A glossy, oversized hand dominates Jacob Jansma’s 1940 poster, thrust forward as a stark warning against carelessness. Behind it, machinery looms in deep, shadowy blues—gears, belts, and rollers implied more than fully explained—so the viewer feels the presence of moving parts without being distracted from the central message. The dramatic lighting and simplified forms give the design a modern, almost cinematic urgency typical of industrial safety graphics.
Dutch text at the bottom reads “NIET SMEREN OF POETSEN WANNEER MACHINE LOOPT,” a direct instruction not to lubricate or clean while the machine is running. Along the top margin, the poster also promotes a visit to the Veiligheidsmuseum (Safety Museum) in Amsterdam, grounding the artwork in a broader campaign of public education. The combination of didactic language and bold visual metaphor turns a workplace rule into something immediate and memorable.
As a piece of twentieth-century graphic design, this safety poster balances artistry with function: limited color, strong contrasts, and a single, clear focal point engineered for quick comprehension. It also reflects a period when posters were a primary medium for communicating industrial safety, using striking imagery to shape everyday behavior on the factory floor. For readers interested in Jacob Jansma, Dutch poster art, or the history of occupational health and safety, this 1940 print offers a vivid window into how visual culture tried to prevent injury through persuasion and fearlessness of design.