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Kindergarten

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

Nursery School

Category

Public Facilities, Commercial Facilities, Services, Tourism

Message / Function

To indicate facilities or institutions for the temporary care of preschool children

 

Source Description
ÖNORM A 3011 Public Information Symbol No 81 Kindergarten1) ÖNORM A 3011 Female grown up and three children arranged as performing a circle dance
Austrian Standards TestdesignKindergarten2) ON Testdesign Female grown up and two children all holding hands
Austrian Standards TestdesignKindergarten3) ON Testdesign Female grown up and two children, one holding a ball
Swiss Symbol: Day Nursery KKV-CH Female grown up and three children, all holding hands
Pictogram: Kindergarten from an unknown source Unknown Female grown up and two children all holding hands
Hora page 165, CNIS: Pictogram Child Care Center CNIS Female grown up turned towards child next to toy truck
Aicher & Krampen page 145: Day Nursery (Kinderaufbewahrung) Aicher &
Krampen
Female grown up and child plus teddy bear
Pictogram: Kindergarten from an unknown source Unknown Female grown up and child holding hands, arms of two further persons just indicated
Italian Traffic Sign Figura II 183 Art. 125: Asilo SVI Four children arranged as performing a circle dance
Logo Kindergarten PKAW Silhouette of two children holding hands, one also holding a teddy bear
Pictogram: Kindergarten by González González Hexagonal arrangement of six human figure holding hands
Swiss Standard SN 640 827 Pictogram 9.23 Supervised Playground SN 640 827 Human figure on slide, eye above
Icono de Guardería estilo Glifos de iOS iconos8.es Hand above head

Discussion

The examples above are only a small selection from the multitude of images representing Kindergarten or Nursery School that can be found as public information symbols in guiding systems worldwide. Especially variants depicting just toys or buildings were left out, as there is no clear relation to the intended message. Internet search mostly delivers pictograms that do not clearly differentiate from Playground or Playroom.

In our research we discovered that test results available are from one country only. Nevertheless these offer valuable insights:

Brugger (1982) inspected 23 pictogram variants for the message Kindergarten using an Appropriateness Ranking Test. Results show some clear tendencies:

In a follow up Comprehension Test conducted in Austria (Brugger, 1983) the three pictograms marked with 1) to 3) were examined: While the variant marked 1) elicited 65 % correct responses, variant 2) reached 49 % and variant 3) 26 % correct responses only. Most responses for variant 3) were related to playground and playing. Testdesign 2) elicited a rather wide range of responses including aspects like family, traffic education, playground, and much more.

Recommendations

Kindergarten

Based on the test results known, we recommend the use of pictogram No 81 of the Austrian Standard ÖNORM A 3011-4 shown above to signify Kindergarten / Nursery School.

Tests of pictograms of referent Kindergarten

Brugger, Ch. (1982): Reihungstest für die Begriffe Bibliothek, Buffet, Kindergarten, Kinderskischule. Report to the Austrian Standards Institute (ON) dated 12/82, Vienna.

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

See also

Playground, Playroom
Ski School

 

Updated 2024-12-04 by Ch.Brugger