Empathizing with user needs

As someone who has built numerous flat-pack furniture, I can appreciate a well designed, easy to follow user manual. When creating these manuals, I was only given the “legally necessary” text. My role included learning how to set up the product, determining the best way to communicate the step-by-step instructions, highlighting the top features, and hand-drawing the illustrations.

Photos were used as a starting point to help aid in final illustrations:

Final, stylized illustrations were created with a simplified style utilizing consistent line weights and the coordinating packaging color as a highlight color.

How to make an infant car seat manual user-friendly

A large amount of legal text is required for car seats. Not to mention that every possible install method and seat belt type needed to be included. The starting point for this manual was entirely text-based and written in a way that didn’t consider the mindset of new parents.

Created an intuitive hierarchy of information with easy to find table of contents:

Incorporated side bar indicators and footers to provide context and way-finding:

Overview pages were created to highlight important key features:

The recommended installation method was highlighted first:

Additional install methods were added afterwards in a organized and visual way:

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User feedback

During user-testing of the product, users consistently commented on how intuitive and easy to use the manual was.

Delivering a consistent brand experience

This same methodology was carried out to all new product launches and refreshes: