“Obviously, I’m too fat at 170 lbs., so that’s my fault. Had I been thinner, I’d have been closer to the ladder and thus would have fit through that tiny hole in the cabin where the ladder goes through. Maybe someday they’ll make a boat just for me.”

‘Captain Steve‘ on www.boattest.com (picked up from Ergonomics In The News)

How many times do we catch ourselves saying or thinking “that’s my fault” or “I’m just not very good with…[insert any one of the following]…technology/mobile phones/computers…” or even in this particular case boats!

It is our contention that this user ’self-blame’, is perhaps one of the first indications of a poor consideration of Ergonomics within the design process of the product that elicits it.

Next time you catch yourself thinking such thoughts or even worse writing off even using something on this justification (including perhaps commenting on this blog…?!) ask yourself: “Is it actually my fault? Or is it the designer’s fault for not understanding me and my requirements well enough?”

You’ll hear more from us on this topic over the coming weeks, but in the meantime if there are any products that spring to mind straight away that ellicit these sort of responses in you, let us know, your story could form part of our exhibition and help us in our mission to raise awareness of ergonomics in our daily lives.