This is one of the projects of which I am most proud. An engineer at bioMérieux pharmaceutical machines realized that they’d have fewer defective products, rework, and recalls if the documentation used by the lineworkers was less “milspec” and more “comic book.”

I helped define the format and make it happen, despite a fine line that had to be walked to satisfy FDA requirements. By pushing all of the legacy milspec into the right column of an 11 x 17 page and illustrating every step in the process with photographs enhanced by graphic motion overlays, the documentation was better assimilated by different kinds of adult learners. The “readers” could just follow the directives on the right. The visual learners could better follow a combination of text and photographs. Tactile learners could follow the instructions while holding a defunct sample part as they worked through the documentation.