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.