Many people might think that usability is limited to items they can feel, hold or grasp. A radio, for example, can be usable or not usable. An office chair can be usable or not. Even web pages can be usable. The usability of these things, and the reason they're often first thought of, is probably due to the fact that they receive some action that results in imediate feedback: I sit on a chair and I quickly know it has low usability; I get lost on a web page and can't fid what I'm looking for, etc.

But what about those things that we do not perform any actions on. Or those things that give us no feedback. In such cases we don't often label them as being highly usable or not. Take, for instance, logos or symbols. They too can be highly usable or not. A stop sign, for example, is highly usable. It is easy to read and recognize, uses color elements that are highly contrasting, and is (normally) placed in a highly-visible area.

However, the stop sign is not something we can hold or grasp or use in some physical way. We use the stop sign in a different way: in order to quickly relay information in symbolic form. The stop sign is a symbol for what we're supposed to do (or for the action we are to take). Many such symbols exist, from other street signs to the safety alerts on electronic appliances. And in each case we see demonstrations of usability.

Let me show you what I mean. Study the following graphic:

What does it mean? Do not choke ghosts? Do not vomit with bag on your head? It is becoming more common now, but it's simply not intuitive.

The logo comes from a plastic bag, and it means to stand for "do not place bag on your head because of choking hazard." So, after hearing what it's supposed to mean, does it make sense? Maybe. We could probably argue that there are better ways to say it: and that's the argument of usability. MY argument is that the logo is not usable. In fact, it's so far from usable it's ridiculous. The reason is because of its lack of recognition and its dependance on one form of communication (the visual).

Conversely, our example, the stop sign, is usable for a couple of different reasons. First, it has been used for so long, and in so many different countries, that its meaning is like second-nature to (most) drivers. Hence, it has recognizability. Second, the stop sign uses a number of different elements to portray its meaning. The word "STOP" capitalized in the middle of the red sign denotes its meaning. The combination of the whole additionally and symbolically communicates its meaning. That's why when I first drove in Mexico I knew to stop at a sign saying "ALTO" without knowing any Spanish.

The bottom line is to understand that principles of usability can apply to everything, not just physical objects. When using or creating graphics, documents, symbols or logos, stop and try to think about whether or not the item is usable.

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Last update: 27-03-2009 13:49