- Author
- Collins, B. L. | Pierman, B. C.
- Title
- Evaluation of Safety Symbols.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- NBSIR 79-1760, June 1979, 37 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
- communication | evaluation methods | fire safety | hazard warnings | pictograms | safety information | standardization | symbols
- Abstract
- The increasing use of symbols to convey fire safety information nonverbally is described. In addition, the trend toward international standardization of symbols is discussed for transportation and other systems. The need for further research on symbols is discussed in terms of the advantages and disadvantges of symbol use. Advantages include rapid and accurate communication without the barriers of verbal language. Disadvantages include the too rapid proliferation of different symbols and inappropriate or misleading application. Furthermore, the failure to evaluate the understandability of each symbol is cited as a major problem. A case study which documents some of the advantages and disadvantages of a set of proposed fire-safety symbols is presented. Finally, areas for further research on symbol evaluation are discussed.