Hairdresser / Barber

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

Barber Shop, Hair Salon, Coiffeur, Beauty Salon

Category

Commercial Facilities, Concessions

Message / Function

To show the location of a barber or hair salon

	Source	Description
	BS 8501:2002	A pair of scissors and comb side by side
	Düsseldorf Airport	A pair of open scissors and comb side by side
	ISO 7001	A pair of scissors and comb side by side
	AIGA	A pair of scissors and comb side by side
	D'source	A pair of scissors and comb side by side
	Eco-Mo Foundation	A pair of scissors and comb side by side
	EJP	A pair of scissors and comb side by side
	UIC 413	A pair of open scissors and comb side by side
	Dreyfuss	Open scissors crossed over a comb
	NS 1980	Open scissors crossed over a comb
	AIGA	A pair of scissors and comb side by side plus female figure
	S/TA	Upper part of female figure, head surrounded by filled circles/curlers
	Dreyfuss	Head in profile under drying hood
	Unknown	Head in profile under drying hood, all outline
	AIGA	A pair of scissors and comb side by side plus male figure
	S/TA	Barber's pole with open scissors above
	Dreyfuss	Barber's pole

Discussion

Most variants found show a pair of scissors and a comb, either side by side or crossed. Often they only differ in detail: for example the scissors may be open or closed, sometimes also detailed as hair-cutting shears. Symbols showing a barber's pole are outdated and not understood anymore by most people, especially in countries were this symbol never was in use.

In our research we discovered that there is only very limited test data available, as only two pictograms were examined:

In a Japanese study to propose domestically unified graphical symbols based on scientific methods, the pictogram variant labeled as Eco-Mo Foundation proved to be almost perfectly comprehensible with a comprehension score of 98.6 (Eco-Mo Foundation, 2001).

The only other test results available are from Zwaga & Boersema (1983) from a Matching Test, were the variant labeled NS 1980 performed very well with more than 90 % correct responses.

Recommendations

Barber Shop

We recommend the use of a symbol like variant PI CF 015 from ISO 7001, the AIGA version, or the pictogram of the Eco-Mo Foundation, which can be used for any kind of hairdresser: barber shop as well as hair salon.

Tests of pictograms for Barber Shop and Beauty Salon

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.

Zwaga, H.J. & Boersema, T. (1983): Evaluation of a set of graphic symbols. Applied Ergonomics, 14, 1, 43-54.