A few weeks ago I bought some mints at Powell’s bookstore before a meeting. I didn’t want my breath to stink. As I was walking to the appointment, I struggled to get at the mints. It turned out this container required me to read the directions.
See the unopenable mint container in action in this video:
Since I discovered the secret, I’ve been pretty taken with the mint container’s simplicity. Still, I think back to my struggle in downtown Portland. It was not intuitive to open that container.
The fourth law of simplicity states:
“Knowledge makes everything simpler.”
What do you think? Does needing to read the directions eliminate the chance for it to be simple?
I’d answer your question, but I’m speechless at your super-clean desk.
Video blogging, eh? Nice, but still hard to search or skim. Not sure Simplici.TV is any simpler than simplici.TXT, but i’m darn sure it’s snazzier! Especially since we get to gaze upon your lovely mug and listen to your dulcet tones.
Oh, and i bet that mint container is simpler for my daughter than a pull top or a twist top. Knowledge is a two-edged sword. It can both simplify and complicate those who are blessed…er…indoctrinated with it. Looks like you’ve been brainwashed by the corrupt “Big Twist/Pull” industry.
Simplicity is dead! Long live the new simplicity!
Ah yes. The ol’ curse of knowledge, which I’ve called thinking like a technician. Still, there’s simplicity in consistency.
I don’t think Simplici.TV will be taking over Simplici.TXT (love that name!), but when I have something appropriate like this, I’ll include it. If a pic is worth a thousand words, how many is a video worth?
And as for the desk… it took me a good portion of the morning to clear that off!
I cannot open that little mint tin with anything other than my opposable thumb and my index (or middle) finger on my right hand. It’s a tough little action. But it makes a satisfying POP.
I wonder what would happen if you banged it with a rock like a caveman? That’s primitive, but maybe not simple.
This feels like a perfect example of “insider knowledge” – once you’ve seen behind the velvet curtain, it is blatantly obvious. Like any good magic trick, it feels pretty obvious.
I think that well designed products/processes should feel this way for users. Maybe you do have to read the directions (or get schooled a bit on the native practices), but once oriented, it should be really easy to remember how to perform the task or use the product.
Nice find Adam.
tl
That’s an elegant device (the mint tin’s lid). As to whether it’s “simple” or not, I’d say that has to be evaluated relative to how often you’re going to use the tin and also relative to how applicable the device is to other applications.
If you use that tin a lot then your investment in reading the instructions is paid off soon, and the intrinsic “goodness” of the mechanism dominates the equation. And if that sort of lid gets used on other containers then the payoff is even better.
Nice vid. Yeah, I hate reading! I don’t know–I pretty much agree, but isn’t it sort of cool now that you know how it works–insider knowledge like tl says.
Why is twisting “simple”? It’s only “intuitive” because of your knowledge how other cylindrical containers can operate. When that didn’t work, you tried pulling, because other cylindrical containers work that way. Childproof pill bottles (definitely NOT simple) work in many other ways.
I’d say opening this mint container IS simple, because once you know how to do it (and it can be documented in just two simple pictures), you can open it:
* one handed
* without looking
* with ease
Even better, it’s fun!
I tend to agree with Bill’s comments above. The process of opening the tin is very simple once you have gained the knowledge. But the uses of this knowledge have very few applications. I can’t press the center of the milk carton or the can of green beans to open them. Why should we have to learn a separate process for each product we interact with? That just adds to the clutter.
What if Microsoft Word decided on a new way to copy text? No more Command C (Ctrl C for you PCs). Instead copy would be F1. F1 is simpler, only requires pressing one button, no keyboard dexterity required, and much easier to say to somebody. But now the process of remembering that Microsoft Word uses F1 and every other program uses Command C, becomes more involved. If other programs begin to take these same liberties then complexity abounds. ‘Speed keys’ become ‘good luck remembering keys’.
I like the mint tin and will probably check it out next time I am at Powell’s but it is not simple. The “container opening” industry is not broken. Let’s not try to fix it by requiring more knowledge from the user.
Good video Adam, very thought provoking!
Bah. I think this *is* simple, however, it’s just new. As Brent said the other ways to remove a lid are only simple because you’re familiar with them. However, now that you’ve seen this method, it will *always* be an option.
I think that most things that aren’t labeled aren’t obvious the first time you encounter them. Door knobs. Pretty simple. Turn handle, open door. One handed, no-look, it just works. However, the first time you encountered a closed door, you may not have known to walk up, grab hold of the protruding object with your hand, grip it, twist, and push. After you saw it once though, it was simple enough you never had to think about it again. (obviously I’m extracting the fact that most people learn this as an infant, and I’m imagining an environment where an adult encounters a door knob for the first time).
I would say simplicity isn’t defined by how obvious it is to the uninitiated, but how easily it is learned, how quickly it is captured to permanent memory, and how it actually functions.
Now, again, I think the “idea” of this container is simple, but until I actually try and use it, I can’t say. It may actually be a pain to use one-handed or off of a desk, which would make it over-complicated (un-simple) even though the steps are short.
Hey Adam,
Just made $5.00 off of this blog post.
A buddy of mine grew so frustrated trying to open one of these that he threw them down on the table. “I’ll give five bucks to whoever can get this open!” he said.
* click *
Easiest five bucks I ever earned.
😉