Washing machines

In an ideal world, I want to be able to use a washing machine without looking at the instruction manual. I want three buttons. Maximum.

My washing machine at home sports fifty tiny pictograms arranged around a dial, which look identical, but are actually different programs.

Can someone please explain what is going on here?:

I’ve just found a washing machine with an interface I like. The Indesit Moon looks as though Apple was involved, which is a compliment indeed. It’d also be interesting to see a washing machine with multi-touch technology, though I’m not sure how useful or desirable this would be on an ‘uncool’ domestic item like a washing machine. (iWash, anyone?)

Supermarkets

I’ve always wondered if there is a system behind the way goods are arranged in a supermarket. The consumer’s journey through a supermarket must be something that is taken into account by the industry. It’s comparable to how users ‘travel’ through a website, making use of visual signposts (including ads). I’m thinking a bit about shopping process, the order in which goods are ‘revealed’ to consumers, and how consumers travel through a shop, and how that could be improved.

I would like to be able to navigate my way better around Tesco. Perhaps there should be a height restriction on the stacks of shelves, so I could see my way down the shop. Maps should be inbuilt into shopping carts.