And I’m not talking about the aesthetics. One of the reasons I’ve never bought IKEA furniture, even though for much of my life that’s all I could afford is that their chairs are incredibly uncomfortable*. They all have this ‘swayback S’ shape that’s supposedly ergonomic, but kills my back (maybe Swedes are built funny? Dunno).
So this picture of the D.C. Metro’s new 7000 series cars does not make me happy:
Hopefully, I’m wrong, but those seats look really uncomfortable. Stylish but uncomfortable. No doubt we paid extra for that.
*Also all the particle board that has the weight of oak and the strength of balsa. Ugh.
mikethemadbiologist
Maybe the seat design has the same purpose as the benches in this article:
http://unbound.co.uk/books/why-did-the-policeman-cross-the-road/updates/hello-2015-let-s-get-this-book-published
A good example of designing for the “average” when in fact practically no one is “average.” I am barely 5′ tall and chairs with this design are horrible for me – the S shape, instead of fitting nicely into the curve of my spine, hits me at an absolutely wrong place.