Assignment 1 - Bad Design: The Bin

I'm sure everyone uses the public rubbish bins but I bet no one cares about their designs. Almost all the rubbish bins out there look like this:


which certainly isn't a good design in my opinion.

Bad Point #1 - The opening


First, let's look at the opening where we throw our rubbish in. The opening is on the side of the bin which is not a good location since I often notice that people miss when they try to throw their rubbish in a hurry (not to mention that most of them can't be bothered to pick up the rubbish that they drop). A rubbish bin with an opening at the top would have been a better design choice.

Bad Point #2 - The ash tray



Next up is the ash tray that we find on top of the rubbish bin. It's usefulness is a big question mark - why is it neccessary to maintain a separate container for cigerette butts and ashes instead of just throwing them into the main bin. Moreover, I find the ash tray too shallow. Since some of these bins are placed out in the open, a gust wind can easily scatter these cigerette ashes into the surrounding.

Bad point #3 - The looks

I wonder why all rubbish bins need to look so plain and uniform in design. If the makers of these bins can put in extra effort to design funkier and more aesthetically appealing bins, these rubbish bins can served as decorations for the surrounding.