Analysis of Older Adults’ Recognition of Information Signs Based on a Questionnaire and Eye-Tracking Experiment—Focusing on Older Adults Living in Public Rental Apartment Complexes

This study examined how older adults living in public rental apartment complexes perceive and interpret information signs related to wayfinding, facility use, and safety. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 80 residents aged 65 years and older in two public rental apartment complexes in Nowon-gu, Seoul, and 12 participants with varying levels of cognitive function were selected for an eye-tracking experiment. The survey identified small sign and font sizes, insufficient color contrast and clarity, and inappropriate installation locations as the main problems. Time to First Fixation (TTFF) and dwell time were analyzed. Signs with clearer contrast against the background and increased sign size tended to elicit more favorable visual responses, whereas adjusting font size alone had limited effects. Heat map and scan path analyses also showed that the cognitively impaired group had more widely dispersed visual exploration patterns. Due to the limited sample size, statistical significance could not be sufficiently verified, and the findings cannot be generalized. Nevertheless, older adults’ subjective perceptions did not always correspond to the objective experimental results. Information sign improvements should therefore consider both rapid detection and ease of reading.