IN-PERSON Manchester Livable Cities

Abstract

This study examines the visual conspicuity of emergency location signage in hiking trail environments, with implications for safer pedestrian navigation in both natural and urban contexts. While prior research has largely focused on visibility, limited attention has been given to conspicuity under varying environmental conditions. To address this gap, an image-based paired comparison experiment was conducted with 49 respondents. Eight color variants of national location number signs were composited onto hiking trail photographs classified into five spatial-structural types. Conspicuity scores were quantified using the TrueSkill algorithm, and two-way ANOVA was employed to examine main and interaction effects of color and background condition. The results indicate that yellow achieved the highest and most stable conspicuity across all background types, while achromatic colors consistently ranked lowest. In contrast, green, white, and black showed significant variation depending on background composition, whereas yellow and red remained relatively robust. These findings provide empirical support for the current yellow standard and offer a basis for developing context-sensitive signage guidelines. Furthermore, the results suggest broader applicability to urban wayfinding and emergency communication systems, contributing to the design of safer and more legible environments in livable cities.