A Busy Festival Plan
Nadia volunteered to create a map for her neighborhood’s spring festival. The event would use the community hall, two outdoor courtyards, and several rooms in the local school. Visitors needed to find food tables, workshops, toilets, and the first-aid desk. Nadia enjoyed drawing and offered to design the whole map. She used five bright colors, small pictures, and a decorative border. When she showed the first version to the planning team, everyone admired how professional it looked. They approved it without trying to follow any of the routes.
A Confusing Test Walk
Two days before printing, Nadia asked her uncle Farid to test the map. He had never visited the school, which made him a useful visitor. Starting at the main gate, he tried to find the children’s craft room. The map showed a yellow star, but the real building had no yellow signs. He entered the wrong corridor and reached a storage room. Next, he searched for the toilets. Their tiny symbol was hidden beside a picture of a tree. Farid finally returned to the gate and admitted that the map was attractive but difficult to use.
Listening Instead of Defending
Nadia’s first reaction was disappointment. She had spent three evenings on the design and wanted to explain every choice. However, Farid reminded her that festival visitors would not have her beside them. Nadia asked him to mark each confusing point with a pencil. Then they invited two more neighbors to test separate routes. One person could not read the pale text, and another thought two similar blue shapes were both entrances. The three tests showed different problems, but they all pointed to the same issue: decoration had become more important than clear directions.
A Simpler Second Version
Nadia removed the border and replaced the small pictures with larger, familiar symbols. She gave every location a number and added matching number signs to the real doors. Thick lines showed the three main routes from the gate. She also increased the text size and used strong differences between light and dark areas. The planning team tested the new map by giving each other tasks. Every person found the correct room without help. The second version looked less artistic, but nobody had to study it for several minutes before moving.
The Best Compliment
During the festival, Nadia stood near the entrance for the first hour. People looked at the map, chose a route, and continued walking. Almost nobody stopped to ask where the workshops were. At first, Nadia wondered whether visitors even noticed her work. Then Farid said that this was the best possible result. A useful map should answer questions quietly. Nadia took a photo of the final design and saved the test notes beside it. For her next project, she planned to test the first rough version before spending time making it beautiful.
