A forward-leaning wheelchair user in motion, offered as a redesigned access symbol.
Also known as: Dynamic wheelchair symbol, Active wheelchair icon, Forward-leaning wheelchair, New accessibility icon
The Accessible Icon redraws the wheelchair symbol with the figure leaning forward and the arm swept back, to show a person moving under their own power rather than seated in a chair. It has been adopted in some places and rejected in others, and it has not replaced the ISO symbol.
Marks accessible facilities, in the same role as the International Symbol of Access.
Contexts: Public information
Is drawn to show self-directed motion — head forward of the wheel axis, arm swept back mid-push — a design intended to depict a person acting rather than a person seated.
From 2011 · Contexts: Public information
Began as a street-art campaign that pasted the new figure over existing signs, and was later released for free use and adopted by some cities, states and institutions.
2011 onward · Contexts: Public information
Has not replaced the International Symbol of Access, which remains the ISO-registered mark; jurisdictions that require the ISO symbol do not accept the redesign as a substitute.
The practical point for anyone specifying signage: adopting the redesign may not satisfy a legal requirement that names the ISO symbol.
Contexts: Public information
Is criticised by some disabled commentators for implying that self-propulsion is the desirable form of wheelchair use, which excludes people who use powered chairs or are pushed by others.
Recorded as an ongoing disagreement, not as a verdict. Both the design rationale and the objection to it are held sincerely and are reported here without Symbolwise taking a side.
Contexts: Public information
A figure in a wheelchair shown from the side, the head and torso tilted forward of the wheel, one arm swept backward and the wheel drawn with cut-away segments suggesting movement.
A 2011 redesign of the ISO-registered access symbol, offered as an alternative rather than a replacement.
Both mark accessible facilities and are used for the same purpose on signage.