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Design 3: Visual Organization and Information Design |
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"No image is presumed inviolable in our dancehall of visual politics, and all images are potentially powerful. Bad graphics topple good governments and occlude good ideas; good graphics sustain bad ones." - Dave HickeySigns & SymbolsWritten language has evolved from literal and conceptual representations into sophisticated systems of symbols representing spoken sounds. The first graphic images that evolved into our Western system of writing began with simple shapes that represented a basic vocabulary of objects and concepts. These were Pictograms. Over time, symbols were developed to express more complex objects and concepts. These were Ideograms. The third stage in the evolution of written language is the Phonogram. Phonograms represent either syllables (fa-mi-ly) or basic sounds (f-a-m-i-l-y).* SemioticsA general theory of signs and symbols; especially the analysis of the nature and relationships of signs in language, usually including three branches, syntactics, semantics, and pragmatics. SignAny linguistic unit, as a word, letter, etc., that is the symbol of an idea, function, etc. SymbolSomething that stands for or represents another thing; especially an object used to represent something abstract. Symbols are written or printed marks, letters, abbreviations, etc. which stand for an object, quality, process, quantity, etc. For example the dove is a symbol of peace. The character "5" is a symbol representing a quantity or number of five. Pictograph or PictoramA picture or picture-like symbol representing an idea, as in primitive writing; hieroglyphic. Pictograms were disconnected and fragmented drawings of fundamental objects and ideas such as man, woman, fire, food, tree, and shelter. These were combined to form stories, songs, and epics. There was no connection between the spoken word and the object pictured; a Pictogram recalled the object or concept itself to mind, not its name.
IdeogramA graphic symbol representing an object or idea without expressing, as in a phoenetic system, the sounds that form its name. A symbol representing an idea rather than a word. The other feature of ideographs is that they may be used by a plurality of languages which may pronounce them differently while using them in conformity to the same norms. Ideograms were simplified pictures selected by agreement or custom to become fixed pictorial symbols of an object or concept. For example, a number of "tree" symbols were unified to make a "forest," or the symbol for man, woman, and child were consolidated into a single "family" symbol. The name of the object (or its action) is closely identified with the picture. All written languages have passed through, or halted, at this stage.
Phonogram - noun. A sign or symbol representing a word, syllable or sound, as in shorthand. Phonograms were syllabic signs and symbols representing primary oral sounds. As time has passed, they have diminished in resemblance to their original forms, but the letters in modern Western alphabets are the simplified renderings of their pictorial beginnings. The development of efficiency in writing was taking place in a number of countries at about the same time, and it appears that the complete system of alphabetical writing was not the achievement of one particular culture, but rather the work of several gifted cultures of the ancient world. Through trade and travel, alphabetic systems were passed to other societies who altered form and meaning to suit their requirements. Notice the first letter "A" in the Phoenician alphabet. The letter A in the Roman and English alphabets owe their lineage to the Phoenician alphabet. This letter represented the ox (notice the pictographic representation of an oxen head and horns). Scholars have speculated was both a pictorial sign without any specific sound, and a homage to the position of the sun at vernal equinox in the constellation Taurus.
Icons**The function of an icon is easy to understand. It conveys a message in a short, simple, and more effective way than text.
This is the navigation bar of Adobe Acrobat Reader. What you are seeing in the red circles is what should be paid attention to. Now, attention! Try to answer a simple question: what do these five pairs of arrows stand for? Of course, it’s something more than just “right—left” and “back—forward”. But what exactly? To find out, you’ll have to launch Acrobat, move the cursor to each arrow and read the prompt message. This message will certainly be written in good old letters that the interface developers were so reluctant to use in a menu bar. All right. And what if we take signs whose meaning is always unambiguous? Say road signs. A superb example of simplicity. Below is a photograph of Nevsky Avenue in St. Petersburg, Russia.
