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Toilet

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

Toilets, Public Toilets, Restroom, Restrooms, Public Convenience, Public Lavatory, Sanitary Rooms, Sanitary Facilities, Water Closet, Latrine

Category

Public Facilities, Services, Travel, Tourism

Message / Function

To indicate the location of a public toilet for males or females

 

Source Description
Dreyfuss page 34: Pictogram Toilets Dreyfuss Frontal view of standing male and female human figures separated by washing stand and mirror
Pictogram: Toilets by Rosa & Diaz Rosa & Diaz Frontal view of standing female and male human figures separated by vertical bar
AIGA Symbol Sign No 14: Toilets AIGA Frontal view of standing female and male human figures separated by vertical bar
Avanti, L’Illa Diagonal, Barcelona: Pictogram Toilets Avanti LID Frontal view of standing female and male human figures separated by vertical bar
Eco-Mo Foundation Pictogram A06: Toilets Eco-Mo
Foundation
Frontal view of standing female and male human figures separated by vertical bar
Pictogram Toilet by Bortoletti, Saccenti, Saliani for Iuav University of Venice, Italy IUAV Frontal view of standing male and female human figures separated by vertical bar
Icon Sanitary Rooms (Vienna) from Handbuch wien.gv.at Handbuch wien.gv.at Contours of standing male and female human figures separated by vertical bar
Modley & Myers page 96: Summer Olympics Munich 1972 - Pictogram Toilets O'72 Frontal view of standing male and female human figures separated by vertical line
Pictogramas Universales de Madrid, Pictogram WC (Servicios) designed by Avanti, Barcelona Avanti PUM Frontal view of standing male and female human figures separated by vertical line
Modley & Myers page 61, TC: Pictogram Toilets TC Frontal view of standing male and female human figures separated by thin vertical line
Pictogram Sanitary Facilities (Servicios higiénicos) from Transantiago, Chile Transantiago Frontal view of standing female and male human figures separated by vertical dotted line
Modley & Myers page 90: Summer Olympics Tokyo 1964 - Pictogram Toilets O'64 Frontal view of standing female and male human figures
Yukio Ota page 177: Pictogram Toilets Ota Frontal view of standing female and male human figures
Modley & Myers page 61: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Pictogram Toilets Port Frontal view of standing female and male human figures
Abdullah & Hübner page 157, Zurich Airport: Pictogram Toilets Zurich Airport Frontal view of standing female and male human figures
ISO 7001 Public Information Symbol PI PF 003: Toilets ISO 7001 Frontal view of standing male and female human figures
Modley & Myers page 85, Las Vegas Airport: Pictogram Toilets LVA Frontal view of standing female and male human figures
Map Symbol from Les Menuires: Public Toilets Les Menuires Frontal view of standing female and male human figures
Hodson page 230, Museu Blau: Toilets / Lavabos by Massana, Martin & Huaman, 2011 Museu Blau Frontal view of standing male and female human figures
Moon White Toilet Sign from Signbox Signbox Frontal view of standing male and female human figures
Lunger & Scheiber page 228: Symbol Toilets from Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Museum of Technology) by GfG DTM Berlin Frontal view of standing male and female human figures
Modley & Myers page 118: Tokyo Airport - Pictogram Toilets TA Frontal view of standing male and female human figures
Symbol Toilets from an unknown source Unknown Downward-pointing and upward-pointing triangles, each with filled circle above
Smitshuijzen page 347, Design Idea by Sarah Rosenbaum, 2004: Toilets Rosenbaum Letters X Y, each with filled circle above
Transgender Restroom from Thailand (Mijksenaar, 2021) Mijksenaar 2021 Frontal view of standing human figure, half female and male
Hora page 136: Pictogram for Gender Neutral Restroom, All Gender Restroom HSSS Frontal view of standing human figure, half male and female
Pictogram: All-gender Restrooms from Mijksenaar (2021) Mijksenaar 2021 Frontal view of three standing human figures: male, female, and half male and female
Symbol: Gender Neutral Restroom from Mijksenaar (2021) Mijksenaar 2021 Symbolic rendering of three standing human figures made from circles and triangles
ISO 7001:1990, Sheet No 015: Public Information Symbol Toilet (general) ISO 7001:1990 Front perspecive of toilet bowl showing seat and lid
Icograda Testdesign 17 07 03: Toilet (general) Icograda Front perspecive of toilet bowl showing seat and lid
Gender Neutral Restroom from Mijksenaar (2021) Mijksenaar 2021 Front perspecive of toilet bowl showing seat and cistern
Gender Neutral Toilet Sign from Wikipedia Wikipedia Front perspecive of toilet bowl showing seat and cistern
NPS Map Symbol: Services: Flush Toilet U.S. National
Park Service
Side view of toilet bowl showing seat plus cistern with drop of water
SIS Pictogram Toilet (Standarden SS 30600:2015 Grafiska symboler; Symboler - Toalett) SIS Side view of toilet bowl showing seat plus cistern
Pictogram: All-gender Restrooms from Mijksenaar (2021) Mijksenaar 2021 Side view of toilet bowl showing seat plus cistern
Japanese-style toilet TOTO Side view of Japanese squat toilet
Symbol for Toilet from D'source D'source Plan view of squat toilet
Universal Restroom Symbol by Gaul Gaul Dotted line indicating water, ending on top of hand
Pictogram: All-gender Restrooms from Mijksenaar (2021) Mijksenaar 2021 Toilet paper roll, perforation as dashed line
Abstract inclusive toilet symbol created from biology symbols Mijksenaar 2021 Symbol formed from infinity symbol and biology symbols for male and female and circle in the center
Abstract Transgender Symbol created from Biology symbols by Boswell, Parker & Nangeroni Boswell Biology symbols for male and female together plus both rotated and merged
ÖNORM A 3011 Public Information Symbol No 108 Toilet / Water Closet ÖNORM
A 3011
Text WC

