why an additional sign is sometimes necessary

why an additional sign is sometimes necessary
Originally uploaded by jabberer.

how many kiosks have i frowned at that needed all the additional signs

and stickers in order for them to be used properly?

my Toto washlet has the flushing buttons on top of a controller, which

is mounted on the wall next to the toilet seat. all the text is of

course in japanese. but it also has a function to automatically flush

if the user seats on it longer than x secs (note: haven’t tested it,

didn’t read the manual), so i usually never need to use the button.

however i found out some other users had difficulty figuring all this

out, specifically for this combination of demographics + use

situation:

user is male

number one (only)

not a seater (according to Toto’s own research, merely about 15% is)

has 0 knowledge on japanese/chinese character

has little or no experience in using japanese washlets

it was not only once that i had to deal with an embarrassed guest in

the house, so i wondered how to improve usability. this was best i

could do utilizing what was available in the house.