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Wordless Instructions
"Recently, I came across a few electronics products with wordless instructions. I thought it was an interesting approach and I'd seen it before when building furniture that I'd purchased, but is it truly the smartest, simplest way to instruct people on how to use a product?"
Worldess instructions seem like an ideal way to create internationally acceptable ways of presenting directions to a consumer, however it does have its drawbacks. Without words, products would have to become less complex. Products would have to be simplified overall in order to be able to be explained via wordless instructions. This would mean an overall rethinking of the way product usability lifecycle.

Many believe that wordless instructions could only be realistic for less complex products. More complex products might be best described with written instructions, minimizing questions that may be encountered with simple images. Perhaps, rather than simplifying the instructions, a better approach might be to create wizard type applications, on electronics products in particular, to walk a consumer through the setup process, teaching the user the basics of the products while taking into account the inherent learning curve associated with using a new products.

6 comment(s) so far

dreve thinks: how do you cope with multilangual language with worless instruction, how do the computer recognise if u speak in 2 languages at the same time? I think I can't see wordless instructions be used in general for another 20 years
(85% of 13 votes AGREE)
idesign thinks: I think it all depends on the product. If it's an asembly of a peice of furniture, I can see wordless instrucitions being useful, but I don't really see it working on electronics, where you're performing actual functions. I guess it all depends on the product, how we interact with it, and the overall usability of the product.
(67% of 9 votes AGREE)
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