What users need and want is not always what designers care about, is it?
User + Time + Use = Efficacy of a design
I like this equation as so many designs do not really consider the actual realities of use over time. We as designers somehow think users will adapt to what we want them to do. It usually does not work that way. In this case the building owner places a sign warning smokers to be more than 25 feet from the building.
In this case there is a wall about 25 feet away that is a perfect perch to lean against while smoking.
So, here we see the remnants of smoking at the perching wall.
Next, some nice person places an old can for the butts.
Not wanting the can placed on the wall a butt container is mounted to the wall, but immediately is broken off.
Is it because the container was too small to be effective?
The we begin to see that where people smoke they also do other activities like eat and drink. New remnants of behavior begin to appear.
More remnants accumulate. And, the container reappears.
One day later the smoking container is again gone. Hmmmm?
Now it is back again, but this time people stop using it. This is really interesting isn't it?
The remnants of behavior begin to accumulate and spread. When the garbage can come, and who will be responsible for it. And, with a garbage can it will signal that everyone can drop their trash.
Once again it is gone. This time the smokers use the base of the fence pipe for extinguishing cigarettes. Actually a very effective container when filled with rain water.
And so it goes...