Psych 382 Human Factors
Activity 3: Warning Label Design
Your goal is to demonstrate understanding of the 4 elements associated with designing an effective warning label. These 4 elements are described on pages 542 – 544 of the class textbook (Lee, Wickens, Liu, & Boyle, 2017) as follows:
- Signal word conveying the seriousness (e.g., Danger, Warning, or Caution)
- Description of the hazard (e.g., Risk of fall or collision)
- Consequences associated with the hazard (e.g., Risk of death)
- Behavior needed to avoid the hazard (e.g., Watch for obstacles)
To do this, you are expected to perform the following actions and upload a single document to the designated Canvas module by the due date:
- Identify a problem: select any product in the real world and fully articulate a potential behavior that can be improved with a well written warning label, examples include:
- Preventing a small child from choking on a toy intended for older children, or
- Preventing an Ikea cabinet from tipping over
- Design Activity: create 2 original versions (short version and long version) of the same warning label. Use any design tool you feel comfortable with (e.g., MS Word, MS Power Point, hand draw it and scan it). Remember that you must include all 4 elements stated in the textbook (Lee, Wickens, Liu, & Boyle, 2017) to get full credit.
- Short Version: Create a short version that is constrained by a) 10 words or less, b) no color/graphics, and c) includes all 4 elements of a well-designed label.
- Long Version: Create a long version of the same label above with no constraints, get creative as long as all 4 elements of a well-designed label are included!
Scoring Rubric:
| a) Create a Short Version using that strictly meets all constraints and includes all 4 design elements and constraints | 2 Points |
| b) Create a Long Version that includes all 4 design elements, creativity encouraged | 2 Points |
| Total Scoring: this assignment will account for 4% of your final grade | 4 Total Points |
Student: < First-name Last name >
Course: PSY 382, Class #3656, Principles of Human Factors
Instructor: Michael Kasamanian, M.A., CSUN
Date: < MMM DD >, 2022
Activity 3: Warning Label Design
Description of Behavior to be Improved: < SAMPLE CONTENT REPLACE YOUR RESPONSE WITH BLACK TEXT: Some students may try to take short cuts by copying work from the internet. This warning label is intended to alert students that they should use original designs to get full credit.>
Warning Label Design 1 – Short Version: Create a short version that is constrained by a) 10 words or less, b) no color/graphics, and c) includes all 4 elements of a well-designed label.
Warning Label Design 2 – Long Version: Create a long version of the same label above with no constraints, get creative as long as all 4 elements of a well-designed label are included!
Extra Credit (this is optional to receive a boost of up to 1 point): Locate/paste an image of a well-designed warning label that properly includes all 4 elements, identify which components correspond with each of the 4 elements, and indicate the source of the label.
Warning Label Image:
- Signal word conveying the seriousness (e.g., Danger, Warning, or Caution)
- Description of the hazard (e.g., Risk of fall or collision)
- Consequences associated with the hazard (e.g., Risk of death)
- Behavior needed to avoid the hazard (e.g., Watch for obstacles)
Source: grainger.com/product/35LH64?ef_id=EAIaIQobChMImou6yZD87wIVSx-
tBh1YNABKEAQYBSABEgLevPD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!281698276005!!!g!469720606056!&gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImou6yZD87wIVSx-tBh1YNABKEAQYBSABEgLevPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
