history of graphic design

SYMBOL: HOW & WHAT THEY COMMUNICATE

Symbols have been used to show ownership, group affiliations and to signify who made a particular object. They convey direct information or can carry quiet subliminal messages.

A Symbol Primer

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1. Pictograms These images represent an idea or concept. Chinese is a written language comprised of 50,000 pictograms. Pictograms are useful for conveying information through a common "visual language" which is understood regardless of your native language or degree of literacy.	2. Phonograms A Phonogram is a graphic character or symbol that represents a spoken sound, or a combination of letters that represent a sound.	3. Rebus Picture images that represent a spoken sound. The rebus, which is mostly used for amusement today, was an important link in the development of the phonetic alphabet during the period of Egyptian hieroglyphics. (Milton Glaser)
4. Ideogram An ideogram is a character or symbol representing an idea or a thing without expressing the pronunciation of a particular word or words for it. Above, an ideogram demonstrates the perils of tipping a vending machine, below, a request to not smoke in a specific area.	5. Coat of Arms & Family Crest Originally signifiers of birth or hometown, coats of arms were worn on the crest of a helmet or chest armor for identity in battle. As the image was moved to other objects it first retained the helmet as part of the composition (see above where the deer stands) Eventually the image moved off of the helmet and chest plate and onto banners, dinnerware, etc. Now they appear on items ranging fromiautomobiles to web sites, or on any application that wishes to imply regal lineage or status.		6. Monogram Greek for 'single line.' In early European kingdoms illiterate monarchs signed documents with custom monograms. Today a designer's monogram can add status to an everyday object and add value to the price.

Trademark Pioneers: Symbols of Ownership or Product Origin

7. Trademarks | Brands During the Middle Ages European trade guilds began using marks to signify who made a specific product. The term "hallmark" came from the marks by artisans in the guild silver "hall" in London. Terms such as ear mark and branding have origins in the practice of farmers establishing ownership of their animals with cuts or marks on their skin. 8. Logotype Typography as the symbol form	In 1903 the Vienna Workshops, a co-operative of artisans, started producing items that merged pure and applied arts to combat the poor quality of mass production. By 1913 they registered their Weiner Werkstatte trademark. The mark was applied to furniture, fabrics, lamps, cards, and jewelry to authenticate their items. Any single product could carry the individual marks of several artists and designers as well as the Werkstatte studio symbol.	9. Printer's Marks (devices) Early European printers often used the combined images of the orb and the cross which symbolized the earth and Christianity. Another often repeated printer's mark originated with Aldus Manutius' Anchor & Dolphin which embodied his motto " Make Haste Slowly." Both marks have been used repeatedly for centuries by other printers looking for affiliation.	For a complete history of symbols read "Marks of Excellence, The History and Taxonomy of Trademarks," Per Mollerup, Phaidon Press, New York.

Trademark Pioneers

10. Peter Behrens (1868–1940) In 1907 Behrens designed this trademark for the German electric company, AEG. It was uniformly applied to all print graphics, buildings and products in the first complete corporate identity scheme.	11. Raymond Lowey Know as the father of modern industrial design, Lowey also designed many enduring trademarks. He streamlined and simplified his work acccording to his mantra, MAYA (most advanced, yet acceptable)What is he trying to say with the Nabisco symbol?	12. Paul Rand It was in the area of corporate identity design that Rand achieved his highest recognition. Catch this exhibit of his work at the University of Baltimore Maryland: Paul Rand, Modernist Design in Context. Oct 16 - Dec 13. To see a gallery of Rand logos go here.	"It reminds me of the Georgia chain gang,” quipped the IBM executive, when he first eyed the striped logo. Rand's IBM design exemplifies one of his credos of design, timelessness.

Symbols Developed for Information

13. Isotypes "Words Divide, Pictures Unite." The International System of Typographic Picture Education was developed from the logical-positivist theories of Otto Neurath (1920 -1945). His "world language without words" hoped to enhance education and international understanding. ..there was what the Isotype group called the Transformer: principally Marie Neurath(née Reidemeister) and Friedrich Bauermeister. The transformer was the real designer of Isotype work: the one who gave visual form to the material being worked on.	Gerd Arntz an activist artist who embraced the same socialist ideals as Neurath. Arntz created over 4,000 symbols for Neurath's Isotype team in clean graphic styles that set the tone for future symbol designers.	14 Otl Aicher German Munich Olympics, 1972 The pictograph system he and his team devised for the Munich Olympics and the Frankfurt Airport is now the international standard. His Olympic symbols (right) set a new standard for reductionism and clarity in 1972, the era of the "International Style." With an intense interest in the communicative power of symbols that could be universally recognized, Aicher and his team developed a cohesive set of nearly 180 pictograms for sporting events as well as services through a strict orthogonal and diagonal square grid, where all visual elements were arranged at 90 and 45 degrees. The sum of all the work amounted to a very precise and structured identity with just the right amount of warmth.(From speak up website) See the new Olympic Pictograms for the Peking Olympics 2008.
15. Henry Dreyfuss Industrial designer Dreyfuss advocated for symbols to replace words on control panels to enhance safety and clarity. In 1972 Dreyfuss and his staff codified and published graphic symbols from throughout the world for a unified frame of reference.		16. AIGA Transportation Symbols Dreyfuss urged the AIGA and the IDSARoger Cook & Don Shanosky and offered copyright free to encourage universal adoption. You can download them for free on the AIGA website. to convince the US Department of Transportation to implement a well designed system of passenger and pedestrian symbol signs. A committee studied and standardized dozens of symbols which were drawn by	Samples of the D.O.T. symbols 1974