A person can instantaneously see and recognize a certain limited number of objects (say seven). These objects ought to be different not to get muddled up into a mess that takes a great deal of time to analyze and unravel. In an ideal navigation interface the user should face no difficulties answering the questions “Where am I?”, “What am I to choose from?” and “Where will I get?” If pictograms and signs can be construed in several ways (thus becoming ideograms) or appear hard to understand, they should be provided with text explanation. Look at some examples text and icon signage used in wayfinding by environmental designers. Sankofa Place – Student and Affordable Housing
Living Well Health Clubs - Men's Room Sign
The Genomic Age
Los Angeles Zoo Master Plan
Notes on the application and development of pictograms and symbols.There are a number of recognised advantages of pictograms:
However there are a number of disadvantages of relying on pictograms:
There are a number of guidelines to consider when developing a pictogram:
Pictograms are found on products, in or on product packaging, on safety instructions supplied the product and in/on publicity material provided with the product. They are also used for information on signs and on equipment. Pictograms can be used alone or alongside complementary textual information. It appears that current trends may be to rely on usage to solve the problems of the internationalisation of markets and work forces to avoid to display information in several different languages on product packaging and signs. Olympic Pictogram Exmaples
Athens 2004 have created 35 sports pictograms to illustrate the 28 Olympic sports and four collective disciplines. They each show the specific characteristics of the Olympic sports and disciplines, to enable spectators to recognise them immediately. The Athens pictograms do not just give information about the sports they represent. With their references to ancient shapes, they emphasise the place of Athens 2004 in the context of thousands of years of history. The sports pictograms for the 2004 Games in Athens are inspired by Ancient Greece in three ways:
Inspired by iconography from one of the western world’s richest cultures, every element of the design program emerged as if by one master stroke – from the Games emblem to the sports pictograms, mascots, Look of the Games core graphic, and Games theme, “Welcome Home.” How these elements came together on the field of play, on global broadcast, sponsors advertising and on the Internet is the true measure of the level of consistency, integration, planning and coordination that the Athens Look of the Games achieved.
International Communication Symbols
In the past, numerous international, national and local organizations had devised symbols to guide passengers and pedestrians through transportation facilities and other sites of international exchange. While effective individual symbols had been designed, there was no system of signs that communicated the required range of complex messages, addressed people of different ages and cultures and were clearly legible at a distance. A new system of symbol signs was designed for use in international transportation hubs such as airports, train stations and at large international events. Produced through a collaboration between the AIGA and the U.S. Department of Transportation, they are an example of how public-minded designers can address a universal communication need. Below are some examples of a few of the icons which were developed. A complete set of 50 passenger/pedestrian symbols developed by AIGA is now available on the web, free of charge. You can view and download all of them at AIGA.
In Class ActivitiesLove IconsBreak up into your teams and work collaboratively. Choose one of the pairs of words and develop four sketches for pictograms which illustrate the meaning of the word pairs. Caution. Watch out for clichés i.e. "heart" shapes.
Present your icon concepts and sketches to the instructor Based on feedback and discussions each member of the group should now interpret how to develop the design from the group's concept discussion and sketches.
For example: The words "Planet" and "Typographie" might generate a series of pictogram logo sketchs like this:
and then be refined through group discussion to one concept such as this:
and then be further refined to something like this:
Example of brainstorming concepts for iconsCaffeine Rush - Espresso Machine & Accessory Supplies From Paul Enderson Step 1: Word associations / mind mapping based on the words associated with the subject of your icon
Step 2: Pictorgraphic and typographic sketch explorations
Step 3: Compose, refine and design
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AssignmentRevise your Library MapsBefore your final portfolio review please revise your library maps based on the feedback you recieved in class. Print out the revised map and prepare this for your portfolio review. Begin your final projects: Information PanelWrite 1-2 paragraphs which explains what you intend to do in your final project. It should include the following:
Read more about the final project
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ResearchJournalBefore your final portfolio review please look for and document in your class journal examples of ten pictograms. Briefly describe why you selected each of these examples and describe their strengths and weaknesses as communication or instructional devices. Reading
Related Links
ExhibitionsBefore your final portfolio review please visit the exhibitions below. Document in your journal at least five examples of design issues from each of the exhibitions listed below. Consider all the principles we have been talking about: i.e. Gestalt principles, typography, structure, grids, etc. all of these ideas can be found within these exhibitions. Each of the five examples that you document should include the title of the work, a description of the object and an explanation of what design issues or principles you see in the works of art. Lastly also include a photograph or drawing (no cameras allowed in the Kara Walker exhibition). Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My
Love Paula Scher: Recent Paintings Fulton Fence |
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Andrew Cornell Robinson acrStudio © 2007 * The evolution of type http://www.mediumbold.com/04_thinking/type/origins/index.html ** Pictograms and ideograms by Artemy Lebedev December 26, 2001 http://www.artlebedev.com/mandership/78/ |
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