Year of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Science (MS)
Degree Name
Recreation Management
Department or School/College
Society and Conservation
Committee Chair
Dr. William L. Rice
Commitee Members
Jeremy Shellhorn, Dr. Ethan Walker, Dr. Elena Bigart
Keywords
recreation management, pictorial symbols, graphic communication, national parks
Subject Categories
Graphic Communications | Leisure Studies
Abstract
As interest in outdoor recreation grows, so does the need for effective communication in parks and protected areas. With a larger, more diverse visiting population, managers face new challenges, including intensified recreational use, staffing demands, and barriers to communication presented by cultural and linguistic diversity (Manning et al., 2017; Perry et al., 2021). Effective, indirect communication tools, such as pictorial symbol signage, are essential for addressing these challenges. Pictorial symbol signs are widely used in recreational signage and serve as vital indirect management strategies for communicating to diverse visitors as a universal visual language (Davies et al., 1998). However, research suggests that comprehension of pictorial symbol signs varies significantly due to cultural, linguistic, and experiential factors (Al-Madani & Al-Janahi, 2002; An & Chan, 2017; Chavez et al., 2004). Through a two-phase, multimethod approach, this research first examines the effectiveness of pictorial symbols used to demarcate essential visitor amenities in a national park campground context, focusing on their ability to provide universal, intuitive communication, and then offers an evidenced-based methodology for improving communication effectiveness through enhanced symbol design. Phase 1 involved an in-situ survey at Colter Bay Campground in Grand Teton National Park to assess visitor comprehension of the intended meaning and judgements of five symbol design characteristics associated with comprehension, which then informed the redesign of symbols with the lowest evidenced comprehension. Phase 2 of this study utilized focus groups to evaluate the initial symbol redesign iterations and explore user design recommendations for further enhancing symbol communication, which ultimately guided the production of a final, improved symbol. The findings of this study contribute to a growing body of work aimed at improving communication in a recreational context through evidence-based and user-centered strategies. Importantly, this research addresses an understudied area of indirect communication in recreation management: pictorial symbol signs. Findings reveal significant gaps in symbol comprehensibility amongst visitors, regardless of recreational experience, and particularly for symbols representing context-specific amenities. As outdoor recreation continues to grow and diversity, effective and inclusive signage is vital to ensure safe, responsible, and enjoyable visitor experiences. The results of this research support a call for more rigorous, contextually grounded, and culturally responsive approaches to symbol design and evaluation in outdoor recreation contexts.
Recommended Citation
Foster, Miranda Jane, "Visual Semiotics in Parks: Assessing Pictorial Symbol Effectiveness in Outdoor Recreation Settings" (2025). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12498.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12498
© Copyright 2025 Miranda Jane Foster