Don Norman opens his book by talking about “Norman doors” — doors that are unjustifiably confusing to operate. These doors often do not have clear indicators for operation, lacking in the principle of “discoverability” that is so crucial to design. What immediately came to mind as I was reading this were NYUAD’s very own Norman doors located at the entrance of C2.
These doors have been the very bane of my existence ever since I first arrived on campus back in August 2023. Stickers plastered on their glass planes label them as automatic doors, yet they seldom sense approaching figures and only ever open after 5 seconds have already passed and I have already made the motion to grab the handles and yank the heavy doors open myself. And when the doors do open, they awkwardly thrust outwards, knocking into people who have already taken a step closer in hopes of triggering the sensor.
I think the problem with the design of C2 doors is not the lack of discoverability, but the opposite: the bright yellow “Automatic Door” stickers and the long vertical handles are inherently contradicting instructions. It becomes unclear whether these doors are truly automatic or manual, and the stiff outwards swing of the opening doors is also not ideal, as people entering often have to step back. In short, there are many problems with design of C2’s doors, and it would make much more sense to install automatic sliding glass doors as they are much more intuitive and efficient for those who do not have time to stop and examine how to operate a door.