Neil Mix

It happens on every flight. The lights go off briefly as the pilots prepare for takeoff. Instinctively, passengers reach up for the button that turns on the reading light. It’s a red, rectangular button directly overhead…it’s hard to see (because the lights are off)…is this the one?…*bing*

The big red button is alluring, all-powerful in it’s ability to draw you toward it. Place it with care — the best placement is not intuitive. Most often, the big red button belongs somewhere you wouldn’t normally find a button. Consider: the airplane (wrong), versus the subway (correct). Easily accessible: yes, prominently visible: yes, intuitive: no. The idea is that in a panic, you’ll find it, but in your daily routine it’s out of your way.

Draw parallels to your communications. How many times have you inadvertently started an email panic by placing an unqualified big-red-button in plain site? Conversely, when was your big-red-button missed because it was buried deeply in amidst complex prose?

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 30th, 2007 at 9:39 am and is filed under Engineering.