User-centred grammar

By Gordon Rugg

Within linguistics, the scientific study of language, there is a long-established and useful distinction between two approaches to grammar, namely prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar. This article describes a third approach, namely user-centred grammar. Before describing this third approach, I’ll briefly summarise the other two.

Background

Prescriptive grammar typically takes the view that there is a “correct” form of grammar for a dialect or language that should be followed by everyone, including people for whom that dialect or language is their native tongue. An example from Standard English is the claim that one should say “It is I” as opposed to “It is me”. Similarly, prescriptive grammar often makes normative claims about correctness based on claims that a particular phrasing is in some sense logically correct. An example in English is how to treat two negatives (e.g. “I haven’t got nothing”). Prescriptive grammar typically claims that these should cancel each other out because that is “logical” by analogy with formal logic.

Descriptive grammar describes the grammar used by native speakers of a dialect or language, without any normative claims. For the first example above, the descriptive approach would say that some native speakers of Standard English say “It is I” but that most native speakers of English say “It is me”. For the second example above, descriptive grammar typically states that in various dialects of English, the two negatives are treated as reinforcing each other.

Historically, prescriptive grammar has tended to invoke semi-arbitrary norms based on the grammar of other languages that have high status. In the case of Standard English, for example, prescriptive grammar frequently invoked norms from Latin (“we should use this phrasing in English because that’s what Latin would do”).

The use of descriptive grammar in linguistics has numerous advantages in terms of internal consistency, of avoiding imposition of arbitrary and semi-arbitrary norms on native speakers of a language, and of avoiding the social stigmatisation of dialects and languages other than the most prestigious ones. However, there are situations where phrasings can make a significant difference in how well a person can communicate their intended message to others. This causes problems for anyone attempting to teach ways of avoiding unintended consequences from particular phrasings, because this can look like an attempt to impose subjective norms.

The approach described in this article, namely user-centred grammar, provides a possible way of resolving this apparent paradox.

Poster design 101

By Gordon Rugg

Every year, students in assorted non-artistic disciplines have to produce a poster. Every year, students who don’t view themselves as artistic complain bitterly about having to do this.

In this article, I’ll look at some of the issues involved in practical poster design at taught degree level, and at how they can be tackled systematically, without needing any artistic skills. The results aren’t likely to win any design prizes, but they should look competent enough to be presentable, and should save non-artistic students from a lot of grief.

In case you’re wondering why I’ve specified taught degrees, the answer is that in research degrees, students often have to produce posters for conferences. The guidelines for these are very different from those for taught course posters, and from publicity posters in the commercial world. This article is just about taught degree posters, and even for those, it comes with the disclaimer that your department may have very different ideas about how to do things, in which case, go with what they want, since they’ll be doing the marking…

I’ll also look at some broader issues in user-centred design, such as the concept of functional distance, which takes us into the origins of the classic command: “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes”.

Signage, literacy and wayfinding, part 2: Indoor signage and wayfinding

By Gordon Rugg

The words were at first indistinguishable, and then–with a tremendous start–I recognized something about them which filled me with icy fear…

From The Shunned House, by H.P. Lovecraft

In a previous article, I looked at nonverbal signage and wayfinding outdoors. Today’s article looks at the same topic, but focusing on indoors wayfinding.

I’ll begin this article with a discussion of a signage issue that’s a significant problem in most hospitals. I’ll then move on to look at different wayfinding strategies that people use, and at some ways of working with those strategies in indoors wayfinding and signage.

A classic problem, and some solutions

A standard feature of hospital signage is the Wall of Doubt. Here’s how it works. The visitor (the red oval marked “V” in the diagram below) has entered the hospital via the main entrance, en route to an appointment in the Wilson Ward, and is walking along the corridor in the direction indicated by the red arrow. So far, so good.

Now the visitor meets a T junction, and sees something that for many visitors looks something like this: the dreaded Wall of Doubt. Which of these signs, if any, might be the one for Wilson Ward?

At this point, things start to go steadily but unnecessarily downhill. Why? That’s the topic of this article.

Signage, literacy and wayfinding, part 1

By Gordon Rugg

Here’s what a typical piece of signage looks like to about 10% of the people visiting a public place such as a hospital or a school.

About 10% of the population have significant reading difficulties. They might be able to figure out what a sign says, given enough time. They might not.

Here’s what a typical piece of signage looks like to another significant proportion of visitors.

A lot of people have visual problems; this is particularly likely to be an issue in places like hospitals, which people with visual problems attend for treatment. Signage can also look like this to people with good eyesight if the lighting is poor or the weather is bad.

So what can you do about this problem? There are some simple, cheap solutions which aren’t as widely known as they should be. That’s the topic of this article.

Some classic types of landmark: Images from Wikimedia Commons

Designing for efficient use of space: A user-centred approach

By Gordon Rugg

Often, simple examples illustrate important principles. This article is about one of those examples. It involves a real café, near a major university in London, which did a brilliant job of designing the layout for fast, efficient and low-hassle use. The key concepts behind this apply just as much to design of huge buildings as to tiny cafés. I’ve used the café as a worked example of how simple task analysis, hassle analysis and design rationale can make produce an outcome that is good for everyone involved.

The café is tiny. It has a service counter on the right as you go in. There’s a door to the kitchen and toilets beyond the service counter, and there are a couple of small tables at the back. That’s about all there is. A lot of the trade is university staff and students who want take-away coffee and sandwiches, and who want fast service. So why is the design so good?