If you think the products don't match what you want from a product, don't buy it.

Good design is also an act of communication between the designer and the user, except that all the communication has to come about by the appearance of the device itself. The device must explain itself.

Also note that invariably when we design something that can be used by those with disabilities, we often make it better for everyone

Beauty and brains, pleasure and usability - they should go hand in hand.

And to get real work experience, you need a job, and most jobs will require you to have had either real work experience or a graduate degree.

The designer has an obligation to provide an appropriate conceptual model for the way that the device works. It doesn't have to completely accurate but it has to be sufficiently accurate that it will help in both the learning of the operation and also dealing with novel situations.

When a device as simple as a door has to come with an instruction manual—even a one-word manual—then it is a failure, poorly designed.