Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Instructions for global use, really?

We might as well face it--the world is getting smaller day by day. Advancements in technology makes the world smaller, closer, and more connected. Even so, there are some manufacturers who still are worlds away in their understanding of the importance of global instructions. We found this example of instructions for stringing a guitar from the website of a Japanese guitar manufacturer:

[ATTENTION] - Please do not wind up a string more powerfully than need. When I run out and am exposed to sight, I am in danger. - Please cut string appearing more extra than a spool. There is a case to cause an injury.

The original instructions were obviously fed through an online translation tool and the results were disastrous! Fewer words and more images would help this manufacturer become a real participant in universal communication.