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 pictogram, icon and symbols standards
European pictogram, icon and symbols standards
National pictogram standards in Europe (alphabetical by country)
Other National pictogram, icon and symbols standards (alphabetical by country)

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 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

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