Signs, symbols and icons is a module in visual thinking school, a course designed to help you learn how to think and communicate better using the visual part of your brain.
Signs and symbols rapidly communicate meaning. They are a visual shorthand for communicating universal concepts with much more richness than words alone.
Research has demonstrated that pictures and words, when tightly linked, result in more knowledge transfer than traditional page layouts. Signs, symbols and icons are ways to represent a complete thought in a simple way.
Because they are simple and can be quickly understood, they can be used in a modular way. Signs, symbols and icons can be combined to create maps and diagrams, just like words can be formed into sentences.
Sign delicacies
Symbols
Like a sign, a symbol stands for something. But a symbol tends to be richer in meaning. A symbol is usually an image or physical object that represents something intangible, hard to define, or rich in meaning.
Symbol delicacies
Icons
Most people today think of an icon as a small sign or symbol on a computer desktop. An image or symbol that has sacred significance can also be called an icon.
Icon delicacies
Iconglobe
Visual thinking practice
- Icons
- This exercise improve your ability to distill ideas down into simple visual icons.
Icon links
- How to draw a computer icon
- A tutorial explaining how to draw a computer desktop icon in seven steps.
Good books about signs, symbols and icons
Next mini-course module
- Information design
- Information design is the discipline of developing structures which allow people to find information that's relevant to them, and use it to make decisions which enhance their lives.
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- Go back to the visual thinking school home page.
by dgray
Dave Gray is the founder and CEO of XPLANE, the visual thinking company. The company's vision was formed and continues to be driven by Dave's passion for... more »
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