Design optimization of community signage for the elderly: an analysis of visual recognition factors

doi:10.11996/JG.j.2095-302X.2026051188

Abstract

Abstract:

With the accelerating aging process in China, building an accessible and cognitive-friendly community environment has become a crucial initiative to enhance older adults’ quality of life, independent living capabilities, and sense of security. As the core vehicle for spatial guidance and information interaction, community environmental signage directly affects older adults’ mobility and social participation through its information accessibility and visual legibility. Grounded in the two key cognitive processes involved when older adults perceive and comprehend signs-icon recognition and semantic matching-the aim was to systematically reveal the differential characteristics and underlying factors influencing Chinese community-dwelling older adults’ ability to recognize typical environmental signs. To this end, pre- and post-test comparative experiments were conducted across four representative cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Chengdu), and valid icon-recognition data were collected from 735 community-dwelling older adults. Recognition accuracy was evaluated for 26 typical community environmental signs across both icon recognition and semantic matching dimensions. The results showed that educational attainment was most strongly associated with performance in both tasks, with significantly higher recognition rates observed among participants with higher education in both icon recognition and semantic comprehension. In the semantic matching task, distinct inter-group differences emerged across age brackets: the semantic-recognition accuracy of participants in their 60s was significantly higher than that of participants in their 70s and 80s, while cognitive performance between the 70s and 80s groups was relatively comparable. Based on these findings, systematic age-friendly optimization redesign was performed for frequently misinterpreted community signs with pre-test accuracy rates below 80%. Subsequent re-testing revealed that the re-designed signs increased recognition accuracy among older adults by 12.1% to 25.3%. The findings further revealed the cognitive processing patterns and individual variations of older adults regarding visual environmental symbols, and provided practical scientific evidence and actionable design guidelines for the standardized development of age-friendly community signage systems and the development of cognitively friendly communities.

Key words: signage design, age-friendly design, visual icon, signage recognition, semantic matching

CLC Number:

LI Zhelin, DONG Shiyu, CUI Jia, XIONG Zhiyong, WANG Wenyu, TONG Mu. Design optimization of community signage for the elderly: an analysis of visual recognition factors[J]. Journal of Graphics, 2026, 47(5): 1188-1195.

Figures/Tables 12

References 23

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题号与名称	选项 A	选项B	选项C
1.禁止鸣喇叭
2.注意行人
3.当心落物
4.当心触电
5.应急避难所
6.紧急医疗站

题号与名称	选项 A	选项B	选项C
1.禁止鸣喇叭
2.注意行人
3.当心落物
4.当心触电
5.应急避难所
6.紧急医疗站

题号	选项
7	□随手关门 □当心夹手 □开门 □禁止触摸
8	□禁止通行 □注意安全 □当心滑倒 □运动场所
9	□电灯开关 □消防设施 □禁止触摸 □火警报警按钮
10	□注意火灾 □消火栓 □手提式灭火器 □禁止携带易燃物品
11	□禁止使用轮椅 □停车场 □可使用轮椅 □无障碍停车位
12	□照明灯 □应急电话 □视频监控区域 □保持安静
13	□可回收物 □厨余垃圾 □其他垃圾 □有害垃圾
14	□紧急出口 □安全通道 □禁止堆放杂物 □禁止入内

题号	选项
7	□随手关门 □当心夹手 □开门 □禁止触摸
8	□禁止通行 □注意安全 □当心滑倒 □运动场所
9	□电灯开关 □消防设施 □禁止触摸 □火警报警按钮
10	□注意火灾 □消火栓 □手提式灭火器 □禁止携带易燃物品
11	□禁止使用轮椅 □停车场 □可使用轮椅 □无障碍停车位
12	□照明灯 □应急电话 □视频监控区域 □保持安静
13	□可回收物 □厨余垃圾 □其他垃圾 □有害垃圾
14	□紧急出口 □安全通道 □禁止堆放杂物 □禁止入内

年龄段	图标辨识正确率	语义匹配正确率	人数
60~69岁	0.569±0.017	0.606±0.018	159
70~79岁	0.542±0.015	0.504±0.018	194
80~89岁	0.500±0.031	0.439±0.038	51