Origins of Symbols

Symbols are some of the oldest forms of visual communication and have been evolving as long as mankind has been. Symbol is a very loose definition and can relate to a painting, sound, word or mark. Perhaps the broadest way to define it is that a symbol is something that represents something. Typography is made up entirely of symbols of one kind or another, some alphabets such as Chinese use pictograms while others use characters. Symbols can be interpreted to have different meanings among different cultures and can be used to express different ideas to different people.

Cave paintings found in the Lascaux cave system in southern France are some of the oldest references to visual communication.

There are many different types of symbols A pictogram is an image that represents an object while an ideogram represents an idea. A monogram usually represents an individual entity while a coat of arms is used to distinguish a family, or a state. A rebus, a fun word to say in and of itself, is an image that represents a sound. One of the most common uses of symbols in design and advertising is the logo which can be one, all or none of these types of symbols.

Symbols can be used to create or elicit emotion, convey ideas, represent brand ethics or just attract attention. Symbols that communicate well will do most of these things in a very simple and specific manner. Graphic design is often a use of symbols to relate or communicate an idea from one entity to another. Logos, characters, typography, illustration, colors, shapes, all of them can have specific meanings and can be used as symbols to help communicate or strengthen an idea. If you are not familiar with the different types of symbols and their meanings you can not communicate well with other people.

While you see many different symbols every day, perhaps the most memorable are logos.