This is a door of the bathrooms in the new Science building, and I think it’s a good design. I chose this design mostly because of the green vacant signifier. The users of this door are mostly faculty and student when they need to use the restroom. It can be the case that a person urgently needs to go to the restroom. If the vacant/occupied signifier weren’t present, then the user would need to individually go up to each bathroom door and give the door knob a turn to know whether it’s already being used. However, with the signifier, the user can merely just look at it to figure this out, thereby saving the user time. In addition, because design involves users’ emotional experience, in this realm, the signifier serves two purposes in the case of an already occupied restroom. For the person seeking out a restroom, the signifier helps them avoid the awkward situation of making an intrusive noise to someone who is already inside. It also makes the experience for the restroom occupant better as they won’t feel rushed by someone attempting to turn the door knob. In addition, the vacant/occupied signifier is unobtrusive to the door itself, which is one of the design principles. As most doors have just a lock for a single purpose, this door’s lock serves its purpose as both a lock and a signifier.
In addition to the signifier, the door knob indicates to the user that it should be turned. The space between the door and the handle further indicates that they should grip the handle. If it’s not clear to the user at first, the user is still able to discover how to use this door as naturally the hand doesn’t want to move up but rather down, allowing the user to discover that they should turn the door knob downwards. Turning door knobs are also more accessible to everyone as opposed to round door knobs.