How Graphic Design Can Make Flying Just a Little Bit Safer
The cause of aviation safety has had a terrible week. An Air Algérie flight crashed yesterday in Mali, reportedly killing all 116 on board. The day before, a TransAsia plane went down on the Taiwanese island of Penghu, leading to the deaths of at least 48 people. And, most notoriously, Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was apparently shot down in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people. Experiences like these challenge us to keep a clearheaded understanding there is always a risk when we fly, but that it’s generally extremely low.
To help lower that risk still further, every time you get on the plane, you’re instructed how to fasten your seatbelt, to put on your oxygen mask, and to inflate your life vest. One of the last things you hear before located in the seat pocket in front of you.“ So do you actually study the card? What you’ll find is a not just a list of safety facts, but an unusual piece of media, designed to effectively convey information and instill a sense of potential urgency, while leaving the passenger free to calmly enjoy—or at least ride out—the much more likely possibility of an utterly average flight.
