History

The Ministry of Crap Design is an idea that I had whilst whiling away a flight to South Africa in 2001, and was really because of my experiences in toilets, hence the name. It started in a notebook that a design agency I once employed gave to me as a gift - a suitable use for it I now think. It has developed into this web log and may one day go back onto paper, who knows. In short, it is a cry to those that are paid to design, to whatever level, to just pause to think for a moment.

My uncle always said that you could judge a restaurant on the way that the butter was served. If it arrived in a small pot fresh from the fridge, all was probably well in the kitchens. If it came in a foil packet, you deserved what you got. I developed my own theory; that if the toilets are clean, stylish and all in all a pleasure to use, then the kitchens are probably in a good state. (I always enjoyed the facilities at Harrods, even though on my last visit I spent a pound - pun intended.) Poor toilets….

Anyway, on the way to South Africa I discovered that not all toilets are created equal and this brought into focus things that I had noticed in over 30 years of toilet patronage, but not really given much thought to. Sadly the same must be said for those responsible. Some people who create a toilet do so in the knowledge that they will never have to suffer the results of their handiwork. There are many examples here.

I then decided that toilets are not the only examples of poor design that are forced upon us. The suffering reaches every area of our lives, in ways so blindingly obvious to my layman’s eyes that I can hold back no longer. And so I created this cry to the designers of the world. I am not a professional designer, and my intention is not to be negative about anyone’s product, service or business. I am enough of a realist to understand that everything is created to a budget, but surely many of the things that I have observed don’t actually cost money to get right. It is meant to help, not hinder, so don’t sue me for commenting on your product or service – far better to post a comment and let us know the reality. Bear that in mind if you choose to comment as a layman. My friends involved in the business of design have explained many times why things are the way they are. But sometimes the answer can be as simple as making a toilet door turn outwards rather than inwards, which ends this introduction where it started.