I’ve been photographing warning signs for years. It started as a running joke and turned into a whole category on my site. Signs that say “Be Careful.” Signs that say “Do Not Spill.” Signs that exist because something went wrong…
For years, trucks have been crashing into low-clearance bridges along Boston’s Storrow Drive, to the point where locals have coined the term “Storrowed.” Even the Trillium Brewing Company named a beer after it. Ironically, their own truck fell victim to…
It was more than “mildly infuriating” to see this photo and post shared on Reddit’s “mildly infuriating” subreddit. “Mildly infuriating” is when Group 7 passengers clog the boarding gate area when Group 1 is being called. Mildly infuriating is getting…
tl;dr: High-profile “never events” aren’t caused by careless clinicians–and they aren’t prevented by warning signs. Signs that tell people to “be careful” substitute reminders for real system design, error-proofing, and a culture that makes it easy to do the right…
If you have to add a warning or instruction label to something that should be obvious in its use, then the item is probably badly designed. I think that’s a pretty good design principle for products or software. Slapping on…
Mistake-proofing vs. warning signs is not a close contest. Signs rely on people paying attention in the moment. Mistake-proofing removes the chance to fail in the first place. My friend Chad Walters has contributed guest posts to my blog (and…
