For more than 50 years, human safety has been at the heart of everything we do.
about
In 1971, Interaction Research Corporation (IRC) was founded by safety psychologist Dr. Daniel Johnson Ph.D. Having worked for Douglas Aircraft Corporation, Dr. Johnson and colleague Dr. Beau Altman, had studied the factors that led to airplane crash mortalities. They found that although aircraft equipment had gotten progressively safer, there was no correlating reduction in accident deaths. They discovered that surviving impact was highly likely, but a hasty and safe exit was less straightforward.
From smoke inhalation, to understanding where the nearest exit is, most plane crashes are survivable if the passengers are adequately prepared.
Dr. Johnson dedicated his efforts to increasing survival rates and refined the safety briefing card into the format it largely is today—pictogram-based instruction that is as simple for a user to understand as possible, with little to no text utilized. Through a combination of test research and actual crash data, Dr. Johnson was able to prove the efficacy of the safety briefing card and, in 1978, he appeared before Congress and successfully appealed to make them mandatory on all aircraft.
Since that time, the hairstyles and fashions of the illustrated crew and passengers have changed, but the format and approach remains consistent.
After starting her career at Interaction Research Corporation in 1995, Trisha Ferguson acquired the company in 2002. Over the years, IRC earned a reputation for depth of industry knowledge, first-class service, and intuitive partnership while partnering with the majority of carriers in the aviation industry.
We work tirelessly to anticipate customer needs, eliminate friction and facilitate compliance reviews, and ensure product efficacy through rigorous comprehension testing.
We are proud to be the standard-bearer in safety card design, and to this day, continue to incorporate research into our processes, offering independent comprehension testing as a service to clients.
New Name, Same Dedication to People, Safety, and Service
In 2022, acknowledging the ability of instructional design to spark an unspoken dialogue, Interaction Research Corporation was rebranded as The Interaction Group.
The Interaction Group is located in Olympia, Washington and is a 100% woman-owned business.
