Freezing prisons: intentional design or unfortunate oversight?

2019-12-27T18:21:00-05:00

In a recent Vox report, writer Roxanna Asagarian delves into the troubling phenomenon of incarcerated individuals struggling to stay warm in their cells as temperatures drop throughout the winter season. Reaction from the public over the issue seems to be split with regards to how this inmate comfort should be handled.

Considering that prisons are often designed with the intention to deprive personal comfort in any sense, the issue of individuals being deprived of warmth isn’t unexpected.

Asagarian reports, "Because the US system of prisons and jails is so vast — including 50 state prison systems, the federal prison system, and nearly 3,000 jurisdictions that include cities, counties, and Indian reservations — and because there are no federally mandated laws on temperature control, American prisoners are exposed to a wide range of conditions. Even at the state and local levels, there are few laws around this, leaving incarcerated people at the mercy of the courts to implement prot...

"The tyranny of bad doors must end."

2016-02-26T20:35:00-05:00

The podcast devoted to all things design, 99% Invisible, collaborates with Vox Media on a video explaining the backstory to "Norman doors". You know, those infuriatingly unclear doors where you can't tell if you should push or pull. The name honors design kingpin and advocate of human-centered design, Don Norman, for defining the problem that plagues these doors: they lack "discoverability", that is, their function isn't made obvious and "discoverable" to the person wanting to use it.

h/t user "go do it" in the Forum

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Freezing prisons: intentional design or unfortunate oversight?

"The tyranny of bad doors must end."