In or Out?

       While I was in Philadelphia, I stopped in to Banana Republic to find some summer clothes; however, when I decided to leave, I pulled the handle to get out but nothing happened. I then realized that the door did not open toward me but away from me. Due to the door having two handles, pictured on the left, users do not know which way the door opens and closes.
       In this scenario, the door had a poor signifier; the door actually signified the wrong action. Users have a conceptual model that when there is a handle, one should pull, and the object will come toward them. When the object is to be pushed, there will be a metal plate, a sign, or nothing connected to the door.
       Signifiers are very important when it comes to design in order to make interfaces more usable. If signifiers are good, users can often save time. For example, if a user wants to order something on a shoe store website and they cannot find the box that signifies where to check out, he or she may spend minutes trying to find a button that indicates how to check out.
       In the situation with the door at Banana Republic, if there was a metal plate on the inside of the door indicating that the user should push in order to open the door, he or she would be able to get out of the store easier and faster. Saying this, sometimes signifiers help to reduce kinematic load. When designing interfaces, it is important that designers afford signifiers in their designs to make tasks easier for users.