Tray Table

A few months ago, I was on a flight from Bangalore back home to Bombay after some RadioVeRVe work. When the plane took off, the usual seatbelt/tray table announcement was broadcast. The same message was announced again just before touchdown. And this was when I noticed a something weird.

I’m used to seeing flight attendants walking up and down the aisles checking passengers before and after the tray table/seat belt message had been broad cast. So used to seeing them that just barely realised what web designers and flight attendants have in common.

In many user tests, I’ve noticed that people completely disregard hints while filling in forms. So when validating a form you need to draw attention to the specific field(s) that they missed out. On board the plane, the exact same thing was happening. A few passengers completely disregarded the tray table/seat-belt announcement. The flight attendants had to go up and down the aisles and “validate” that the passengers had moved their tray tables to the upright position and fastened their seat belts.

How many times do we ignore messages that could actually help us instead of hinder us? Next time you notice a helpful hint, pay attention. It might just save your life!