Your Top Five Joyless Experiences to Redesign

Some things are just the worst—but what if they didn’t have to be? Studio 360 and design firm IDEO have teamed up to redesign and bring joy to one awful place, experience, or thing. And by tweeting with the hashtag #bringjoy, you’ve been letting us know what needs this re-design the most.

We crunched some numbers and have gathered a highly scientific* countdown of five of the worst things according to you—things that desperately need a touch of of joy. 

Is there something you think could use a redesign? Let us know here or by tweeting at us with #bringjoy by 11:59pm ET tonight (Wednesday, February 18). 

5. Taking Care of Ourselves

Surprise, surprise: it didn't take long for you to recommend we bring some joy to all those things that are “good” for us (going to the dentist, getting shots, making appointments, taking pills). How can things at once be good and the worst?    

@dennisjboyle @ingridfetell @ideo 7 diff meds, 6 times a day, 5 diff combos, 6 diff time intervalls #bringjoy pic.twitter.com/woEBV8TXEe

— Sara Riggare (@SaraRiggare) February 13, 2015

4. Chores

“Ugh, chores!” said everyone ever, proving chores are the worst.

!! @ingridfetell wants to know what we want redesigned to #bringjoy & my suggestion is: taking out the trash http://t.co/oIrss0rsGT

— Mara Zepeda (@marazepeda) February 13, 2015

3. The Morning Commute

No matter how you get to where you’re going, the morning commute is designed to make you hate getting there. Bus stops, gas pumps, and the inevitable traffic. You know it, we know it—it’s the worst.  

@ingridfetell @Studio360show @ideo I've always thought the gas station-specifically gas pump-UX is strangely outdated & brutish #bringjoy

— Anthony Ashley (@anthonyashley) February 15, 2015

2. The New York City Commute

In the city the never sleeps... let us just stop there. New York City is a great place to live when you’re not shoving yourself into a crowded train car. And Penn Station more like Worst Station, are we right?

@Studio360show please fix Penn Station! #bringjoy #awfulcommute

— AECbooks (@aecbks) February 14, 2015

#SubwayProblems @Studio360show #bringjoy pic.twitter.com/eXfwy13aE2

— Chuong N.T. (@Cthewordsmith) February 13, 2015

1. WAITING

Okay, it’s not that we’re impatient (although, let’s admit it, we are), it’s just that the wait is designed to keep us miserable. From the hold music on the phone to the ticket system at the DMV. Any place called “waiting area” is the one place we don’t want to be. It's THE WORST.

.@Studio360show please fix the #DMV!! #bringjoy pic.twitter.com/7isRm6Jq5f

— Sam Rockman (@SamRockman) February 14, 2015

*There was absolutely no science involved in our results.