Nearly 20 years after it was first designed, one remote control stands out among all the rest. Find out how its designers applied design thinking and empathy for users in order to create this award-winning physical interface, a classic of user experience design.

1. EMPATHY IN DESIGN:
Is this the best-designed
remote control…ever?
http://jamesarcher.me

2. http://jamesarcher.me
This is the CyberHome DVD
remote, the worst dang piece of
crap remote control I’ve ever used.
Every button on it feels exactly the
same. There’s almost no distinction
between them.
Can you imagine trying to use this
thing in the dark? (I’m getting
frustrated just remembering it…)

3. http://jamesarcher.me
They probably built this to be the
cheapest remote possible, and I’m
sure they accomplished that, so I
can’t blame them too much.
However, it’s an example of
completely non-empathetic
design.
Whoever designed it was only
solving a technical problem instead
of a user problem.
And that’s why I still cringe a little
every time I see it.

4. The thing is, people often turn out
the lights while enjoying their
favorite show.
If you’re watching in the dark, you
can’t see the buttons.
http://jamesarcher.me

5. Besides, even if you could see the
remote, you probably wouldn’t look
anyway.
Instead of holding it up to your
face and pressing buttons with
your index finger, you usually feel
around with your thumb while
pointing it at the TV, right?
A well-designed remote should be
usable with your eyes closed.
http://jamesarcher.me

6. http://jamesarcher.me
Behold…
the TiVo remote

7. http://jamesarcher.me
TiVo’s remote control is a fantastic
example of empathetic design in
action.
When TiVo started developing what we
now call DVR, they knew the user
experience had to extend to the
physical remote.
They tested foam prototypes until they
found a shape that seemed to seemed
to click with the test users. They
dubbed it the “peanut.”

8. http://jamesarcher.me
They went through countless
prototypes, constantly testing and
iterating features.
Paul Newby, the father of the TiVo
remote, described their goal as “key
Braille-ability,” or the ability to use the
remote as if you were blind.
Even in the earliest prototypes, you can
see the design thinking that’s present
even in their most recent models.
Image source: http://gizmodo.com/5017972/story-of-a-peanut-the-tivo-
remotes-untold-past-present-and-future

9. http://jamesarcher.me
At the top of the remote, you can see
the raised circular area with buttons of
varying sizes and shapes around it, each
easy to identify by touch.

10. http://jamesarcher.me
The volume and channel buttons, so
often identical on modern remotes, are
angled different directions to make
them more distinctive.
No more accidentally changing to ESPN
when you’d meant to turn it up during
the climax of Pretty Little Liars…

11. http://jamesarcher.me
The center of the remote (where your
thumb naturally rests) is home to the
most common controls.
The pause button—the one you
typically need to find the fastest—is
given the place of honor in the center.
(UX expert Jakob Nielsen described it
as “the most beautiful pause button I’ve
ever seen.”)
Notice each of the control buttons has
a unique shape, making it easy to find
by feel without looking.

12. http://jamesarcher.me
The numbers at the bottom follow the
traditional number-grid format, and
have generally the same shape.
However, each column of numbers is
oriented at a different angle, so you can
still get a sense for where you are in
the grid.
The designers understood that the
space between buttons was sometimes
as important as the buttons themselves.

13. http://jamesarcher.me
There are countless other details that
make this such a great example of
design: the “bloody battles” over the
number of buttons, the feel of the
buttons when pressed, the exact
shades and hues of colors used.

14. http://jamesarcher.me
In the end, though, TiVo stuck with the
design process and managed to create
an award-winning remote that still
stands out as brilliant almost 20 years
after it was first prototyped.

15. This remote is a fantastic example of
empathetic design in action.
When TiVo started developing what we
now call DVR, they knew the user
experience had to extend to the
physical remote.
They tested foam prototypes until they
found a shape that seemed to seemed
to click with the test users.
They dubbed it the “peanut.”
Interested in design thinking
and user experience?
There’s more at
http://jamesarcher.me