Pictogram


 * Definition:**

Pictograms are symbols that are visual representations of concepts, ideas, objects, activity, and events. They can be considered firstly as a form of communication, but also technically as a form of writing, where the message is communicated through drawing and illustration. Some modern characters in the written Chinese language derived from pictograms, such as the character for people, which resembles a person (2 legs and a body).

Pictograms are commonly used in everyday life as signs and symbols, usually to commmunicate simple concepts, notifications and warnings, such as a zaggy line for a rocky surface, or an airplane for an airport. Pictograms are not universally understood, however. Cultural differences may result in misintepretation of pictograms, especially ones that are vaguely designed. For example, a figure holding a stick to the ground may mean hockey to a Canadian, but someone else from a different culture may take it as a sign for elderly people, mistakening the hockey stick for a walking stick.

Graphic and communication design are deeply involved with the creation of pictograms, as pictograms can often be used in design solutions where symbolic representations are more valuable than literal representations. They are also seen as a basic form of communication through means of visual language, which happens to be a basis for design.


 * Visual Examples:**






 * Sources:**

"Pictogram." __Wikipedia__. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. 22 Jan. 2008 <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictograph>.]

"Using Pictograms." __Pictogram__. Swedish Institute for Special Needs Education. 22 Jan. 2008 <[|http://www.pictogram.se/english/using/>.]

—Calvin Yeung