Little effort, mental or physical, is needed to use the “virgin polypropylene” Pipee stacking chair (image 1). As it is extraordinarily light (Lifetime Industries website, 2015) this chair fits the “kinematic… performance load” description (Lidwell, Holden and Butler 2003) . The chair design is so familiar, so usable, that the makers can rely entirely on retained, long-term memories. The chair complies with “cognitive… performance load” – and the Lidwell, Holden and Butler “usability” criteria. As this is one of a set of four identical chairs it somehow fits these writers’ “consistency” definition. While touted as durable, ‘recycle’ appears nowhere on chairs or website. Aesthetics appears an alien concept, and Stahel’s (1982) “cradle to cradle” care and thought is probably unheard of .
An enigmatic Green Dot Symbol (2015) is in evidence (images 2 & 3) on the backs of three slightly-different-but-same and-performing-the-same plastic bottles of water. Symbols such as the Green Dot function like a logo – they carry a certain message. These messages are always “perceived” – correctly or incorrectly – in a certain way. So this small symbol lightens, (for better or worse), “mental … cognitive… performance load” (Lidwell, Holden & Butler, 2003).
Image 4 shows is the former house of a most delicious creature. Always recognisable, all the same shape, colour and texture. The seeker’s performance, or cognitive load, is lessened, as, once seen and enjoyed they are forever recognisable. Regarding performance or kinematic load, again little effort is required. Although these creatures may vary slightly in shape, all fit beautifully into the palm of a human hand and can easily be gathered into a bucket, and quickly pried open to eat, raw. Kinematic -performance load can be further reduced if steamed. Then all open obligingly – for ready access to their tasty meat.
Reference
Lifetime Industries. (2015). Pipee Stacking Chair. Website. Retrieved from http://www.lifetime.net.au/detail/pid/18/id/11/pipee-stacking-chairs
Harford, S. (2015). Personal images.
Stahel, W. R. (1982). The 30th. anniversary of Walter R. Stahel’s Prize-winning paper “The Product-Life-Factor”. Retrieved from http://www.product-life.org/en/the-30th-anniversary-of-walter-r-stahel-prize-winning-paper-the-product-life-factor
The Green Dot Symbol. (n.d.). Symbols.com. Retrieved May 25, 2015, from http://www.symbols.com/symbol/2025.
susanneah 