Design-based guidelines for the semantic perception of emergency signs

The current study applies semantic differential to explore the semantic perception of emergency signs, in an attempt to analyze the meanings of emergency signs in regard to the psychological exigencies of the general public. The results indicate that problems concerning recognition accuracy have been observed, but also that the evaluation of the semantic meaning of the signs is positive. However, a number of emotional factors also emerge, indicating that if improvements should be made to the existing emergency signs, it would better facilitate evacuation in the event of an emergency. As for the design guidelines, the emergency signs should be readily recognizable and have a single meaning. Multiple symbolic meanings should be eliminated. Concrete design guidelines include: (a) safety movement, (b) clarity, and (c) safety. To avoid confusion in sign recognition, in addition to the improvements made based on the abovementioned guidelines, educational promotional activities carried out by the government would also prove very beneficial.