Everyday Usability 6

Have you ever felt like an idiot for walking straight into a doo

r that you could have sworn was meant to be pushed open, but in reality had to be pulled open? If so, you are not alone, although a bruised ego may have told you otherwise at the time. Today’s everyday usability post was inspired by such an experience.

The handle is generally the feature users most rely upon to tell them what action they must perform to open a door. Many kinds of door handles exist today, and they vary across residential and commercial spaces. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards regulate door hardware for public accommodations, commercial facilities, and government facilities, but widespread implementation across pre-existing construction may take a long time. Let’s look at a few examples of door handles often used in public places:

Lever handles, like this one, are often used in office spaces. The same handle is usually on both sides of the door, so you can push or pull the door open with it depending on the side of the door you’re on.

 
Handles like the one in this picture usually require pulling to open the door because you have to actually wrap your fingers around the handle and grip it firmly in order to be able to pull the door open.

Handles like the panic bars are designed so that all the user has to do is push to open a door. (This is particularly important in an emergency situation. Panic bars are almost always required on stairwell doors and exit doors from buildings.) People often default to a pushing motion over a pulling motion because pushing fits better with the natural flow of forward movement, whereas pulling often requires a pause and a step backward.

Some bar pull handles (typically one railing horizontally placed across the door) are often confusing because they look similar to panic bars but require a pulling action.

“Push” or “Pull” signs can be helpful, but we don’t often notice them until after we’ve already smacked our foreheads off the door and are consciously looking for another clue for how to open it. It could be argued that a well-designed door shouldn’t need a sign in order to be used effectively. In the end there’s no substitute for an intuitive handle design.

-KB

Image Credit: butkaj.com on Flikr