Trial and ... Trial again

The shop had just closed when I went to test the sample sign with some users, but I was able to go in to just take photographs while they finished cleaning.

I went straight to the Band Saw with the sign, and stuck it on:

In doing so, I realized that the user will likely approach the machine at the point of main use - directly in front of the blade, so I moved the sign as close as possible to this point. I also rearranged the elements to place the Materials and Main section closer to the point of use - that information is more important before beginning a cut.

Moving to the smallest Wood Lathe, I kept using the sample Band Saw sign to test for size and placement.

I happily discovered that the modular elements allow us to fit the necessary information in the small area available. We will need to adjust the proportions of the Main section to 1/2 as tall but 2x as wide to accomodate the thin surface of the cabinet.

All 4 sections fit well on the Bender, the two tallest just need to be shortened slightly.

On to wall placement...

The yellow and red of the printout correspond well with the color language already established on the sander and other machines. The size of the signs on the wall will next to be about 4x what you see above for ease of reading from the increased distance.

The Mill was a bit of a challenge, but everything did fit - it is arranged to face the user's angle of approach, with the most important sections (Main, Clean) facing directly toward the front of the bed. The Materials section could easily be moved to the thin front surface of the bed by using a magnet (as we plan to do with most of the signage placed on the machines).

The Jointer posed another space challenge. The two thin sections will fit well along the top of the rail, which is the most effective location for them as the user looks almost directly down to use the machine. The Main section did not appear to fit anywhere, but we now think that with a bit of size adjustment it could be placed on the guard, above the DANGER sign that is already there.

For the Grinder, the user only requires 2 of the 4 sections of the sign, which fit well on the machine itself. There is little to clean after grinding, and the only materials allowed are the lathe tools, which will be specified in the Main section.

I stuck the sample sign on just about anything... Yeeeaaahhhh...

On to the way-finding sign placment:

Colors stand out, but not the right proportion for this job. I will explore a long format that is the same width as the Room # label.

The signs we plan for above the door handles will also be more effective in a thin, vertical format. Good opportunity to use the visual styling of the Materials and Question sections, just turned on end - the association works because neither of these sections have red included in them, and the graphics are simple.

Ah... All in a hard nights work...

3/05/2005