Layout Design Evaluation of Expressway Guide Sign Based on Entropy Weight-TOPSIS Method

Expressway guide signs in multi-ethnic regions often show an imbalanced text proportion in real-world use. To address this issue, this paper examines three typical guide sign layouts, representing signs from interchanges, service areas, and tourist destinations. An eye-tracking study was implemented to gather eye-movement data from participants, and a comprehensive evaluation approach based on the entropy weight-TOPSIS approach was employed to evaluate the layout schemes of expressway guide signs. The results indicate that placing Character A above Character B provides better visual recognition performance. For information-complex guide signs, such as those in interchange and tourist areas, Character A should ideally have the same height as Character B. In contrast, for information-simple guide signs in service areas, Character A should be designed at two-thirds the height of Character B.