Re: Notes, tips, and warnings... oh my!

[edunn -at- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com]

Cute tips and the placement of icons may be done now just because we can. But
from a technical standpoint, proper warnings, cautions and notes are imperative
and they should break the flow of the procedure.
By our in-house instructions, a warning is inserted when injury or death is
possible, a caution for equipment damage, and a note for anything that may aid
the procedure or following step but may not be critical enough to include in the
step. If a well designed icon placed in the margin can draw the attention of the
reader so much the better.
On a similar note, good magazine design has included sidebars for a very long
time. Used correctly, I think this can effectively be used in technical
documents as well.
I think the problem may lie with the fact that since it has become relatively
easy to do such things little though is put into if it is appropriate and how to
do it best. Very similar to Fonts. Many play with them because it's easy to do,
not because they have any real understanding of typography.

Eric L. Dunn



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