pages of crudely printed instructions. There was no 1-800 number to call for more information, and the recipes that came with the oven were mislabeled with the wrong baking times. Reading customer reviews of the product, others had similar complaints. With practise, on my own, I got used to the oven, but the company lost sales for those who didn't want to deal with that and asked for refunds. To make sales stick, they needed good instructions..what a big "Oops!"

Once the project is figured out on one's own, there is a feeling of mastery. I put together a whole exercise bicycle once, and actually did it right. That was a major mira

We've all had them, those poorly illustrated guides to putting a retail product together or instructions on how to use a new piece of electronic equipment. What gives? For those of us who are mechanically challenged, this can be really frustrating. The world of electronics holds a special frustration for many, such as setting up a piece of computer equipment, for example. Once learned, they are usually not that bad, but it just takes getting used to.

My new printer came today. Once again, I dropped everything to figure out how to set it up. What a job. Programming things is definitely not my strongpoint. It is good there's nobody watching when I'm working on these projects, as I get really annoyed with lousy directions, programs that don't load right (and have to be re-installed), along with other inevitable mishaps that come with buying new electronics. Programming my vcr is a nightmare, and setting up an all-in-one fax/printer/scanner isn't too far behind in my list of things that make me mental.

Now, the printer is set up, and working fine. Phew. I always go through the phase of blaming it for things going wrong, only to find out later that it was my errors all along. I even called the toll-free number on the instructions, and the phone tech walked me through part of the process, all the way from India. Thank goodness for phone techs. Surely, he was laughing to himself, thinking this dumb lady doesn't know the box from the printer. But, in the end, the problem was a simple, overlooked step on my part.

It would help us all out a great deal if companies put more thought into not only designing their products for those of us who need a little extra help in figuring out complicated instructions. Make sure all steps in the diagram are fully explained, don't just draw a picture and leave us to figure out what goes where. As an illustrator, it bugs me to see drawings that are poorly done, omit critical details or steps, and print useless information. It doesn't take endless time and money to put together a truly accurate drawing of a product, then label the steps in putting it together. The right illustrator should know how to do this without question. Don't skimp on money and let your cousin's brother who took one drawing class somewhere do the work. Hire someone who knows what to do, and how to do it.

Recently, I bought a new tabletop convection oven. The manual was a complete disaster. It came filled with a bunch of strips of paper, each giving a correction to mistakes in the manual. The whole booklet was maybe ten pages of crudely printed instructions. There was no 1-800 number to call for more information, and the recipes that came with the oven were mislabeled with the wrong baking times. Reading customer reviews of the product, others had similar complaints. With practise, on my own, I got used to the oven, but the company lost sales for those who didn't want to deal with that and asked for refunds. To make sales stick, they needed good instructions..what a big "Oops!"

Once the project is figured out on one's own, there is a feeling of mastery. I put together a whole exercise bicycle once, and actually did it right. That was a major mirac

atching when I'm working on these projects, as I get really annoyed with lousy directions, programs that don't load right (and have to be re-installed), along with other inevitable mishaps that come with buying new electronics. Programming my vcr is a nightmare, and setting up an all-in-one fax/printer/scanner isn't too far behind in my list of things that make me mental.

Now, the printer is set up, and working fine. Phew. I always go through the phase of blaming it for things going wrong, only to find out later that it was my errors all along. I even called the toll-free number on the instructions, and the phone tech walked me through part of the process, all the way from India. Thank goodness for phone techs. Surely, he was laughing to himself, thinking this dumb lady doesn't know the box from the printer. But, in the end, the problem was a simple, overlooked step on my part.

It would help us all out a great deal if companies put more thought into not only designing their products for those of us who need a little extra help in figuring out complicated instructions. Make sure all steps in the diagram are fully explained, don't just draw a picture and leave us to figure out what goes where. As an illustrator, it bugs me to see drawings that are poorly done, omit critical details or steps, and print useless information. It doesn't take endless time and money to put together a truly accurate drawing of a product, then label the steps in putting it together. The right illustrator should know how to do this without question. Don't skimp on money and let your cousin's brother who took one drawing class somewhere do the work. Hire someone who knows what to do, and how to do it.

