Cinema

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

Playhouse, Movie Theater, Pictures

Category

Concessions, Commercial Facilities, Tourism

Message / Function

For notice in general and to show the location of a cinema

	Source	Description
	Unknown	Light beam with silouette of figure with crown
	Unknown	Side view of top of three human figures below light beam and motion-picture screen with close shot of female
1)	ON Testdesign	Side view of three sitting human figures below light beam and motion-picture screen
2)	ÖNORM A 3011	Side view of three sitting human figures below light beam
	HSSS	Side view of three human figures sitting in chairs below light beam
	González	Side view of three human figures sitting in chairs below light beam
	KSA	Motion-picture screen plus perforation, five human figures in rear view
	CNIS	Motion-picture screen plus perforation, three human figures in rear view
	SVI	Motion-picture screen, four human figures in rear view
	IT-MDLP	Motion-picture screen, four human figures on seats in rear view
	ISO 7001	Three half-length human figures, in rear view, motion-picture screen above the human figures
	O'72	Two human figures, motion-picture screen left of the human figures
	BS 8501:2002	Projector and motion-picture screen, six human figures in rear view
3)	McLaren & Braunstein	Projector with film reels and light beam
	BTA 1989	Projector with film reels
	La Clusaz	Projector with film reels
	Biesele	Partial view of projector with film reels
	Dreyfuss	Camera shown inside film with perforation
	Dreyfuss	Classic movie camera on tripod
	Picto'grafics	Eye and film with perforation
	Kuwayama	Side view of film reel

Discussion

The examples above represent a multitude of concepts and illustrate that there is no specific visual stereotype for Cinema.

Research data on comprehensibility of symbols concerning Cinema in our database is from three countries, but still somewhat limited, as just four pictogram variants were examined:

When the pictogram variants marked with 1) to 3) were studied in a Comprehension Test in Austria (Brugger, 1983), the versions labeled 1) and 2) elicited more than 85 % correct responses. With 62 % responses classified as correct, the pictogram designed by McLaren & Braunstein could not equal the other two variants tested. Pictograms showing rear views of human figures below a motion-picture screen were not examined in this project.

In a different study the pictogram from the Chinese standard GB/T 10001, labeled CNIS in the table above, was examined in China and Japan on basis of a Comprehension Test. While 90.8 % of the respondents in Japan answered correctly, only 67.0 % of the Chinese responses were classified as correct (ISO/TC 145/SC 1, 2012).

Recommendations

As only a few of the image contents available have been examined in the studies available, we recommend comparing at least the pictograms PI CF 016 of ISO 7001, No 87 of the Austrian standard ÖNORM A 3011-4, and the variant from the Chinese standard GB/T 10001 concerning comprehensibility in one study to identify the one working best.

ÖNORM A 3011 Public Information Symbol No 87: Cinema

Until then nothing is to be said against using variants similar to public information symbol No 87 of the Austrian standard ÖNORM A 3011-4, or pictograms like the Chinese or Korean examples in the table above, as comprehensibility of these pictograms fulfill ISO and ANSI requirements.

Tests of pictograms of referent Cinema

Brugger, Ch. (1983): Abschlußbericht über den Verständnistest. Report to the Austrian Standards Institute (ON) dated May 1983, Vienna.

ISO/TC 145/SC 1 (2012): COMMITTEE DRAFT Reference No. ISO 7001-PI CF 016pr: Cinema, dated 2012-01-18. ISO: ISO/TC 145/SC 1 N 506.