## 4 Discussion
The design elements of directional signage, such as color, brightness, and placement, significantly influence pedestrians' visual attention during navigation. Consequently, evaluating pedestrian visual attention provides an indirect measure of the signage's effectiveness and its ability to capture attention. Regarding travelers' visual attention, in the Pudong scene comparison, visual attention increased by 22%, while in Xi'an North Station, it increased by 25%. This suggests that travelers focus on guidance signage when seeking directions. The analysis delved into the role and differences of traveler visual attention in evaluating indicators. Key indicators influenced by visual attention include the amount of information in a single sign, accurate recognition, coherence, and blocking defacement. These variables exhibit significant changes when visual attention shifts, indicating their pivotal role in assessing signage guidance effectiveness. The visual perception of participants serves as an indicator of the effectiveness of signage in guiding pedestrians. The results from the evaluation experiments reveal notable variations in pedestrian visual attention throughout the assessment process. Participants rated the visibility and setup of signage more favorably when their focus was on the overall environment rather than on the signage alone. However, there was greater variability in their evaluations regarding information expression, especially concerning the \"amount of information per sign\". An inadequate amount of information fails to enhance signage recognition effectively, whereas excessive information may lead pedestrians to overlook critical details. These findings are consistent with existing research on tunnel signage evaluation, which supports the observed results [33]. When signs are integrated into the broader environment, pedestrians initially perceive the signage's setup, including its position, size, and brightness. In contrast, when focusing solely on the signage, pedestrians are more concerned with directly obtaining useful information. Therefore, the amount of information presented on a sign directly impacts the efficiency of information retrieval. In summary, the panoramic video-based evaluation method for pedestrian directional signage proposed in this study offers both significant theoretical and practical value. * Theoretically, this study introduces an innovative approach by integrating panoramic video-based experimental design with traditional questionnaire methods. It investigates the intrinsic relationship between signage visual effectiveness and pedestrian visual attention across various dimensions, including signage appearance and configuration. By employing EWM and TOPSIS for objective evaluation, this research advances the theoretical understanding of the objective assessment of signage placement. Moreover, it establishes an experimental framework for optimizing and evaluating signage from a visual cognition perspective. * Practically, the proposed evaluation method has been substantiated through case studies at Pudong Airport and Xi'an North Railway Station. The research and experimental validation demonstrate the correlation between the visual effectiveness of signage and pedestrian visual attention and evaluation outcomes. This provides valuable insights for traffic management, aiding in the optimization of signage placement, reduction of visual obstructions, and enhancement of signage clarity. Consequently, the method offers practical guidance for improving the efficiency of directional signage within complex transportation hubs.