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Previous: Fire Exit... in the ceiling | Main | Next: South African emergency sign
June 29, 2004 12:01 AM
Broken: Transparent glass warning sign
Molly Stevens writes:
This store has a glass door so that customers can see inside. They seem to have had some problems with it, and placed this sign right in the middle of the door. It reads, "Caution! Please watch out! Glass door is Transparent!" Something is broken here.
Yes, I think it's the users that are broken. I run into that a lot...
Although, a sign with their hours and Open/Closed would serrve the same purpose and would also be a useful sign.
Actually, at least from this picture, what appears to be broken is not that people aren't remembering to open the door before walking in through it. It's that, if it weren't for the sign, I can't tell that this is a door to begin with. I don't see a handle or anything.
You know, I've seen these types of signs before and I used to laugh until I saw somebody walk into a glass door and crack it with their knee. (It did make a great sound though.)
Glass doors are a real threat when they're closed. People assume store doors are open and if the glass is clean there is no warning at all. I'm smarter than some people, and I got bonked that way once.
In Fort Bragg, Calif., at Lucy's Laundry, at least two people have walked into the glass windows hard enough to crack them. The owner posted a sign at a little below eye level that says, "Not a Walk Thru Window."
I understand that the previous sign was "Caution: Transparent glass door", but that led to people looking around them for the door stalking them, and running into the door anyway...
Agreed -- this isn't broken, except for the people. A more elegant solution might be to put mesh, designs, etching, etc. on the door, enough to make it noticeable without losing the benefit of the transparent medium... but that would be costlier and more time-intensive to put up. Or a better-worded sign. However, the sign is kinda funny, but it works, and none of us have yet come up with better wording either. :)
no this sign is not broken at all. I used to work at a gas station where some lady thought the door was open and ran into it. She sued us for the damages down to her nose. *Shout Out TO THe Crazy stupid lady* what od you think the handle is doing there? floating around? having a good time? it was silver!!! it was shiny!!! you could see it!!!
With regard to usability principles and good design, the users are never the problem - the design is. A successful design takes into account everything that needs to be taken into account. Since there is a long track record of people running into glass doors, there seems to be a variable that keeps getting left out of glass door design!
My dad recently walked into a glass door whilst walking out of the opticians with his new glasses on - he felt a bit of a fool and maybe a sign like this may have helped! I like it!
Trust me, it's there for a good reason. I've run into waaay too many glass doors. I look like the crow on the Windex ad... Ow. *unbends nose from when I ran into the sliding glass door 5 minutes ago*
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Previous: Fire Exit... in the ceiling | Main | Next: South African emergency sign
One too many people walking into it, I suspect...
Posted by: Alden Bates at June 29, 2004 02:46 AM