What products do you think are poorly designed?

[EggSheeran]

As a woman I get frustrated with poorly designed female products and often wonder why they haven't been changed to suit us better.

One product for example is the extra gusset bit of fabric in knickers and thongs. In my opinion it's in completely the wrong location or should be longer.

I also think that some sanitary pads/pantyliners should be made with the underside or wing part in a black colour so they are less visible when wearing black underwear.

Does anyone else ponder over poorly designed products like me?

Family cars that need you to press the fob twice to unlock all doors. Pressing once just unlocks the drivers door. Fine if you don’t have a family but if it’s a family car basically all of their target market need to open doors other than the drivers door first. AND the bastard fob never registers the second press so you end up pulling at a locked door holding your baby in the piss down rain. Skoda I’m looking at YOU.

I can see why this is irritating, but it does show that we live in a safe country. I've lived in places where you definitely only wanted to open the drivers door, as others (criminals) would try to jump in unlocked, unguarded doors. Fortunately I only drove vehicles without central locking....

Hand cream without a flip top. You've put the cream on, your hands are greasy and you have to faff around with a twist on lid.
FFS it's not rocket science.
Facial moisturisers in jars rather than tubes. Often the jars are made of coloured glass ( in a non recyclable colour ). Most bathroom floors are hard so if a jar falls - catastrophe - all that broken glass and bare feet.

Why aren't more less expensive manufacturers imitating Tefal Ingenio saucepans with the removable handles ? Really useful as storing the pans is so much easier

@britnay

Kitchen worktops - too high for the average woman to be in an effective position when baking or slicing things up. They would be better if they were about 6 inches lower.

I am 5'9" and actually find most countertops too low!

And the sleeves in basically every top are too short. Please, make them longer. You can hem them if they are too long but there is never enough fabric to lengthen them.

[quote AnnieKenney]Let me also point out that about 15% of the worlds population have some sort of disability so it's not like you're designing for this tiny minority either.

I was blown away when I found out about this German city... its just amazing.

t.co/caA61jwSYC?amp=1[/quote]
That's incredible @AnnieKenney - it just reinforces the Social Model of disability that it's only someone's environment that disables a person, not their difference.

Clinique moisturiser with the pump that doesn't enable you to pump the last cm. Given the price per ml, that's a lot of inaccessible product unless you start pounding it out by hand, which obviously defeats the purpose of the pump.

Clinique if you are reading, this is why I switched to good old Olay. Which, incidentally is much better anyway.

Oh I thought of another one.
Those resealable labels for pasta, rice etc packets. Always shit. Never work. The packets are crap too.

Mugs made of thermos material to keep drinks hot. Teapots too

Car headlight bulbs. Changing them is at best tortuous and at worse expensive and requiring a trip to the garage. There must be an easier way to remove the bulb. Even rear lights, some designs are so much easier to change than others.

Toilets at work that don’t have a shelf/anywhere to put down your phone/any item. In my workplace where everyone is glued to their phone I basically end up having to juggle it while I pee, tuck it down my bra or put it on the floor 🤢🤢🤢

Plus size clothes where they just make the clothes bigger round the middle.
We need wider shoulders, bigger armholes and slightly longer length, not just more material round the waist.

Oh and yes to inside pockets in coats for your phone and cards. Most of the time I carry a handbag for these two items only.

Child proof tops on medicine bottles, such as Piriton, which just stop fucking opening AT ALL for anyone. So frustrating!

@Blueberriesonmyshreddies

Plus size clothes where they just make the clothes bigger round the middle. We need wider shoulders, bigger armholes and slightly longer length, not just more material round the waist.

Oh and yes to inside pockets in coats for your phone and cards. Most of the time I carry a handbag for these two items only.

Some of us don't need bigger shoulders! Unless I buy plus size petite clothes they don't fit. I have short legs. Really short arms. Small shoulders. My waist to crotch measurement is small. I'm just fat and have big boobs and thighs! The only thing I like is longer tops to cover my belly.
(As an example when i measured myself to make a jumper recently I need xxxl round the body and xs in the shoulders . Thankfully that's the benefit of making it. I can make it to fit!)

That's the difference between high Street stores making their usual clothes in bigger sizes and actual "plus size" brands like Evans. Evans do bigger sizes in a variety of shapes to fit actual people.

Perfumed sanitary towels! No thanks, I don't want thrush. I still have no idea which women sat there in market research focus groups and actually said "Yes, what a good idea".

@FoxgloveSummers

Toilets at work that don’t have a shelf/anywhere to put down your phone/any item. In my workplace where everyone is glued to their phone I basically end up having to juggle it while I pee, tuck it down my bra or put it on the floor 🤢🤢🤢

But couldn’t you put it in your pocket, handbag or leave it on your desk if you work in an office?

No - no pockets in most women’s clothes (see rest of thread) and it would be weird to walk around a large open plan office with my handbag. Should probably leave it on my desk but 90% of the time I’ve just called someone or just about to and quickly run to the toilet in between!