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Pictogram, icon and symbols standards

The position of labels with pictograms, icons and symbols are crucial for an unfamiliar user with impaired vision. All too often labels are positioned in a way that they are obscured from the user's view when the controls are being operated; allowance should be made for the 10% of the population who are left-handed.

Use the links below to navigate to:

International Standards

International Electrotechnical Commission

3 rue de Varembé, PO Box 131, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.
Tel: +41 22 919 0211; Fax: +41 22 919 0300
Email: inmail@iec.ch; Web: www.iec.ch

Committees and Working Groups:

ISO/TC 145 - SC 3C Joint Working Group (JWG) 11 - Basic principles for the development and use of graphical symbols

  • IEC 80416-1 (2008) Basic principles for graphical symbols for use on equipment - Part 1: Creation of symbol originals
  • IEC 80416-2 (2002) Basic principles for graphical symbols for use on equipment - Part 2: Form and use of arrows
  • IEC 80416-3 (2002) Basic principles for graphical symbols for use on equipment - Part 3: Guidelines for the application of graphical symbols
  • IEC 80416-4 (2005) Basic principles for graphical symbols for use on equipment - Part 4: Guidelines for the adaptation of graphical symbols for use on screens and displays (icons)

SC 3C - Graphical symbols for use on equipment
Chairman: Yuji Nakamura
Secretary: Dr. Hiroaki Ikeda

  • IEC 60417 Graphical symbols for use on equipment.
    Note: this is available as an online database in conjunction with ISO 7000

International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)

1, Ch. de la Voie-Creuse, Case postale 56, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.
Tel: +41 22 749 0111; Fax: +41 22 733 3430
Web www.iso.ch

Committees and Working Groups:

Committee on consumer policy

  • ISO/IEC Guide 74 (2004) Graphical symbols - Technical guidelines for the consideration of consumers' needs

ISO/IEC JTC1/SC 35/WG 2 - User Interface Interaction

  • ISO/IEC 18035 (2003) Information technology - Icon symbols and functions for controlling multimedia software applications

ISO/IEC JTC1/SC 35/WG 3 - Graphical Symbols

  • ISO/IEC 11581 (1999-2004) Information technology - User system interfaces and symbols - Parts 1-6
  • ISO/IEC 13251 (2004) Collection of graphical symbols for office equipment
  • ISO/IEC TR 19765 (2007) Information technology - Survey of icons and symbols that provide access to functions and facilities to improve the use of IT products by the elderly and persons with disabilities
  • ISO/IEC TR 19766 (2007) Information technology - Guidelines for the design of icons and symbols accessible to all users, including the elderly and persons with disabilities
  • ISO/IEC 24738 (2006) Infomration technology - Icon symbols and functions for multimedia link attributes

ISO/IEC JTC1/SC 35/WG 4 - User interfaces for mobile devices
Secretary: Phillippe Magnabosco

  • ISO/IEC 24755 (2007) Information technology - Screen icons and symbols for personal mobile communication devices

ISO/TC 145 - SC 3C Joint Working Group (JWG) 11 - Basic principles for the development and use of graphical symbols

  • ISO 80416-1 (2008) Basic principles for graphical symbols for use on equipment - Part 1: Creation of symbol originals
  • ISO 80416-2 (2002) Basic principles for graphical symbols for use on equipment - Part 2: Form and use of arrows
  • ISO 80416-3 (2002) Basic principles for graphical symbols for use on equipment - Part 3: Guidelines for the application of graphical symbols
  • ISO 80416-4 (2005) Basic principles for graphical symbols for use on equipment - Part 4: Guidelines for the adaptation of graphical symbols for use on screens and displays (icons)

ISO/TC 145/SC 1 - Public Information Symbols
Secretary: Robert E. Stratton

  • ISO 3461 (1988) General principles for the creation of graphical symbols - Part 1: Graphical symbols for use on equipment
  • ISO 7239 (1990) Development and principles for application of public information symbols

ISO/TC 145/SC 1/WG 1 - Evaluation and Testing of Public Information Symbols

  • ISO 9186-1 (2007) Graphical symbols - Test methods - Part 1: Methods for testing comprehensibility
  • ISO 9186-2 (2008) Graphical symbols - Test methods - Part 2: Method for testing perceptual quality

ISO/TC 145/SC 1/WG 4 - Public Information Symbols

  • ISO 7001 (1990) Public information symbols

ISO/TC 145/SC 3/WG 2 - Graphical Symbols for Use on Equipment - Index and Synopsis

  • ISO 7000 (2004) Graphical symbols for use on equipment - Index and synopsis

ISO/TC 210 - Quality management and corresponding general aspects for medical devices

  • ISO 15223-1 (2007) Medical devices - Symbols to be used with medical device labels, labelling and information to be supplied - Part 1: General requirements
  • ISO 15223-2 (2010) Medical devices - Symbols to be used with medical device labels, labelling and information to be supplied - Part 2: Symbol development, selection and validation

International Telecommunications Union (ITU)

Place des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.
Tel: +41 22 730 5111; Fax: +41 22 733 7256
Email: itumail@itu.int; Web: www.itu.int

Committees and Working Groups:

ITU-T Study Group 2 - Operational Aspects of Service Provision, Networks and Performance
Chairman: Marie Therese Alajouanine

  • ITU-T E.121 (2004) Pictograms, symbols and icons to assist users of the telephone and telefax service
  • ITU-T E.920 (1995) Procedures for designing, evaluating and selecting symbols, pictograms and icons

European Standards

European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)

650 Route des Lucioles, F-06921 Sophia Antipolis Cedex, France.
Tel: +33 4 92 94 42 00; Fax: +33 4 93 65 47 16
Email: helpdesk@etsi.org; Web: www.etsi.org

TCHF - Technical Committee on Human Factors
Chairman: Stephen Furner

  • ETSI EG 201 379 (1998) Human Factors (HF); Framework for the development, evaluation and selection of graphical symbols
  • ETSI EG 202 048 (2002) Guidelines on the multimodality of icons, symbols and pictograms
  • ETSI EN 301 462 (2000) Symbols to identify telecommunications facilities for deaf and hard of hearing people
  • ETSI ES 202 432 (2006) Human Factors (HF); Access symbols for use with video content and ICT devices
  • ETSI ETS 300 375 (1994) Human Factors (HF); Pictograms for point-to-point videotelephony
  • ETSI TR 070 (1993) Human Factors (HF); The Multiple Index Approach (MIA) for the evaluation of pictograms

National Standards in Europe

United Kingdom

British Standards Institute (BSI)

389 Chiswick High Road, London W4 4AL, United Kingdom.
Tel: +44 20 8996 9000; Fax: +44 20 8996 7001
Email: cservices@bsi-global.com; Web: www.bsi-global.com

Committees and Working Groups:

PH/8/2

  • BS 8501 (2002) Graphical symbols and signs. Public information symbols
  • BS 8502 (2003) Graphical symbols and signs. Creation and design of public information symbols. Requirements

Other National Standards

Japan

Japanese Industrial Standards Committee

1-3-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8901, Japan.
Email: jisc@meti.go.jp; Web: www.jisc.go.jp

Committees and Working Groups:

S - Domestic Wares

  • JIS S 0032 (2003) Guidelines for the elderly and people with disabilities - Visual signs and displays - Estimation of minimum legible size for a Japanese single character

T - Medical Equipment and Safety Appliances

  • JIS T 0103 (2005) Design principles of pictorial symbols for communication support