Recently, I bought a new tabletop convection oven. The manual was a complete disaster. It came filled with a bunch of strips of paper, each giving a correction to mistakes in the manual. The whole booklet was maybe ten pages of crudely printed instructions. There was no 1-800 number to call for more information, and the recipes that came with the oven were mislabeled with the wrong baking times. Reading customer reviews of the product, others had similar complaints. With practise, on my own, I got used to the oven, but the company lost sales for those who didn't want to deal with that and asked for refunds. To make sales stick, they needed good instructions..what a big "Oops!"

Once the project is figured out on one's own, there is a feeling of mastery. I put together a whole exercise bicycle once, and actually did it right. That was a major mira

ugh part of the process, all the way from India. Thank goodness for phone techs. Surely, he was laughing to himself, thinking this dumb lady doesn't know the box from the printer. But, in the end, the problem was a simple, overlooked step on my part.

It would help us all out a great deal if companies put more thought into not only designing their products for those of us who need a little extra help in figuring out complicated instructions. Make sure all steps in the diagram are fully explained, don't just draw a picture and leave us to figure out what goes where. As an illustrator, it bugs me to see drawings that are poorly done, omit critical details or steps, and print useless information. It doesn't take endless time and money to put together a truly accurate drawing of a product, then label the steps in putting it together. The right illustrator should know how to do this without question. Don't skimp on money and let your cousin's brother who took one drawing class somewhere do the work. Hire someone who knows what to do, and how to do it.

Recently, I bought a new tabletop convection oven. The manual was a complete disaster. It came filled with a bunch of strips of paper, each giving a correction to mistakes in the manual. The whole booklet was maybe ten pages of crudely printed instructions. There was no 1-800 number to call for more information, and the recipes that came with the oven were mislabeled with the wrong baking times. Reading customer reviews of the product, others had similar complaints. With practise, on my own, I got used to the oven, but the company lost sales for those who didn't want to deal with that and asked for refunds. To make sales stick, they needed good instructions..what a big "Oops!"

Once the project is figured out on one's own, there is a feeling of mastery. I put together a whole exercise bicycle once, and actually did it right. That was a major mira

mit critical details or steps, and print useless information. It doesn't take endless time and money to put together a truly accurate drawing of a product, then label the steps in putting it together. The right illustrator should know how to do this without question. Don't skimp on money and let your cousin's brother who took one drawing class somewhere do the work. Hire someone who knows what to do, and how to do it.

Recently, I bought a new tabletop convection oven. The manual was a complete disaster. It came filled with a bunch of strips of paper, each giving a correction to mistakes in the manual. The whole booklet was maybe ten pages of crudely printed instructions. There was no 1-800 number to call for more information, and the recipes that came with the oven were mislabeled with the wrong baking times. Reading customer reviews of the product, others had similar complaints. With practise, on my own, I got used to the oven, but the company lost sales for those who didn't want to deal with that and asked for refunds. To make sales stick, they needed good instructions..what a big "Oops!"

Once the project is figured out on one's own, there is a feeling of mastery. I put together a whole exercise bicycle once, and actually did it right. That was a major mira

pages of crudely printed instructions. There was no 1-800 number to call for more information, and the recipes that came with the oven were mislabeled with the wrong baking times. Reading customer reviews of the product, others had similar complaints. With practise, on my own, I got used to the oven, but the company lost sales for those who didn't want to deal with that and asked for refunds. To make sales stick, they needed good instructions..what a big "Oops!"

Once the project is figured out on one's own, there is a feeling of mastery. I put together a whole exercise bicycle once, and actually did it right. That was a major miracle, given the large pile of nuts, bolts and other various mystery whatchamacallits that needed to be figured out. In the end, it sure is great to have the project in one piece, and working properly. If you're one of us, the mechanically un-gifted, take heart. After trial and error, it will come together. Just be patient and use the toll-free number for help, if they have one.

It's evening now, and I'm starting to wind down. The printer sits in its corner, its led lights illuminating everything. I finally figured it out by much trial and error. The manual on this one wasn't great, but was better than many products I've bought in the past. By the end of the day, all is good. The next time I buy another complicated piece of machinery, the process starts all over again. It sure would be nice to have great directions, all across the board with all products. It would cut wasted time and save a little frustration. Come on, companies, give us manuals that anyone can understand. We sure would appreciate it.