符號內涵是經由社會、文化乃至個人所造就出來的一種對符號的認知。對於符號內涵的評估，一般以偏好研究與語意差異研究為兩種主要方法。本文即採樣自觀光地圖上常見的卅個符號，以年齡介於18-24歲間之大學生為研究對象，透過統計的加權法，排列出這些符號的偏好排序，並從而歸納出符號設計在視覺上的層階與形底之重要性。
Symbol connotation is a personal perception, which formed from different society and culture even individuals’ characteristics. To evaluate the symbol connotations, two methods are commonly employed. One is the preference ranking and the other is semantic differential test.
In this study, 283 subjects all around 18-24 years old and are undergraduate students, were asked to answer the preference ranking about 30 symbols, which were adopted from tourist maps. The statistical results show visual contrast and hierarchical organization were influential factors for young people’s preference.
