A recent article in the online magazine Slate, by editor Julia Turner, addressed the global argument about the use of America's exit sign. The concern is that we are the only country that uses the red lettering and people who are not familiar with the sign could be endangered. In our culture the sign makes sense but for others, the use of red in the sign can be confusing. In most cultures the color red is associated with danger and stopping a motion before it results in injury. The argument being made is that if people cannot read the word they may think the doorway is off limits because of the bright red color.
Most other countries use a sign with a green man running through a doorway to indicate an emergency exit. This is only logical, international designers argue, because green universally means go, and is the color of safety. While the U.S. faces this safety dilemma, we have to acknowledge that as a culture the red exit sign works for us because we have seen the sign for so many years. To make an overnight change from the red exit to the green running man could jeopardize Americans' safety. The obvious solution, which is already in place in the subways of New York, is to post dual signs with both the green icon and the red lettering. This is one more step towards uniting a global society.
http://www.slate.com/id/2246107/?from=rss
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I heard about this a couple of weeks ago and I completely agree with you're saying. America will always be an increasingly diversifying nation. I remember reading somewhere that supposedly in the next 20 years, caucasians will no longer be the dominant race. If it doesn't happen by then, it will happen soon after. I also think the easist way for people to avoid confusion is to make a green exit sign nationally accepted. I imagine the tricky part with dual signs will be that some people will see them as contradictions of each other purely based on the signs' opposing colors. Certain people will look at the signs and recgonize the red exit sign we've always had while others will recognize the color as a form of "stop" or "don't proceed". Because we know colors to function in exact ways from a young age, it is difficult for our minds to process such a significant change. In this case though, I'd like to think that if some people were in an emergency situation and didn't understand the signs, they would do what the majority of people would be doing, whether that is fleeing a building or helping others who are in trouble. In the end, I think it's a problem that can be overcome pretty quickly and will indeed further unite all Americans.
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