The effects of background color of safety symbols on perception of the symbols

Abstract

This present study investigated the effects of the background color of safety symbols on the way people perceive hazard and risk and consequent compliance to the symbols. Thirty-one Hong Kong Chinese rated perceived hazardousness, perceived severity of injury, immediacy of consequences, and likelihood of compliance for 21 safety symbols with various background colors and symbol types. A color was not tested if it was the same as the color of the symbol. This study showed that background color significantly influenced perception of the symbols. For hazard warning symbols (black background was not tested) and mandatory action symbols (blue background was not tested), red produced the highest levels of perceived hazard, injury severity, consequence immediacy, and compliance. For prohibition types of symbols (red background was not tested), hazard, severity, consequence immediacy, and compliance levels were perceived to be higher for black than for other background colors.