LAUSR

Abstract With the rapid development of the tourism industry, the design of tourist guide signs has become a crucial concern. This study investigated the effects of 3 graphic simplification techniques and 3 graphic metaphor techniques on graphic memory and identification. The results indicated that simplification and the interaction between simplification and metaphor influence graphic memory; moreover, simplification and metaphor were found to significantly affect identification. These findings suggest that iconic simplification with appearance-resembling metaphors, and metaphor techniques with text simplification result in superior memory. Simplification techniques with appearance-resembling metaphors and metaphor techniques with text simplification also yielded superior identification. This paper thus provides a reference model for map designers who are producing digital and travel maps.