Page 10 - 06_September-2024

ED.
CHECKED OUT
Most of us have broken down and used the self-checkout when we’ve been at a supermarket or a drug store.
And, I think we can all agree on just how much we hate them. On top of paying for our goods, we’re being asked to be employees, too.
I just love the questionnaire that needs to be completed before you actually scan an item. “Do you have a rewards card?” “Have you seen the deal of the week?” “Would you like to redeem points?”
All that’s left is for me to ask the self-scanner to open the pod bay doors.
Finally, you scan an item. It’s not found. Scan it again. Wait, you’ve mistakenly placed your stuff in the “bagging area.” That’s not allowed. Start over. Eventually, a staff member comes over, helps you get through the process — and, at some point, you both make eye contact and realize the two of you have basically gone through all the trouble of going through a traditional checkout.
Self-checkouts are prime examples of poor design — things that are supposed to make our lives easier, but don’t. Now, we see reports of retail giants like Walmart and Canadian Tire getting rid of their self-checkouts in select stores. There are concerns over increased theft, and a desire to make the checkout process — get this — more customer friendly.
The world has cried out for a better mousetrap, but we’ve been given juicers that are paired with smart- phones, rear-view cameras that give already poor drivers further excuses not to shoulder check, forks and knives with twisty, decorative handles that make them hard to hold and AI programs, that — wait for it — can actually read books and articles for you!
Good or bad, design influences our lives on a regular basis, from the doorways we walk through, to the cars we drive and the homes in which we live. Your favourite comfy chair was designed to be, well, a favourite comfy chair. There’s a reason chefs go ga-ga over precision knives from Japan. That restaurant you love so much was designed to be a welcoming space.
The thing about great design is that you take it for granted. You never really think about why your mattress is just right or why your toilet works so efficiently. You don’t regularly look to the sky and thank the inventor of weeping tile for making sure your basement doesn’t flood after every heavy rainfall.
(That’s Henry Flagg French, for the weeping tile historians out there.)
Our September issue celebrates good design, from sleek modern furniture to
how a restaurant concept is hatched. We’ll introduce you to Iranian-Canadian architect Vahid Mortazavi, who helped create some major public infrastructure in Tehran before coming to Canada with his family.
(Disclosure: His daughter and my daughter are good friends, and that’s how I learned of his story.)
I can safely state that no one we’re featuring in this issue had anything to do with the design of the self-checkout.
Steven Sandor
Editor-in-Chief
10 EDify. SEPTEMBER.24
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN PARKER