Intermission – it’s time for a nerdy, niche, and pointless nitpick again!

Back in Frankfurt, I noticed a detail about the emergency exit signs that has bugged me ever since. It kept nagging in the back of my head…

What is the skewed area below the person running through the door meant to represent? I think it’s supposed to be a shadow:

But… how can the shadow of the stretched-out leg have the same angle as the shadow of the door? That’s not how shadows work!

There’s an ISO standard for these kind of signs, and all the renditions for this specific sign (ISO 7010-E001) depict the shadow like that.

Yes, these are icons, not photos. The light source is idealized, emitting perfectly parallel light rays. But even then, or especially then, you would expect this shadow:

…and not this:

Okay, so the leg shadow cannot be parallel to the door, got it. If we apply this to the original icon and construct a “fixed” version, we get:

Huzzah! Amazing, and totally worth the trouble. Thanks for following along. :)