The perceived quality of health-related precaution icons: a structural equation modelling approach

The perceived quality of health-related precaution icons is a key issue in visual erg­onomics, especially in high-risk public health communication. This study developed and validated a cognitive–affective framework explaining how visual ergonomics factors shape users’ perceived icon quality of health-related precaution icons. Four cognitive factors (semantic distance, communicativeness, complexity, and layout) were analysed through twelve Kansei word pairs representing affective evaluations. A controlled experiment with 30 participants evaluated 105 precaution icons across five design formats and 21 functional categories, producing 3,150 observations. Structural Equation Modelling examined direct and mediated relationships among the cognitive factors. Results showed that semantic distance and complexity significantly improved communicativeness, which had the strongest direct effect on perceived quality. Layout also positively influenced perceived quality, confirming the importance of visual organisation. Conversely, semantic distance and complexity had no direct effects on perceived quality but operated indirectly through communicativeness, highlighting its mediating role. The findings contribute to ergonomics theory by integrating cognitive factors and Kansei engineering into a unified explanatory model of icon perception. The validated framework also offers a systematic basis for evaluating icon quality and advances design knowledge by emphasising meaning clarity, visual simplicity, and organised layout as core determinants of effective health-related icon communication.