Slate magazine has recently published an interesting article (“The Big Red Word vs. the Little Green Man”) about exit signs and sign standardization in general. While Americans prefer an EXIT sign in red, many other countries use some version of the ISO standard – that is, a “running man.” Hence and due to the fact that the sign is a pictogram and it's green (the color of safety), it can be understood by everyone – including non-English speakers. You can read more about the history of the EXIT sign on Slate.
That was a really cool article.
ReplyDeleteWho would have thought there was so much controversy over America and our choice of exit signs. I guess we are the oddballs of the international community???
I personally am a fan of the little green man. During my international travels I have found comfort in the ease of recognition of signage when I was in Europe... I think it is good to have universal emergency exit signage.