affinity designer In Vivo Lab Signs

[EducationPrinciples]

I was asked to create a sign to be used in an in vivo biology lab facility at a university.  I used a combination of Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer on an iPad.  The result was two slightly different versions. 

The idea, is to catch researcher's attention. Please provide feedback as to which version is better as a sign? 

[AdamStanislav]

I think the blue one looks better, but the first one is more likely to be noticed. So, as much as it pains me, I would have to go with the red one.

[EducationPrinciples]

Adam,

thank you for taking the time and providing your opinion. Several of my stakeholders agree with the preference for version 2. 

[GarryP]

I have a few comments:
1. Version 1 stands out better for me. Version 2 looks a bit like those partially-illustrated-partically-live-action cartoons which used to be in some magazines.
2. The font used seems to be a bit too ‘fun’ for me. Would a ‘squarer’ font not make it look more ‘official’ and ‘forceful’?
3. I don’t think you need the full stops (periods) at the end of the sentences, especially if the font sizes are different.
4. I don’t know what these buckets are for, so I don’t know the context of the poster, but are they for transporting live or dead things?
5. “Disposed of bucket in your lab” doesn’t sound right to me. Would “Dispose of the bucket…” (with an extra “the” and without the “d” at the end of disposed) be better?
6. There seems to be an extra space between “of” and “bucket”.
7. “per” in this case is normally proceeded by “as”, as in “in your lab, as per EH&S guidelines”.
8. Is the colour of the text the best choice? Have you tried other colours, or are you fixed to standards?
9. What is the text on the top of the bucket? If it’s someone’s name, is it allowed to be there?
That’s probably enough from me for now.

[Smee Again]

"Disposed of bucket" . . . shouldn't that be "Dispose of bucket"?

[EducationPrinciples]

Garry and Smee, 

Thank you for taking the time to review in detail the illustrations.  All excellent points, and i have implemented the suggestions.  The background color and font color are from the institutional style guide.  

2.  I choose a more relaxed font to stand out from all the other signs (policy, procedure, safety, etc...) that are within the research facility where this sign will go. But, you are correct, and i changed it to a traditional Arial.  

4. The buckets are used to briefly transport animals from housing to labs for procedures that result in death.  It is regretful, but necessary in biological research before clinical trials.  

This morning i thought of the idea of including visual representations of Gel and food.  Gel is always included to ensure the animals have plenty of hydration (water bottles are not practical in a bucket).  The gel is placed in little paper cups (similar to what is used for condiments). If you are interested, here is a fascinating video of what the gel looks like.  

9. The researchers must write their names on the tops of the buckets is a policy to ensure they don't mix up buckets when moving them at the same time other researchers are moving their buckets.  When creating training i use the name Abbie Lathrop, (it is better than "John Doe") a historic within in vivo cancer research name.  Check out the link in Smithsonian Magazine.  Her story is really amazing.  

[GarryP]

Your latest version looks better to me.

As for the font choice, the discussion about that could go on for months with no resolution. Unless you have been given standards to conform to it can be tricky choosing something that is ‘best’. I think your choice of Arial is better in this case but others may think otherwise.

One thing I will add is that, if you really want to get something noticed, making it look horrible or weird can sometimes be an advantage. For example, if you use garish colours and/or an inappropriate font it will make people look at it because it draws the eye because of its strangeness. (How many labs have walls filled with warning/safety posters which look pretty much the same and aren’t memorable?) On the other hand, if every poster is ‘shouting’ at people then they probably won’t ‘hear’ any individual message because of the ‘noise’. Probably not appropriate in this case, but something worth keeping in mind.

Thanks for explaining about the buckets.

The addition of the gel and food looks good to me; it helps to get more of the text across in a different way.

Thanks for explaining the text on the buckets too; that’s something I’ve learned today. I was concerned that it was the signature of the artist but that’s clearly not the case now.

My main concern now is that the illustration style of the researcher is quite different to the other things. There seems to be a kind of ‘disconnect’ between the styles but I can’t say if that is better or worse in this case. I would be tempted to look for similar examples and see how they handle it. I can’t offer any advice on that as I’m not an artistic person.

[EducationPrinciples]

One of the things i have tried doing with some of the signs is have alternative color schemes.  Every few months, management rotate the signs.  I have tried to reduce the use of signs so the walls don't resemble Times Square.  

Previous to my joining the institution, the lab facilities depended on bullet point signs with an occasional dark square photograph (typically put together in PowerPoint).  I suggested using more illustrative and photo cutout style (like version 2 above) so there was not extraneous background (walls, tables, and irrelevant lab equipment) in the images that i thought could be distracting from the message.  

[AdamStanislav]

2 hours ago, EducationPrinciples said:

I have tried to reduce the use of signs so the walls don't resemble Times Square.

There is a reason Times Square looks that way: People will not notice signs unless they stand out and scream at you to notice them. I am a psychologist and can assure you we all tend to ignore the surroundings we are familiar with because we expect them to be the same as before and we feel safe from predators (going all the way back to before we moved to the cities). If we had to notice everything, our brains would have to work overtime, we would need more food, and we would get exhausted all the time.

Ironically, though, people who live in or often visit the Times Square area become familiar with all the flashy signs and do not notice them anymore.

The trick then is to make a sign that does not look like the familiar surroundings. If the walls are red, the blue sign is more likely to be noticed (and it also looks much better). If the walls are essentially light bluish gray as so many walls are, the red sign will stand out (unless there already are other red signs on the wall). If a sign is important, it has to stand out and be in your face the first few times people walk by it. After that, it will become familiar and they will no longer notice it. But hopefully by then the message will sink in and will be followed without the need to be reminded that it is there (if it does, then the sign needs to be changed regularly).