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A Fly on the Men's Urinal? .. A Twisted Take.

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Thanks to some designer's brilliance(?), these days urinals have a picture of a fly on them.

It is a great example of nudging customer behavior through a small change in thinking.




That said, I thought about it with a slight twist.


What if you miss? Or what if, even when you hit it, you shoot from too far? ???

Even if you nail the fly, in the end... some of your stream is still going to land on the bathroom floor.


The underlying goal is not to spill. And to get the user to step in closer.

The point, I think, is not to "hit" the target.

So why do people spill? To put the conclusion first: because their posture is not right.


Even with a target placed at the bottom, you can hit it without stepping closer. (Depends on the person.)

But what if there were something placed up above the urinal?



If so, then the "shooter" would:

(1) unconsciously straighten their back, and the man's "gear" would naturally get closer to the urinal;

(2) the direction of fire would point toward the "10 o'clock" position rather than "8 o'clock," so the effective distance of the projectile also becomes closer to the urinal.


At least that is my thinking... Curious what others think, haha.

This English version was translated by Claude.

친절한 찰쓰씨
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친절한 찰쓰씨

Pleasant Charles — UI/UX researcher at AIT. Keeping notes on design, planning, and slow days here since 2010.

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