July 2024

Move over, tomato ketchup bottle, this is the UI/UX comparison that is speaking to me this morning!

On the left is a photo of the school packed lunch I dream of making for my young child. It looks delicious, healthy, and fun. I imagine him opening his lunchbox excitedly while his friends gather around, amazed at the food art within! 🦉

But you can’t fit the lid on the lunchbox with those veg sticks poking out. And can you imagine what that owl will look like after it’s been swung about in a lunch-bag on the way to school? And those massive grapes? Choke hazard. Don’t even ask me what the white stuff is in the middle of the lunchbox.

Now throw into the mix a neurodivergent child whose list of acceptable foods dwindles by the day. Grapes are ok, but they must be smaller and purple – not green, not red, not black, but just the right shade of purple. All the veg is a no-no, except maybe one stick of cucumber with the centre removed. The strawberry looks too wet, the kiwi is touching other foods, and what in God’s good name are those macaroni shapes on the owl?

It’s not a bad lunch per se. It would be fine if you were carefully carrying it from the kitchen counter to the dining table. But it is so focused on appearances that it isn’t functional as a packed lunch. Especially not for my child.

Let’s not call it “UI”. Let’s call it bad UX, focusing on UI?

Now, this lunchbox on the right, my child’s actual lunchbox this morning. This is good UX! It’s as ugly as hell. It’s a particularly ugly lunchbox this morning. But my child will see this as a thing of beauty.

Each food type is packed into its own compartment, so different foods don’t touch (cheese and bread are an exception, as long as there’s no butter!).

As austere as it seems, taking the lids off the pots is a magical moment, because, while some pots contain fruit, one will always have a treat (today it’s flapjack).

And this simple lunchbox hasn’t been thrown together quickly (despite appearances!). It’s the product of daily feedback. Conversations about “don’t you like x anymore?”, “maybe we could try y instead of x today?”, “do you have enough time at lunchtime to eat x?”, “shall we ask your teacher if you can go to lunch slightly earlier so you have more time to eat?”.

It’s not perfect. I am working with so many constraints! But it is the right thing for him. And, if that changes, I’ll soon learn about it, and adapt.

Well, enough of this. I’d better get the children out of bed and dressed!