Connoted hazard and perceived importance of fluorescent, neon, and standard safety colors.

OBJECTIVE: The perceived hazard and rated importance of standard safety, fluorescent, and neon colors are investigated.

BACKGROUND: Colors are used in warnings to enhance hazard communication. Red has consistently been rated as the highest in perceived hazard. Orange, yellow, and black are the next highest in connoted hazard; however, there is discrepancy in their ordering. Safety standards, such as ANSI Z535.1, also list colors to convey important information, but little research has examined the perceived importance of colors. In addition to standard safety colors, fluorescent colors are more commonly used in warnings. Understanding hazard and importance perceptions of standard safety and fluorescent colors is necessary to create effective warnings.

METHODS: Ninety participants rated and ranked a total of 33 colors on both perceived hazard and perceived importance.

RESULTS: Rated highest were the safety red colors from the American National Standard Institute (ANSI), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) together with three fluorescent colors (orange, yellow, and yellow-green) from 3 M on both dimensions. Rankings were similar to ratings except that fluorescent orange was the highest on perceived hazard, while fluorescent orange and safety red from the ANSI were ranked as the highest in perceived importance.

CONCLUSION: Fluorescent colors convey hazard and importance levels as high as the standard safety red colors.

APPLICATION: Implications for conveying hazard and importance in warnings through color are discussed.