Rafting

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

River Rafting, River Drifting, Whitewater Rafting

Category

Sports, Adventure Sports, Water Based Activities, Water Sports, Sporting Activities, Activities, Recreation, Tourism

Message / Function

For notice in general and to signify the activity of rafting

	Source	Description
	NZS 8603	Three figures in dinghy on rough water indicated by two tilted wavy lines
	Bolivia	Three figures with paddles in boat on rough water indicated by tilted wavy line
	Aragón	Three figures with paddles in boat on rough water indicated by two tilted wavy lines
	Ecuador	Four figures with raised paddles in dinghy on rough water indicated by two curved lines
	Peru 2016	Three figures with raised paddles in dinghy on rough water, indicated by two tilted wavy lines
	CNIS	Human figure with single-bladed paddle, in dinghy, water shown as two wavy lines plus curves indicating wave
	SADC	Human figure with single-bladed paddle in tilted dinghy, water shown as two wavy lines
	U.S. National Park Service	Human figure with single-bladed paddle in dinghy, water shown as two wavy lines
	MUTCD	Human figure with single-bladed paddle in dinghy, water shown as two wavy lines
	Slovenia 2015	Human figure with single-bladed paddle in dinghy, water shown as two wavy lines
	EJP	Side view of human figure with double-bladed paddle in front part of boat, water shown as wavy contour

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 activity of rafting. While several renderings focus on indicating white water in some way, as for example by using tilted wavy lines, others just display one or more horizontal wavy lines as used for all other representations of water. Furthermore the number of persons shown varies from one to four, mostly with paddles, but also without. No single visual stereotype can be identified.

We could not find any test data concerning graphic symbols for Rafting in our database, so we cannot present specific information concerning comprehensibility or some other parameters for one or several of the pictograms presented above.

Recommendations

We suggest to develop additional pictogram variants with a focus on clear differentiation from Canoeing and Rowing, which will probably be reached best by presenting more than one person in a dinghy. Then studies comparing several concepts should be conducted. The study design should also include a Comprehension Test to identify possible misinterpretations and to improve designs. Only on such a basis a clear decision concerning a specific recommendation can be reached.