Playground

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

Children's Playground, Play Area, Children's Open Air Play Area

Category

Public Facilities, Tourism

Message / Function

To indicate the location of a public outdoor play area for children

	Source	Description
2)	SSRS	Side view of children on seesaw
	NPS	Side view of children on seesaw
	ISO 7001	Side view of children on seesaw
a)	ÖNORM A 3011	Side view of children on seesaw
	Tern	Side view of children on seesaw
	Follis/Hammer	Side view of children on seesaw
	Stadt Wien	Parallel projection of children on seesaw
	Nova Scotia	Side view of children on seesaw
	France Camping	Side view of seesaw
	U.S. National Park Service	Side view of child on disk swing
	Glowe	Side view of swing set with human figure on swing
	BS 8501:2002	Side view of swing set with human figure on swing
	BTA 1989	Front view of swing set
	Pacific Bell	Swing detail
	Québec	Side view of human figure running, playing ball
1)	Unknown	Child playing ball and child with jumping cord
	OP 82	Child playing ball and child with jumping cord
3)	SN 640 827	Side view of child on children's slide
b)	VIE	Side view of two children on children's slide
	CNIS	Side view of child on children's slide
	ONCE	Children's slide plus two children (girl and boy)
	Kapitzki	Front view of child carrying ball
	Kurniawan	Side view of playground equipment with slide
	New Castle, NY	Side view of playground equipment
5)	Unknown	Child playing with sand
4)	Unknown	Sand bucket and shovel in rectangle
	ADAC	Ball
	France Camping	Ball

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 diversity of variants and image contents available to indicate the location of a public outdoor play area for children. Renderings range from typical playground facilities like a seesaw, a children's slide, or a swing set with a human figure, to toys like a sand bucket and shovel or even just showing some kind of ball. Searching sources from the internet for a playground pictogram one will find thousands of variants. No single visual stereotype can be identified.

A number of studies examined several aspects regarding this referent:

When Brugger (1984) and the Hungarian Standards Institution (Magyar Szabvanyügyi Hivatal, 1985) examined the five pictogram variants marked with 1) to 5) for the referent Playground in Appropriateness Ranking Tests, a pictogram showing a child playing ball and child with jumping cord was ranked best. The numbering 1) to 5) reflect the final rank orders, which were identical in both studies.

Follow up Comprehension Test results indicate that the side view of children on a seesaw created the strongest associations with 96.4 % correct responses (Brugger, 1990). The pictogram displaying a child playing ball and a child with jumping cord also was understood well with 91.4 % responses that could be classified as correct. The swing set shown in the BSI variant helps avoid confusions of the swing with a zip line that the NPS variant could induce, but it makes the pictogram visually cluttered.

Misinterpretations that might be elicited by other variants:

A side view of child on children's slide may be confused with a waterslide
The child playing ball and child with jumping cord also elicited responses related to sports; the same is to be expected if just a ball is shown as in the examples at the bottom of the table above
A sand bucket and shovel may shift focus on small children

Later Fiori (2008) examined a map symbol showing a side view of children on a seesaw, and 52.3 % of the responses in a Comprehension Test were classified as wrong. Answers like Park or Park for Children do not reveal whether the graphic symbol was correctly understood and the answers were just too general, as playgrounds often are included in such places.

In another Comprehension Test (Siebenhandl et.al., 2006) conducted in Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary, and focused on traffic environments only persons holding a driving license participated. Both variants - labeled a) and b) in the table above - were understood well in in all regions. Overall scores were 92.2 for variant a) and 86.6 for variant b). It has to be mentioned that the education level of the respondents was above average in all three countries and especially high in Hungary, were also the scores were highest.

Recommendation

Regarding all test results, we recommend the use of a variant showing children on a seesaw in side view like pictogram PI TC 005 from ISO 7001 or pictogram No 119 from ÖNORM A 3011 part 7. A version optimized for visibility is available in the TERN symbol set (TS0240 Children's playground).

Tests of pictograms of referent Playground

Brugger, Ch. (1984): Reihungstest 1984. Report to the Austrian Standards Institute (ON) dated 19/84, Vienna.

Brugger, Ch. (1990): Abschlußbericht über den Verständnistest. Report to the Austrian Standards Institute (ON) dated 10/90, Vienna.

Fiori, S. R. (2008): Mapas para o turismo e a interatividade - proposta teórica e prática. Tese de Doutorado - Depto. de Geografia, FFLCH-USP.

Magyar Szabvanyügyi Hivatal (1985): Ranking Test. ISO / 145-26/85, Budapest: Magyar Szabvanyügyi Hivatal.

Siebenhandl, K., Brugger, Ch., Simlinger, P., Egger, S., Hollo, P., Weinberger, J., Vasek, J. (2007): Results of the Comprehension Tests on pictograms conducted in Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary; Report In-Safety, 506716.