For the sign located on a controlled-access highway, see Exit number.
"Exit Sign" redirects here. For the Hilltop Hoods song with Illy and Ecca Vandal, see Exit Sign (song).
Post-1982 Japanese exit sign ("running man") designed by Yukio Ota in 1979.[1] ISO Standard (1987) sign in parts of Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas; actual implementations vary slightly
The red or green EXIT sign is more common in North America, especially in the United States. A red version was previously used in Canada, but this has been replaced by the ISO standard 'running man' sign.
An exit sign is a pictogram or short text in a public facility (such as a building, aircraft, or boat) marking the location of the closest emergency exit to be used in an emergency that necessitates rapid evacuation. Most fire, building, health, and safety codes require exit signs that are always lit.
Exit signs are intended to be unmistakable and understandable by anyone who can see. In the past, this generally meant exit signs that show the word "EXIT"[2] or the equivalent in the local language; increasingly, exit signs around the world are now pictograms, with or without supplementary text.[3]
^Jin, Tadahisa (December 2007). "誘導灯表示面のピクトグラフについて". Kasai. 57 (6). Japan Association for Fire Science and Engineering: 38.
^The English word "exit" comes directly from the Latin word meaning "(he or she) goes out".