Digital Symbol Pioneers

17. William Golden Designing for CBS Broadcasting, Golden created the first symbol that was deliberately considered for how it would look on a screen.Golden's original inspiration came while he was driving through Pennsylvania Dutch country, where he became intrigued by the hex symbols resembling the human eye drawn on Shaker barns to ward off evil spirits. He also came across a drawing in a Shaker art book from the 1850s that also looked like an eye. With the help of graphic artist Kurt Weiss, the first Eye logo was drawn.	18. Susan Kare The visual language of point-and-click computing came to life in the imagination of Susan Kare, a fine arts curator hired by Apple in 1983 to design the look and feel of the Macintosh interface. Her whimsical, easy-to-grok icons tempted even nontechies to pick up a mouse, and her sleek screen fonts — with jet-set names like Geneva and Monaco — launched the first wave of elegant digital typography. Now see her work on her site http://www.kare.com	19. Interbrand's new logo for xerox considers the internet and animation..."They wanted a logo that would work as well on the Internet and on a fast-moving bike as it does in print or on television. Xerox is a sponsor of the Ducati Xerox World Superbike Team. "The Internet, sponsorships, all kinds of 3D icons - none of that existed when Xerox adopted its old logo," said Maryann Stump, senior director of brand strategy for Interbrand. "And you can do animation with a symbol that you just can't do with a wordmark."	The Xerox/Interbrand team settled on lowercase letters because they seemed friendlier, and on a deeper red and a thicker font, to stand out better on the Web and on high-definition television. They chose a ball to suggest forward movement and "a holistic company" Stump said. They also devised a series of variously-colored "connectors" - swirled lines, reminiscent of the ribbons used to connote support for AIDS and breast cancer research - that Xerox will etch on conference rooms at its new headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut, and that it will use to connect images and text in commercials & advertisements. International Herald Tribune

Symbols and Cultural Mismatches

20. Religious Interpretations The Red Cross logo,other world religions. " The Red Crystal is a compromise designed to break a deadlock over the admission of Israel as a full member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and would allow countries with mixed populations to replace the cross or crescent with a more neutral symbol." designed in 1963, cannot be used in Muslim countries due to its connotation of Christianity. The red cross will soon be changed to the the red diamond, an acceptable symbol for Christian, Muslim. Jewish and	The Red Cross, the Red Crescent ... and now the Red Crystal.	21. Perception of Skull and Crossbones "Research indicates that the old skull and crossbones used in the past to identify poisons had little meaning for the children in the 20th century. Pirate symbols have been exploited in movies, cartoons, commercial products and amusement parks to denote happy, exciting things like pirates and adventure.""In a university-conducted testing program, children at daycare centers were shown six symbols which were affixed to identical bottles of mouthwash often found in family homes. The symbols included a red stop sign, the skull and crossbones, and four others. At the beginning of the test, each child was told that he might find bottles like these at home and was asked to identify any bottle he might not like to play with." From the Washington Poison Center web site	" The symbol that proved to be least attractive to the children was Mr. Yuk." Mr. Yuk was developed for, and is distributed by, the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
	The compromise plan was discussed during six years of negotiations brokered by the Swiss government. Its adoption requires approval by two-thirds of the 192 signatories to the Geneva Convention. We live in a period where these symbols are taking on very strong connotations and very divisive ones." Like the designers of euro bank notes, which feature nondescript images of bridges, arches and other monuments, officials at the Red Cross believe that by selecting a symbol devoid of any apparent historical reference, controversy can be avoided."

Symbols and Branding

22. Branding / Rebranding Rebranding is the process by which a product or service developed with one brand, company or product line affiliation is marketed or distributed with a different identity. This may involve radical changes to the brand's logo, brand name, image, marketing strategy, and advertising themes. These changes are typically aimed at the repositioning of the brand/company, usually in an attempt to distance itself from certain negative connotations of the previous branding, or to move the brand upmarket.	Poland--how a country gets rebranded. Last year, Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs hired DDB Corporate Profiles, a branch of the global agency DDB, to design a logo that could be used to promote tourism and trade. This summer, the company unveiled its design: a red-and-white kite whose tail is held by a dancing stick figure that doubles as the K in the word ''Polska.'' The Polska lettering is thick, red and curvaceous, a nod to the emblem of the Solidarity movement. The red-and-white design on the kite is a four-square checkered pattern, reminiscent of the emblem on Polish warplanes."A dancing group of people flying a kite with Poland's colors' has taken the place of protesters carrying a bloody flag."	23. Carolyn Davidson Based upon art student Carolyn's $35 interpretation of the wings of Nike in 1971, the swoosh was once the emblem of youth and athleticism but now has an unfortunate association with corporate greed.	24. Anti-Branding Black Spot Sneaker Campaign The world’s first global anti-brand created by Adbusters magazine. "The world's most ethical shoes" Blackspot campaign was born almost three years ago when we decided to stop merely criticizing the status quo and actually do something about it. It was born on the back of Nike, capturing the attention of the global media as a lively attack on the brand idolatry and sweatshop production methods of that multinational. Encouragingly, over 25,000 people are now wearing Blackspot shoes. Visit them at Black Spot Price $115.00
Kaz Bascik	Wojciech Mierowski

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