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Left Luggage

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

Left Baggage, Baggage Depot, Baggage Storage, Baggage Checkroom, Left Luggage Service

Category

Public Facilities, Public Services, Travel, Transport Facilities, Tourism, Concessions

Message / Function

To indicate the location of a manned place for the temporary storage of luggage

 

Source Description
ISO 7001 Public Information Symbol PI PF 012 - Baggage storage or left baggage ISO 7001 Four assorted pieces of baggage arranged on two shelves in an orderly fashion
Hora page 153: Pictogram Left Luggage CNIS Four assorted pieces of baggage arranged on two shelves in an orderly fashion
Eco-Mo Foundation Pictogram A17 Baggage Storage Eco-Mo
Foundation
Four assorted pieces of baggage arranged on two shelves in an orderly fashion
Pictogram Left Luggage from an unknown source Unknown Shelve with four pieces of baggage arranged in an orderly fashion
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Pictogram No 7: Left Luggage ICAO Three assorted pieces of baggage on a shelve with separation
Abdullah & Hübner page 133: Pictogram Left Luggage from Düsseldorf Airport Düsseldorf
Airport
Two assorted pieces of baggage on two shelves
Schiphol Airport Pictogram: Baggage depot / Pick up on Return Schiphol Two assorted pieces of baggage on two shelves
DB Pictogram Left Luggage DB Two assorted pieces of baggage, one on shelve
ÖNORM A 3011:1980 Public Information Symbol No 36 1980: Left Luggage ÖNORM A 3011:1980 Two assorted pieces of baggage in container with one open side
Austrian Testdesign: Left Luggage ON Testdesign Suitcase and guitar in container with one open side
Austrian Testdesign: Left Luggage ON Testdesign Suitcase and golf bag in container with one open side
Pictogram No 7 - Left Baggage (Gepäck-Aufbewahrung) from Zurich Airport (1978) ZRH 1978 Suitcase and golf bag in container with one open side
Erco Pictogram No 179: Baggage Room Erco Two assorted pieces of baggage with an fat coutline rectangle
Icograda Testdesign No 14 07 01: Left Luggage Icograda Two assorted pieces of baggage inside coutline rectangle
Icograda Testdesign No 14 15 01: Left Luggage Icograda Suitcase with round tag inside coutline rectangle
Pictogram Left Luggage (Dutch Railways 1980, Nederlandse Spoorwegen) NS 1980 Suitcase inside a closed rectangle with protruding edges
Early UIC Pictogram Left Luggage UIC 413 b Suitcase inside closed rectangle with protruding edges
Hora page 102: AIGA / DOT Pictogram Left Baggage AIGA / DOT Suitcase in container with one open side
BTA 1989 page 3.14: Map Symbol Left Luggage Facilities BTA 1989 Suitcase above horizontal bar
Icograda Testdesign No 14 02 03: Left Luggage Icograda Suitcase in a shelve with human figure moving away
Pictogram Checkroom or Luggage Lockers (Consigna) from Grupo de Trabajo Andaluz de Accesibilidad Cognitiva GTAAC Suitcase or shopping trolley, key in top right corner
Modley & Myers page 124, Olympic Winter Games 1972 in Sapporo: Pictogram Baggage Checkroom WO'72 Suitcase with round tag
Modley & Myers page page 76, German Airport Authority (ADV): Pictogram Baggage Storage and Baggage Claim ADV Suitcase

Discussion

Baggage related messages are mixed up often, especially if pictograms are not designed well or used in an unwise or inappropriate manner. The label Baggage Storage for example is not completely clear, as it may signify either a manned place for the temporary storage of luggage, or just self-service based Luggage Lockers. The referent Left Luggage is supposed to cover the first of these messages, while Luggage Lockers usually are signified by a specific pictogram. Furthermore, in some systems a pictogram showing just a suitcase is used to convey several messages, covering not only Baggage in general, but also Baggage Storage and even Baggage Claim. Results from a Matching Test by Zwaga & Boersema (1983) illustrate the effects on the user.

The first variant in the table above - marked as ISO 7001, but originating from an Icograda student project - was the best performing of thirteen designs evaluated in the ISO test series 1979/80, which included ranking tests as well comprehension testing in several countries (Easterby & Graydon 1981).

An inspection of test results available gives some hints on what might be to regard:

In projects conducted many years after the ones mentioned before, pictogram variants based on ISO 7001 public information symbol PI PF 012 proved to be rather well comprehensible: in a Japanese study to propose domestically unified graphical symbols based on scientific methods, a comprehension score of 72.4 was determined for the pictogram variant labeled as Eco-Mo Foundation (Eco-Mo Foundation, 2001). An & Chan (2017) examined the sign from the Chinese standard GB/T 10001, Public Information Graphical Symbols, labeled CNIS in the table above. About 93 % correct responses among Chinese respondents indicate that this pictogram variant fulfills the corresponding requirements of relevant ISO and ANSI standards.

Recommendations

ISO 7001 Public Information Symbol PI PF 012 - Baggage storage or left baggage

We recommend the use of a pictogram similar to public information symbol PI PF 012 from ISO 7001, as it contains more than one piece of luggage and more than one filled compartment of a shelve.

For good measure we suggest to conduct a Comprehension Test comparing this concept with a pictogram variant which has less details and may work better for persons with impaired vision, e.g. like the one used at Düsseldorf Airport, to clarify this subject and support or correct this recommendation.

Tests of pictograms of referent Left Luggage

An, D. & Chan, E.H.W. (2017): Investigating the Comprehension of Public Symbols for Wayfinding in Transit Hubs in China. In: Rau, PL. (eds) Cross-Cultural Design. CCD 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 10281. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57931-3_24

Brugger, Ch. (1977): Abschlußbericht über den Erkennungstest. Report to the Austrian Standards Institute, Vienna, 1977-10-04.

Easterby, R.S. & Graydon, I.R. (1981): 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): 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.

Kraft, E. (1976): Ranking-Test. Report to the Austrian Standards Institute (ON) dated 09/76, Vienna.

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

See also

Baggage, Luggage Lockers
Baggage Check-in, Baggage Claim
Baggage Delivery, Baggage Trolley, Porter

 

Updated 2024-09-11 by Ch.Brugger