Michel Foucault talked about governance as structuring the field of action for others. It’s also a result of governance decisions made on behalf of the customers during the design process. But it’s not enough to say it’s the result of bad design. We encounter inconveniences like this coffee shop every day, both offline and in the apps we use.

Design is GovernanceĪt a fundamental level, all design is governance. We end up moving the chairs and tables around to better positions to better suit our purposes, then sit down and resume our meetings. I have to drag my table closer to them to even make that possible.Īfter a while, all of the customers in the shop instigate a small mutiny, agreeing that the cafe furniture is totally in the wrong place. Luckily for me, after discussing the situation with two women at a nearby table, they laugh and help me plug in my power cord across the room. The man across the room, also working on a laptop, has to make do with battery power. It is clearly not designed for people working on their laptops, with most outlets located in places inaccessible from the cafe’s tables. The wifi password is printed in a tiny font at the front counter. Once I go in, the details started to really fall apart. The problem is that the coffee shop looks great as long as you don’t try to actually use it.

It’s clearly designed with the intention of being an inviting place for people to meet up or hang out on their laptops doing work. From a distance, the seating and tables look charming, and the setting is well-lit by a large picture window at the entrance.

It seems like it is opening day, or soon after. I’m writing this post from a brand new coffee shop in a busy area of Los Angeles. Coffeeshop governance through rearranging tables like Tetris blocks (Case + MJ5).

Gold rush cafe