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

Discussion

The examples shown above are only a small selection from the wide range of pictograms and symbols used to indicate the location of a public toilet. There are hundreds of variations based on depicting males and females, but we included just a few to illustrate different concepts. A few more examples of renderings of persons used for signifying toilets can be found in the related collections Female and Male. We also included several variants regarding non-binary restroom signage from the research published by Mijksenaar (2021).

There are several issues to regard when selecting a pictogram for Toilet:

So it seems there is no perfect way to communicate this message without regional or cultural obstacles.

Recommendations

Toilet

Regarding test results available and following the European Agreement of the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, we recommend a symbol based on the text WC in Latin script. It bypasses all gender related issues, and in the long term it might become a conventional symbol that people from all countries eventually learn to recognize.

Tests of pictograms of referent Toilet

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.

Easterby, R.S. & Zwaga, H.J.G. (1976): Evaluation of Public Information Symbols, ISO Tests: 1975 Series. AP Report 60, Department of Applied Psychology, University of Aston, Birmingham, March 1976.

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.

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

Gehringer, J. (1979): Untersuchung über die zeichnerische Gestaltung von Pictogrammen in Abhängigkeit von einigen Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen, sowie Überprüfung einiger Bildzeichen auf ihre Erkennbarkeit. Dissertation, Psychology Department, University of Vienna.

Hashim, M. J., Alkaabi, M. S., & Bharwani, S. (2014): Interpretation of way-finding healthcare symbols by a multicultural population: navigation signage design for global health. Applied ergonomics, 45(3), 503–509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2013.07.002

Mijksenaar (2021): Beyond the Binary - Setting the wayfinding standard for inclusive restrooms. Retrieved 2023 12 08 from https://inclusivity.mijksenaar.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Beyond-the-Binary-A-White-Paper-by-Mijksenaar-2021.pdf

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

See also

Female,  Male
Handwashing Facility, Soap Dispenser, Lotion, Paper Towels, Tissue, Hand Dryer, Electric Shaver Outlet

 

Updated 2024-12-14 by Ch.Brugger