Synonyms / Other Terms Used
Toilets, Public Toilets, Restroom, Public Convenience, 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 | Frontal view of standing male and female human figures separated by washing stand and mirror | |
Rosa & Diaz | Frontal view of standing female and male human figures separated by vertical bar | |
AIGA | Frontal view of standing female and male human figures separated by vertical bar | |
Eco-Mo Foundation |
Frontal view of standing female and male human figures separated by vertical bar | |
IUAV | Frontal view of standing male and female human figures separated by vertical bar | |
Handbuch wien.gv.at | Contours of standing male and female human figures separated by vertical bar | |
O'72 | Frontal view of standing male and female human figures separated by vertical line | |
TC | Frontal view of standing male and female human figures separated by thin vertical line | |
Transantiago | Frontal view of standing female and male human figures separated by vertical dotted line | |
O'64 | Frontal view of standing female and male human figures | |
Ota | Frontal view of standing female and male human figures | |
Port | Frontal view of standing female and male human figures | |
Zurich Airport | Frontal view of standing female and male human figures | |
ISO 7001 | Frontal view of standing male and female human figures | |
LVA | Frontal view of standing female and male human figures | |
Les Menuires | Frontal view of standing female and male human figures | |
Museu Blau | Frontal view of standing male and female human figures | |
Signbox | Frontal view of standing male and female human figures | |
DTM Berlin | Frontal view of standing male and female human figures | |
TA | Frontal view of standing male and female human figures | |
Unknown | Downward-pointing and upward-pointing triangles, each with filled circle above | |
Rosenbaum | Letters X Y, each with filled circle above | |
Mijksenaar 2021 | Frontal view of standing human figure, half female and male | |
HSSS | Frontal view of standing human figure, half male and female | |
Mijksenaar 2021 | Frontal view of three standing human figures: male, female, and half male and female | |
Mijksenaar 2021 | Symbolic rendering of three standing human figures made from circles and triangles | |
ISO 7001:1990 | Front perspecive of toilet bowl showing seat and lid | |
Icograda | Front perspecive of toilet bowl showing seat and lid | |
Mijksenaar 2021 | Front perspecive of toilet bowl showing seat and cistern | |
Wikipedia | Front perspecive of toilet bowl showing seat and cistern | |
U.S. National Park Service |
Side view of toilet bowl showing seat plus cistern with drop of water | |
SIS | Side view of toilet bowl showing seat plus cistern | |
Mijksenaar 2021 | Side view of toilet bowl showing seat plus cistern | |
TOTO | Side view of Japanese squat toilet | |
D'source | Plan view of squat toilet | |
Gaul | Dotted line indicating water, ending on top of hand | |
Mijksenaar 2021 | Toilet paper roll, perforation as dashed line | |
Mijksenaar 2021 | Symbol formed from infinity symbol and biology symbols for male and female and circle in the center | |
Boswell | Biology symbols for male and female together plus both rotated and merged | |
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.
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.
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
Updated 2023-12-10 by Ch.Brugger