You don't need danger signs
Daniele Catalanotto
Apr 13, 2022
A Service Design principle about enforcing rules in a smart way.
We walk through a park in Lugano, Switzerland. My wife has an inspiring idea about the flowers she sees. She says:
“Imagine if the city planted all these flowers not just for beauty but to avoid people swimming in the lake at this spot.”
A photo of the parc in Lugano with flowers on the border next to the lake.
Indeed, in many similar locations in Switzerland, you see signs that tell you it's forbidden to swim.
Here there is no sign saying that. Because who would walk on those beautiful flowers to access the lake? So beauty can avoid dangerous public behaviour.
How can you use beauty and art so that people respect the rule you are trying to enforce?
Searching the right title
Often I struggle to find the right title for a Service Design principle. It's again the case, so I'll explore by writing which would be the best title:
- Use beauty instead of prohibition signs: the original title
- Use beauty to enforce rules: better and wider
- You don't need danger signs: this takes another approach where it's not just about using beauty but about using any other smart hack that makes it uncessary to put danger signs. If I go with that direction I'll have to rewrite maybe the end of the principle.
Little side notes
- This is the second draft of this Service Design Principle.
- I was able to reduce the lengths by 40.39% compared to the first version.
- Once adapted, even more, this principle will be part of the book "Service Design Principles 201-300"
- As always feel free to share comments, feedback or personal stories to improve this principle.
14 comments
Deirdre Malone
Oct 13, 2022
Maybe a beautiful barrier is more effective than a danger sign.. I sometimes think of the tragic accident at a Disney hotel when a child got taken by an alligator. Now there’s a sign saying no swimming but toddlers don’t read signs. This is a great principle
Deleted
Oct 28, 2022
Our parks writers are poets who compose signs like: “falling water and swiftly running currents in this fountain may present a hazard to those…”
They forget that adult literacy isn't at the college level and words like “potable” wont be understood by most. Plus, a good number of attendees at tourist attractions aren’t English speakers, anyway.
They forget that adult literacy isn't at the college level and words like “potable” wont be understood by most. Plus, a good number of attendees at tourist attractions aren’t English speakers, anyway.
Deleted
Oct 28, 2022
Beauty as a nudge is a specific and unique concept, I think. (Or I’d like to believe that, anyway!) That park photo is so lovely. Something about the orderliness of those rows makes you want to straighten up and fly right!
In the public library here a new elevator was bronze plated on the inside with slight decorative etching. The admins were concerned about graffiti, but one of them suggested buffing the metal to a mirror shine. Nobody would scratch or paint on their own image, he theorized. And they haven’t.
Maybe this is a different concept, unless we all see beauty in our own image. 🤣
In the public library here a new elevator was bronze plated on the inside with slight decorative etching. The admins were concerned about graffiti, but one of them suggested buffing the metal to a mirror shine. Nobody would scratch or paint on their own image, he theorized. And they haven’t.
Maybe this is a different concept, unless we all see beauty in our own image. 🤣
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 29, 2022
Thanks JJ for sharing that additional story :) Love how the ego is also a good trick ;)
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 29, 2022
The third draft of this Service Design Principle
We walk through a park in Lugano, Switzerland with my wife. She looks at the flowers between the park and the lake and says: “What if the city put the flowers here not just for their beauty but to stop people from going swim in the lake?”
Indeed, in many similar locations, you see signs that tell you it’s forbidden to swim. Not here. Who would walk on those beautiful flowers to access the lake? Beauty can avoid dangerous behaviours (1)! So let me ask you.
How can you use beauty to help people respect the rule you want to enforce?
Footnotes
(1) This concept of motivating people to certain behaviours by changing the design of things is what behaviorial economists like Richard Thaler call a Nudge — Nudge theory. Wikipedia. Available at https://extra.swissinnovation.academy/baM2 accessed 29 October 2022.
Daniele’s notes
- This is the third draft of this principle.
- I’ve reduced the length of this principle by 4 % compared to the previous draft.
- I’ve added a reference to the nudge theory as suggested by Patrick Marcelissen