{"id":844,"date":"2026-03-31T11:25:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/productbooster.dk\/?p=844"},"modified":"2026-03-31T12:51:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:51:52","slug":"smart-enough-to-impress-not-smart-enough-to-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/productbooster.dk\/?p=844","title":{"rendered":"Smart Enough to Impress. Not Smart Enough to Work."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every time I travel, I\u2019m reminded of a concept I\u2019ve started calling dysfunctional smart design<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week did not disappoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minimalist, Except for the Water Everywhere<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I checked into a beautiful hotel. Clean lines. Warm materials. That kind of quiet, confident design that makes you think: someone really knew what they were doing here.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I took a shower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shower had no door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, at first glance, this feels intentional. Minimalist. Modern. Almost luxurious. Nothing interrupting the visual flow. Just open space and elegant materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, it was also physically impossible to use the shower without flooding the entire wooden floor in the entrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, water, unlike the designer, does not respect clean lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Toe: 1 \u2013 Design: 0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Later that night, I discovered a bed feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or more specifically, the platform<\/em> the bed was placed on. A raised wooden frame, about 10 cm high, extending roughly a meter around the bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It looked great. Structured. Architectural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also meant that getting up in the middle of the night required the spatial awareness of a ninja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I immediately noticed it and thought: this is dangerous.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day, my colleague, staying in a similar room, confirmed the hypothesis. He had met the platform. With his toe. At speed. In the dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He spent the day limping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Easy Open, Impossible Survive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t just a hotel thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You see it everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take food packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know the ones: \u201ceasy open\u201d, \u201cresealable\u201d, \u201csmart design\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Except:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • The tab doesn\u2019t peel<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The seal tears diagonally into chaos<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The zip-lock never works again<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    So you end up standing in your kitchen, holding something labeled easy open<\/em>, while reaching for scissors or a knife like it\u2019s a survival situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We replaced a simple, reliable action with a clever, unreliable one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Guess the Hinge: A Daily Game of Murphy\u2019s Law<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
    \n

    Or the glass fridge doors you see in offices and stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Fully transparent. No handles. Ultra-clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Also: no indication of which side opens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So every interaction becomes a small social experiment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • You pick a side<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • It\u2019s wrong<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • You awkwardly switch<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Every. Single. Time.. And get reminded of the old generation USB sticks that you aways had to turn 180 degrees 3 or 5 times before making it enter the slot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It\u2019s like a tiny, daily reminder that design can be both confident and completely unhelpful.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

      \n
      \"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n

      Privacy Optional (Unless You\u2019re Not on a Honeymoon)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      And then there was another hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This one had taken things a step further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The shower was a glass cabin. Right in the middle of the bedroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Visually? Very \u201csmart\u201d. Very bold. Probably great if you\u2019re on a honeymoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Slightly less great if you\u2019re traveling with your mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Turns out, privacy is not an outdated feature. It just doesn\u2019t photograph as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      When \u2018Smart\u2019 Replaces \u2018Tested\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Individually, these are small things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      But they all share the same pattern:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • They look smart<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • They feel intentional<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • They signal quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        And then they fail in the most basic moment of use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n\n\n\n

        Good Design Works When You\u2019re Not Thinking. This Doesn\u2019t.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        Which brings me to the real problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        These aren\u2019t bad ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        They\u2019re untested ideas<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Or worse: ideas that were tested, but only under perfect conditions. With full attention. In good lighting. By people who already knew how they worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Not by someone:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Tired<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Distracted<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Barefoot<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Traveling with family<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Or just trying to open a bag of food without tools<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          In other words: not by actual humans in real situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n\n\n\n

          Somewhere along the way, \u201csmart\u201d replaced \u201ctested\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The design works beautifully in a presentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          It looks great in photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          It communicates taste, intention, and modernity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          But no one seriously asked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n

          What actually happens when someone uses this?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

          \n\n\n\n

          Good design has a very simple job:
          It should work when you\u2019re not thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Because most of the time, you\u2019re not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          You\u2019re tired. In a hurry. Half-focused. Maybe getting up in the middle of the night. Maybe trying not to injure yourself. Maybe just hoping for a bit of privacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Good design accounts for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          It protects you from mistakes.
          It makes the right action obvious.
          It still works when you\u2019re slightly careless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n\n\n\n

          Dysfunctional smart design does the opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          It assumes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          • Full attention<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Perfect behavior<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • A very specific scenario<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            And when reality inevitably shows up, it breaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Or floods your floor.
            Or injures your toe.
            Or removes your privacy.
            Or sends you looking for a knife to open something that promised the opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n\n\n\n

            This isn\u2019t just about hotels or packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            It\u2019s the same thing happening in digital products every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Features that look elegant but confuse users.
            Flows that are \u201cstreamlined\u201d but remove necessary context.
            Interfaces that feel clean, but only if you already understand them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Designed to impress.
            Not designed to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n\n\n\n

            So here\u2019s a simple test:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Can a tired, distracted person use it without thinking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            If the answer is no, it\u2019s not smart design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            It\u2019s just design that hasn\u2019t met reality yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Every time I travel, I\u2019m reminded of a concept I\u2019ve started calling dysfunctional smart design. This week did not disappoint. Minimalist, Except for the Water Everywhere I checked into a beautiful hotel. Clean lines. Warm materials. That kind of quiet, confident design that makes you think: someone really knew what they were doing here. Then I took […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":32,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/productbooster.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/productbooster.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/productbooster.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/productbooster.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/productbooster.dk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=844"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/productbooster.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":853,"href":"https:\/\/productbooster.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844\/revisions\/853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/productbooster.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/productbooster.dk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/productbooster.dk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/productbooster.dk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}