Emergency exit symbol

A white running figure heading through a door on green, marking the way out.

Also known as: Running man sign, Fire exit sign, Exit sign, Green man exit

Safety & hazardEveryday & digitalStandard profile

Meanings

A running figure passing through a doorway on green marks an emergency exit route. It is deliberately wordless so that it works regardless of the reader's language or literacy — the reason it replaced the written word EXIT across much of the world.

Common modern usageVerified fact
Marks an emergency exit or the route leading to one, often with an arrow indicating the direction to travel.
Contexts: Public information
Historically documentedDocumented interpretation
Uses a pictogram rather than a word so that it can be understood without reading English or any other particular language, which is why it replaced text EXIT signs in most of the world.
Contexts: Public information
Historically documentedDocumented interpretation
Was designed in Japan in the late 1970s and adopted internationally in the 1980s; the United States is the most prominent territory still widely using a written EXIT sign instead.
Late 1970s onward · Contexts: Public information
Common modern usageVerified fact
Belongs to the safe-condition class of safety signs, drawn as a white pictogram on a green square or rectangle. Green marks where safety is — an exit, a route, equipment for helping someone — and never a hazard.
Contexts: Public information

Visual description

A white figure in mid-stride running toward the right, passing through a rectangular door opening, all on a solid green rectangle.

Symmetry: none
Orientation: upright
Colours: green, white

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

Exit sign
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for what the symbol depicts, its shape-and-colour category, and any ISO reference number it reports. The standards themselves are paywalled and were not consulted, so nothing here is treated as an official definition.
Safety sign
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for what the symbol depicts, its shape-and-colour category, and any ISO reference number it reports. The standards themselves are paywalled and were not consulted, so nothing here is treated as an official definition.
ISO 7001
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for what the symbol depicts, its shape-and-colour category, and any ISO reference number it reports. The standards themselves are paywalled and were not consulted, so nothing here is treated as an official definition.

Last reviewed 2026-07-31

Part of

Safety signs and their shape-and-colour grammar

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Meanings

Common modern usageVerified fact

Marks an emergency exit or the route leading to one, often with an arrow indicating the direction to travel.

Contexts: Public information

Historically documentedDocumented interpretation

Uses a pictogram rather than a word so that it can be understood without reading English or any other particular language, which is why it replaced text EXIT signs in most of the world.

Contexts: Public information

Historically documentedDocumented interpretation

Was designed in Japan in the late 1970s and adopted internationally in the 1980s; the United States is the most prominent territory still widely using a written EXIT sign instead.

Late 1970s onward · Contexts: Public information

Common modern usageVerified fact

Belongs to the safe-condition class of safety signs, drawn as a white pictogram on a green square or rectangle. Green marks where safety is — an exit, a route, equipment for helping someone — and never a hazard.

Contexts: Public information

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

Exit sign
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for what the symbol depicts, its shape-and-colour category, and any ISO reference number it reports. The standards themselves are paywalled and were not consulted, so nothing here is treated as an official definition.
Safety sign
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for what the symbol depicts, its shape-and-colour category, and any ISO reference number it reports. The standards themselves are paywalled and were not consulted, so nothing here is treated as an official definition.
ISO 7001
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for what the symbol depicts, its shape-and-colour category, and any ISO reference number it reports. The standards themselves are paywalled and were not consulted, so nothing here is treated as an official definition.

Last reviewed 2026-07-31