Bad Designs - Lamp switch

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Lamp switch

This picture shows the switch on our halogen desk lamp. It is a three-position rocker switch. Its three positions are

low (I)
off (O)
high (II)

To switch from low to high or vice versa, you have to move the switch through the off position. I wonder why it works likes this? Wouldn't it make more sense if its three positons were

off (O)
low (I)
high (II)

That way you wouldn't have to first turn it off to switch from low to high. It seems like a more natural order. One other problem with this design is that it is difficult to tell when the lamp is set to high vs. low because it turns completely off between the two settings.

Design suggestion

The order of the settings on a control should be natural. You shouldn't have to move a control into the "off" position to move it from one level to the next.

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