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Semiotic Breakdown in Disaster Evacuation Signage for International Tourists Cross-Cultural Communication, Field Research, and Design Solutions
PROJECT OVERVIEW
assistance, and prior knowledge at the moments when communication must be most immediate. Drawing on twenty-three peer-reviewed sources across semiotics, risk perception, linguistic landscape studies, cross-cultural pictogram comprehension, and environmental wayfinding, the research produced a five-part framework for evaluating safety-critical signage. The thesis translates those findings into two connected design outcomes. A redesigned static signage system improves hazard recognition and route continuity through simplified pictograms, multilingual information, distance cues, and progressive safety colors. WayFinder AR extends the same communication system beyond the limits of fixed infrastructure by adapting guidance to the user’s language, location, elevation, and proximity to safety.
Japan’s disaster evacuation signage is highly standardized, but Kamakura’s international tourism creates a communication challenge the existing system was not designed to address. Visitors may not read Japanese, recognize local visual conventions, or possess the geographic knowledge residents use to interpret evacuation instructions. In a tsunami emergency, these assumptions can turn a functional domestic system into an incomplete experience for unfamiliar users. Primary field research conducted in May and June 2026 followed the evacuation corridor from Yuigahama Beach to Hasedera Temple. The study documented low-urgency hazard markers, Japanese-only emergency information, inconsistent route confirmation, and the disappearance of municipal guidance at the temple property boundary. These breakdowns showed that the route depends on language, cultural familiarity, staff
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