Departing Flights

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

Flight Departures, Departures

Category

Transportation, Transport Facilities, Travel, Tourism

Message / Function

To indicate the location of flight departures

	Source	Description
	Icograda	Bent line ending at side view of steeply ascending aircraft, runway below
*	Dreyfuss	Side view of aircraft taking off from runway, arrow pointing upwards
	TC	Side view of aircraft taking off from runway
	Picto'grafics	Side view of aircraft taking off from runway
	ISO 7001	Side view of aircraft taking off from runway
	O'72	Side view of aircraft taking off from runway
	Düsseldorf Airport	Side view of aircraft after take off, runway below
	Schiphol	Aircraft taking off from runway
	IATA	Aircraft taking off from runway
	Eco-Mo Foundation	Side view of aircraft taking off from runway
	EJP	Side view of aircraft taking off from runway
	ADV	Side view of aircraft ascending
	Zurich Airport	Side view of aircraft ascending
	AIGA	Simplified plan view of airplane pointing upwards (angle of 45°)
*	Icograda	Plan view of ascending airplane, person walking towards airplane
*	AF	Person with case walking towards airplane on runway
	ATA	Simplified plan view of airplane with arrow pointing towards back entrance
	Icograda	Side view of aircraft leaving circular enclosure
	Icograda	Airplane pointing away from area between two horizontal lines
	Icograda	Flexed arrow pointing away from horizontal bar at bottom
	Icograda	Horizontal arrow with partially dotted shaft pointing away from filled circle

Note: Some of the examples shown above were mirrored horizontally to contrast differences.

Discussion

The range of pictograms shown in the table above gives a good hint of the image contents used to indicate the way to flight departures. Quite common are pictograms displaying a side view of an aircraft ascending, often in combination with a horizontal line below indicating the runway. Several of the remaining concepts are test designs from an Icograda student project (Frascara, 1979) and never were in use at an airport. We did not include some very abstract variants with no chance of correct interpretation.

Studies from several countries present research covering most concepts found in pictogram variants for this referent:

In the ISO 1979/80 test series (Easterby & Graydon 1981) twelve pictogram variants of the referent Departure were examined using an Appropriateness Ranking Test (Easterby & Graydon, 1981 a). Three of the pictograms judged as most appropriate then were selected for further research on basis of a Comprehension Test (Easterby & Graydon, 1981 b). None of the variants tested for comprehension reached an acceptable number of correct responses. As the message in these tests was not restricted to Departing Flights, also the assignment to available categories was not perfect. Regarding this and the additional fact, that no context information was offered, the results of that study should be interpreted with care. Among these three variants (marked with a * in the table above), the variant found in the Symbol Sourcebook by Dreyfuss (displayed near the top of the table) performed best with 25.9 % of the responses classified as correct, compared to 17.5 % and 18.6 % for the other two pictograms.

But also in the Japanese study to propose domestically unified graphical symbols based on scientific methods, the pictogram variant tested did not elicit a sufficient percentage of correct answers. The comprehension score for the pictogram labeled as Eco-Mo Foundation was only 27.6 (Eco-Mo Foundation, 2001).

Abstract variants like the last two at the bottom of the table above, which were designed for general use, appear to be incomprehensable (Easterby & Graydon 1981). For the specific use as referent Departing Flights an abstract solution seems to be inappropriate.

As concerning the message Arrivals / Arriving Flights, another aspect has to be regarded: A simplified plan view of an airplane is used to indicate the location of an airport; accordingly, a plan view of an airplane alone should not be used to signify something else as for example proposed in the DOT / AIGA Symbol Signs system, where an airplane in plan view pointing upwards at an angle of 45° is recommended to indicate the location of flight departures.

Recommendations

Due to the insufficient data available for pictograms indicating the location of flight departures, we recommend research using the Comprehensibility Estimation procedure for eliminating poor variants and identifying the best of the set available, followed by a Comprehension Test offering airport specific context information to reach realistic results. These studies should deliver useful data for recommending one or several pictograms. Detailed information about the most frequent responses given in each of the response categories of the Comprehension Test should be provided to correctly judge comprehensibility and improve designs.

Tests of pictograms of referent Departures

Easterby, R.S. & Graydon, I.R. (1981 a): Evaluation of Public Information Symbols: ISO Test: 1979/80 Series. Part I: Appropriateness Ranking Tests. AP Report 99, Applied Psychology Department, University of Aston in Birmingham, January 1981.

Easterby, R.S. & Graydon, I.R. (1981 b): Evaluation of Public Information Symbols: ISO 1979/80 Test Series. Part II: Comprehension/Recognition Tests. AP Report 100, Applied Psychology Department, University of Aston in Birmingham, January 1981.

Eco-Mo Foundation (2001): Test data of public information symbols in Japan - Procedure for the testing of public information symbols by the Study Committee. ISO: ISO/TC 145/SC 1 N 329.