burners above them, clicks a light switch, and slides a memory card into a slot that fits only one way.

Panel 9

A designer places a plain, minimal boxy radio on a table while a boy leans in, studying how few controls it has.

Panel 10

A boy holds a cluttered remote control crowded with buttons in one hand and a clean, simple remote in the other, comparing them.

Panel 11

A boy laughs while easily pulling open the same glass door from earlier, glancing back at a smiling designer beside him.

Panel 12

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