The Aesthetics of Aircraft Safety Cards: Spatial Negotiations and Affective Mobilities in Diagrammatic Instructions

摘要

Instructional diagrams encountered during transit, such as the aircraft safety card, employ a range of visual elements that direct us how to move and what actions we need to undertake. However, instructions are not always easy to decipher and comprehension rates suggest that there is potential for misinterpretation. The complexity of instructions and mismatching of visual techniques give rise to an aesthetics of transit that coordinates spatial experiences and movements. Using examples from aircraft safety cards and artworks based on this format, this paper analyses how transit aesthetics' can give rise to affective experiences of spatial and mobile relationships.