그래픽 심볼의 정보 유형과 시각 표현에 관한 연구-공공시설의 그래픽 심볼을 중심으로-

Abstract

The public safety has become an intense global issue and the social role of design has become more important than before to enhance the public safety and improve the quality of life. It has been necessary to review about whether those graphical symbols used at the public facilities convey the messages effectively without confusion. The purpose of this paper is to determine if there are any differences in visual expressions according to the varied types of information which graphic symbols are trying to convey, and to identify the visual expressions for graphic symbols that can be effective means of conveying information. The method of study was to classify the types of information of the graphic symbols from the previous studies, and a field survey has been carried out to investigate the meanings of graphic symbols used at the public facilities. Graphic symbols are classified into two main categories according to the types of messages: informative graphic symbols which provide with information and persuasive graphic symbols which draw the public’s attention to safety. The informative graphic symbols are found more in a representational form. Persuasive graphic symbols are required to use the abstract symbols to warn unsafe conditions. The study shows that the persuasive graphic symbols have complicated form consisting of more than two graphic elements, which could create misunderstandings. It is crucial for persuasive graphic symbols to convey the warning messages quickly and there is a need for an institutional framework responsible for educating the public to understand the displaying graphic symbols with labels together. Further studies are required to include presenting learning methods and experimental analysis on visualization to effectively communicate varied information according to their types of messages.