Product designers create tools that marketers label as “ergonomic,” suggesting that the product will make it easier to perform a particular task.  But do these products live up to the expectation? It takes two to tango, as they say, and when it comes to ergonomics, product design follows, while human behavior – specifically, how a person uses the product – leads and truly determine whether it is ergonomic.  In some rare cases the product design alone is enough to compel the desired behavior: the design of the product forces usage that improves body mechanics or reduces effort.  But most of the time it’s not.   With no offense to the great designers out there, the reality is that the human component is extremely challenging to “control” and even with the best products some kind of training is often required.

Take for example the OXO Good Grips Angled Measuring Cup. This measuring cup is brilliant!  Products like this one make me wonder how we managed without them.

I’m not a cook but as the official sous-chef in my household, I do the cutting, slicing, peeling and measuring of ingredients.  If I had a nickel for each time that I have filled a measuring cup, bent down to check the level, added a little more, bent down again, then took a little out, lifted the cup to eye level, then poured in a little more…. Well, I’d have a lot of nickels. This little dance can go on for a while depending on how compulsive I’m feeling that day.

The OXO Good Grips Angled Measuring Cup comes to the rescue with a simple change to an old tool.   It allows you to read the measurement from the top:  no bending, no lifting.  How smart is that?  As you fill it, you know exactly when to stop.  You get the desired amount from the first try while maintaining a nice upright posture.  Now that’s a good product!

But is it human proof?  Remember, people are creatures of habit and changing behaviors is rarely easy.  That’s exactly what we saw with my mother-in-law when we gave her the OXO Measuring Cup as a gift.  A year later, we still saw her bending down to read the measuring cup from the side.

This is a great product but “human-proof” it is not.  Are there any “human proof” products out there?  If you think of one, please let me know.