Trying to create this “How-to” graphic on making Rice Krispy Treats was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. First, I had to look up the directions on how to make the treats before starting anything, since I have never made them myself. After reading up on Rice Krispy’s 101, I went straight to the pen and paper. I wrote a list of all of the ingredients and appliances needed. Next to each item on the list, I “attempted” to draw it as best as I could. I soon began to realize that my drawings were not the best, and also that drawing these images over and over would be a tedious task. Back to the computer I went, and opened the program “Paint”, something that I had become very familiar with when I was younger fooling around on the home computer. Remembering that no words can be used, I found the most generic pictures of each item on my list and began making the directions. I began to challenge myself by trying to make the directions as detailed yet clear as possible. I would catch myself at times putting down an image and moving on to the next step, however, the image on the page made sense in my head but would not make sense to someone who does not know how to make the treats.
I began with the ingredients and appliances step, including a picture of each in the box. Running into my first issue began with the second step. The recipe called for 3 tablespoons of butter. Without being able to use words, I thought the best way to convey this step would be to have 3 spoons next to the butter indicating that the recipe called for 3 spoons of butter.
After completing my directions of 8 steps, I put it to the test. I asked a few people to look over my directions and see if they could follow them and would be able to make the Rice Krispy Treats based on what I had given them. This might have been an unfair test, since all my roommates not only understand English but did not want to be bothered by my attempt to involve them.
Looking back on making the “How-to” graphic it made me realize how easy and helpful these types of directions can be. Not only for people who speak different languages, but also for people who may not understand the terminology being used in normal descriptive directions. For example, someone reading directions on how to put a computer together may not understand where something as simple as where the USB cord can be plugged in. However, with a simple image and graphic of the USB symbol, anyone would be able to figure it out. This also goes to show how symbols and images can be more useful than words. This is something that we will need to keep in mind while we are creating our presentation for Geoff.
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