Re: Icons (and Caution & Warning statements)

[LaVonna Funkhouser <lffunkhouser -at- HALNET -dot- COM>]

> Our department is coming up with some icons for "warning," "caution," and "note"
> for use in our installation and programming guides for detection equipment and
> their related controls.

Get a copy of the ANSI standard that covers this issue,
especially if you are in the US:  ANSI Z535.3-1991,
"Criteria for Safety Symbols."

Don't just guess at the difference between a Caution and
a Warning.  Try to follow the standard as closely as
you can.

I agree with you that an icon in the margin can help alert
readers to the Caution statement, especially for those for
whom Engish is a second language or people who are visual
learners.

In an equipment manual, I used the triangle with an exclamation
point for Caution (a safety hazard), but a Warning received
an icon that represented the danger (an oxygen deficiency
hazard was associated with a triangle with a face mask inside).

My manual was in grayscale, so I did not use colors on my
symbols, but I like the idea that someone gave to use color
to distinguish Cautions from Warnings as long as your
symbols still fit the ANSI standard.

BTW, to get electronic versions of the ANSI symbols, I used
the symbols included with Corel Draw (Canadian symbols instead
of US, but VERY similar).  If someone on the list has a
better source for the ANSI safety symbols, let me know.

Regards,
LaVonna


LaVonna Funkhouser         lffunkhouser -at- halnet -dot- com
COREComm
Sr. Technical Writer & Webmaster    (405) 251-4582
http://www.corecomm.com/corecomm/

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