DoDD: The Cab Door Mirror

TL;DR

They’re dope! Are they on cabs in U.S. too? I don’t take taxis often enough to know but I hope so!

Quick Intro

On our way back from Japan, my mom and I had a ~24-hour layover in Seoul, Korea — so, why not go out and explore, right?

We made our way to a marketplace in a taxi to see what goodies we could find before we got too cold (it was a brisk 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside) 🥶. En route, I noticed these mirrors on the cab’s rear doors from the backseat that proved to be very useful once we reached our destination.

My Goal

I wanted to exit the cab safely. No fluff, just facts.

My Experience

The little mirror pictured on the rear door makes seeing oncoming objects easier for passengers in the backseat.

When we arrived, I didn’t have to struggle to look through the window to see if any cars, cyclists, or people were approaching from behind. Nor did I need to find a suitable viewing angle in an effort to look for oncoming obstacles via the passenger side mirror. I simply glanced to the side, saw that no one was coming or in the way, and opened the cab door.

Dope or Dead?

D-o-p-e. It really is the simple things in life that matter the most. ☺️

I have experienced plenty of near misses and even hit a few objects on occasion while opening a car door — especially when exiting from the backseat. These mirrors were something that I didn’t realize I wanted until I had them and now that I’m back in the States taking Ubers/Lyfts, it’s very noticeable (to me) that they’re missing.

UX Corner

Creating something people know they really want is what every designer strives to do at a base level. Creating something people didn’t realize they really wanted is the ultimate level up.

When’s the last time you thought about what life was like without razors? Can you imagine what your day-to-day would look like without the internet? Or socks? Or an alarm clock? Granted, these aren’t things that everyone has access to presently but for those of us who are fortunate enough to use these items regularly, it can be hard to picture life without them (even if we were around before their invention!).

How does one create something like this? It starts by listening and paying attention to what people are actually saying and doing. An incredibly useful UX research methodology is observation. You literally just sit and watch, listen and take notes. People will tell you the most about what they want by what they do and they don’t even have to be aware of your presence to do so. Behavioral data is some of the best information to have because humans are human and, oftentimes, don’t realize what they do or don’t do. This is the primary reason why asking about future behavior (e.g., “what would you do…,” “how much would you pay…," etc.) doesn’t yield very helpful insight during a user interview.

There are several observation techniques that exist — in this article written by Senior UX Researcher, Jim Ross, he goes over a few types of observation research along with how and when to use them.

For this reason, it’s super important to be present, with both eyes and ears open as we do user research. So, it’s very possible that you may see us lurking…but I promise we’re not stalking you. 😅