Synopsis Emergency lighting is essential for the evacuation of people from complex buildings and facilitate security operations. Nevertheless, several studies highlight the limits of the effectiveness of exit signs. Background According to Xie et al. (2011), only 38% of people detect static security signs. Surprisingly, current standards for emergency lighting are not based on any scientific evidence or experimental validity. Methods In a series of experiments combining behavioral measurements, virtual reality, mouse tracking and eye tracking, we show the importance of taking into account the psychophysical properties of the human perceptual system in order to detect exit signs. The purpose of these experiments was to investigate the psychophysical characteristics of an exit sign were most likely to be detected during a visual search in a complex environment as well as in a virtual environment. Results In this presentation, we will describe our experimental protocols and our first results showing a significant improvement of emergency sign detection on the basis of several basic psychophysical properties. Discussion We will then discuss the perspectives of this evidence-based approach regarding the possibility of creating new emergency lighting systems on the basis of the basic properties of the human visual and cognitive system.