Exit sign

For the sign located on a controlled-access highway, see Exit number.
"Exit Sign" redirects here. For the Hilltop Hoods song with Illy and Ecca Vandal, see Exit Sign (song).

Green pictogram with a running man
Post-1982 Japanese exit sign ("running man") designed by Yukio Ota in 1979.[1] ISO Standard (1987) sign in parts of Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas; actual implementations vary slightly
Green EXIT sign
The red or green EXIT sign is more common in North America, especially in the United States. Canada previously used this design, but is phasing it out in favor of the ISO standard sign.
Sign used in the European Union as according to European Economic Council Directive 92/58/EEC

An exit sign is a pictogram or short text in a public facility (such as a building, aircraft, or boat) marking the location of the closest emergency exit to be used in an emergency that necessitates rapid evacuation. Most fire, building, health, and safety codes require exit signs that are always lit.

Exit signs are intended to be unmistakable and understandable by anyone who can see. In the past, this generally meant exit signs that show the word "EXIT"[2] or the equivalent in the local language; increasingly, exit signs around the world are now pictograms, with or without supplementary text.[3]

  1. ^ Jin, Tadahisa (December 2007). "誘導灯表示面のピクトグラフについて". Kasai. 57 (6). Japan Association for Fire Science and Engineering: 38.
  2. ^ The English word "exit" comes directly from the Latin word meaning "(he or she) goes out".
  3. ^ Turner, Julia (9 March 2010). "The Big Red Word vs. the Little Green Man: The international war over exit signs". Slate.