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INDUSTRY & TECHNOLOGY
A Sign of the Times
Jessyca Derby and Jessica James Graduate Researchers Alexandria Gombas Undergraduate Researcher Jessyca, Jessica, and Alexandria are students in the Research in User eXperience (RUX) Lab in the Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology. RUX investigates the usability and user experience of technology in our everyday world. This is a regular column that explores different technologies typically used by Embry-Riddle students. Intro What did you think when stepping onto campus for the first time this semester? Were you excited? Nervous? Unsure? Did you have some understanding of what you needed to do, but looked for signs around campus to give you more information? Getting used to the new norm is not always easy, but good signage can help remind us what we need to do. Good signage follows Human Factors design principles regarding placement, font size, and content. We took a look at some of the new signage on campus and found what works best, and what could work better. Six-Feet Social Distancing Much of the signage you see on campus is targeted at reminding students to social distance. Signage provides visual cues to judge where to stand and which staircase to use. Many different places on campus
use floor signage to address social distancing, though it’s not always successful; the floor near Chik-Fil-A demonstrates effective and ineffective signs. You first encounter signage on the floor marking where to stand when waiting to order. These signs are good examples of effective distancing signage due to the bright yellow color telling you where to stand, so you’re six feet from the next person. Bad examples can be seen in front of the pickup area, where large red circles on the floor tell you where NOT to stand. This inconsistent use of the floor circle markings can be confusing and can compromise adherence to the six-foot guideline.
Image Courtesy/Alexandria Gombas
Social distancing floor signage can be confusing when used to convey different messages.
Inside the COAS, one-way staircases have been enforced. Because this designation is new, many struggle to remember, despite the large signs. These signs state where the “up” staircase is in bold letters, and inconspicuously indicate below that “down” staircases are on the East and West sides of the COAS. Due to the reduced size of the text, we can easily miss the information and the East/West directions inside of buildings are not always easily identifiable. We suggest that signs use nearby room numbers instead of cardinal directions to provide more context. Addition-
al signs within the staircases, like on handrails, may help grab students’ attention.
Image Courtesy/Alexandria Gombas
By adding larger fonts and specific content, you can learn more from signage.
Masks In campus buildings and at student gatherings on campus, we see almost all students abiding by the facial covering rule, but we don’t see many signs reinforcing that rule. Lots of signs have small icons down at the bottom, reiterating the simple things of wearing a mask, washing your hands, and maintaining social distance. But we don’t have many examples of mask-specific signage. Out of the mask signage we see, some are much more effective than the others. One student discussed mask signage’s effectiveness as, “Ineffective [because] I didn’t see any sign about a mask. Another student said, “I saw a sign … reminding me to wear a mask. It was effective because I initially forgot my mask in my car.” Although we want to assume that everyone knows these things by now, we can’t. Signage should be placed in areas where we could forget to grab our masks - when we leave our cars or dorm rooms, or after we finish eating in the Student Union.
Wellness Checks There is no lack of signage telling visitors that they need a wellness check. They catch our attention with their striking yellow and remind us to get our daily check. But the signs on campus only tell you that you need a wellness check, not where one is, or their available hours. You can only find all of this information on the ERAU Coronavirus Updates website. A better design would be for the signs to give the hours of some popular wellness check stations (the Student Union and Welcome Center) or add a QR code to find out more. Signage is most effective when it is noticeable, informative and includes actionable steps.
Image Courtesy/Jessica James
Adding actionable steps to wellness check signage can make it more effective.
Conclusion As we’ve stepped into the school year with COVID-19, we’ve noticed many changes on campus, including the abundance of signs. We have signs notifying which doors are for entry or exit, showing where we can refill our hand sanitizer, and many more. To emphasize, signs that are salient, informative, and placed in the best locations is critical to maximizing compliance. COVID-19 may not disappear anytime soon, but neither are we. As long as everyone does their part and adheres to the rules, we can all remain safe and stay on campus.