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CRITIQUE #7
Shampoo Bottle Notch

 

Shampoo Bottle and Bottle Notch Pictures are shown below:


Shampoo Bottle.
(The Bottle Notch is circled in the Figure)

Shampoo Bottle Notch.
(When the Notch is closed)

Shampoo Bottle Notch.
(When the Notch is opened)

Visibility:
When a user first Looks at the shampoo bottle, he/she is not getting a visible feedback of to what should be done to open the bottle. Whether to pull the top, rotate it or any other action.
If the user somehow opens it he may end up spilling the shampoo on the ground or use extra shampoo than needed.
Match Between the System and the real world:
The mental model for most of the users for such bottles is to rotate the top to open it or pull it or any similar action. But this aspect is not considered while designing the bottle.
Besides this, there are no arrow marks provided to give some directions to the user to help him open the bottle.
Error Prevention/User Control and Freedom:
If the user of the bottle forces to open the bottle, he might end up spilling the shampoo all over. There is no consideration given to such user actions. Whenever the user opens the bottle by pulling the notch, his freedom of using his hands to use the shampoo inside the bottle is lost. The user might have to first search a place to keep the notch of the bottle , take some shampoo from the bottle for use and then keep the bottle aside and then use the shampoo and then close the bottle. This sequence of action is sure to cause the shampoo bottle to drop or at least the notch.
Flexibility and efficiency of use:
The above sequence of action shows that the design is not flexible unless you learn to use the bottle.