{"id":14273,"date":"2020-09-21T10:00:59","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T00:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/?p=14273"},"modified":"2024-06-25T14:41:08","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T04:41:08","slug":"how-typeface-research-could-save-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/2020\/09\/21\/how-typeface-research-could-save-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"How typeface research could save lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pilots are<\/span>\u00a0responsible for flight planning, determining the safest flight route, pre-flight inspections\u00a0<\/span>of the plane<\/span>\u00a0and monitoring dozens of readouts in-flight.\u00a0<\/span>On top of that,<\/span>\u00a0when things go\u00a0<\/span>wrong<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>they rely on their training and support tools to avoid a deadly crash<\/span>. Given all of this, f<\/span>lying a plane is one of the most complex and mentally taxing jobs around despite how far we have come in air travel automation<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Griffith Creative Arts doctoral candidate, Pascale Schmid,\u00a0<\/span>is\u00a0<\/span>researching how to improve the legibility of\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>electronic\u00a0<\/span>documents<\/span>\u00a0pilots use in the cockpit in order to help improve commercial flight safety.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>P<\/span>ascale is drawing on her design skills and extensive knowledge of typography to create a set of digital typefaces that pilots will find easier to read\u00a0<\/span>during\u00a0<\/span>both\u00a0<\/span>routine and\u00a0<\/span>high-<\/span>stress situations.\u00a0<\/span>Check out our\u00a0<\/span>Q & A with Pascale Schmid<\/span>\u00a0below:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo courtesy of Pascale Schmid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is the focus of your research?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My PhD project focuses on typeface design within commercial flight safety. The main goal is to create a digital typeface family to improve the legibility of electronic documentation, such as manuals, checklists, maps and charts, available in Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Depending on the situation that pilots use this electronic documentation in, the design of the individual fonts will vary, taking into consideration that human beings read and process information differently during routine tasks as opposed to adverse circumstances. For example, during a flight, if there is a dimming of light in the cockpit due to a storm and the pilot needs to quickly consult his electronic manual, the typeface will automatically adapt and change to suit this new condition.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is research in this niche area important?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The contemporary aviation industry is nearly at the point of becoming totally reliant on electronic media so addressing the limited research into digital typography in the flight deck environment is particularly pressing. At the same time, typography is at a technological crossroad with end users being able to customise text beyond basic settings (text size, colour and\/or weight)\u00a0through the use of\u00a0variable fonts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Considerations such as font variations are of particular<\/span>ly<\/span>\u00a0importance in the flight deck with its intricate workflows<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and pilots constantly need to adapt to this ever-changing digital landscape. Typography has been considered an after-thought in flight deck documentation design with the consequence of poor typeface choices. What many people don\u2019t realise is that these inadequate typeface choices have the potential of contributing to pilot error during high-stress situations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On completion of this project, I see the potential translation of my research into other disciplines and industrie<\/span>s<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Findings from this project may be adapted to other high-stress areas, such as emergency rooms, operating theatres, etc.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What got you interested in the area of Typography?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My typographic journey began shortly after moving to Australia in 2010 as I developed an interest in graphic design. After a career in aviation, spanning over 11 years, I knew very little about the role of a designer. Therefore, I enrolled in various certificate courses, which eventually led me to complete a\u00a0Bachelor in Design\u00a0Futures & Honours at the Queensland College of Art.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning more about the history of type, which is directly related to the development of writing systems thousands of years ago, fuelled my hunger for more knowledge, including how to design my own typeface. It is absolutely fascinating how small changes to the shape of a letter can affect an entire alphabet and, ultimately, how we engage with and understand a text. This ongoing curiosity about type is also what I am trying to pass on to my students while teaching typography at QCA.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What help has the Library provided you with this project and during your candidature?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>L<\/span>ibrary\u00a0has been (and continues to be) an invaluable source of information\u2014I have made good use of the facilities at QCA, Nathan and the Gold Coast campus. However, facilities are only as good as the staff that run them. Throughout my studies I have met highly knowledgeable, enthusiastic and engaging staff members who are more than happy to share their vast experience. Be it on campus, during workshops or online consultations, I can rely on assistance when I am drowning in references.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This has been particularly useful as I am currently working on my first publication\u2014a systematic quantitative literature review, which will form the basis of my research. Several online consultations with\u00a0<\/span>L<\/span>ibrarian\u00a0Fin Boyce have guided me in the right direction and provided me with a more in-depth understanding of how to conduct searches within various databases. Additionally, various\u00a0<\/span>L<\/span>ibrary<\/span>\u00a0workshops prepared me for my postgraduate studies. However, the opportunity to repeat the workshops<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0depending on the stage I am at in my PhD, has provided me with important know-how to become a more rigorous and efficient researcher.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pilots are\u00a0responsible for flight planning, determining the safest flight route, pre-flight inspections\u00a0of the plane\u00a0and monitoring dozens of readouts in-flight.\u00a0On top of that,\u00a0when things go\u00a0wrong\u00a0they rely on their training and support tools to avoid a deadly crash. Given all of this, flying a plane is one of the most complex and mentally taxing jobs around despiteContinue reading “How typeface research could save lives”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":17424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,172,5],"tags":[162],"class_list":["post-14273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-researcher-profile","category-researchers","tag-general"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"Vanessa Gatt","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2020\/09\/blog-PascalLookingAttext-1000x0-c-default.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}