What is the difference between icon and symbol

For example smoke is an index of fire. Dark clouds are an index of rain. A footprint is an index of a foot. In each case the presence of the former implies the latter exists.

An index is a sign that shows evidence of the concept or object being represented. Instead it resembles something that implies the object or concept. Controls for things like aligning text to the left or using a paint bucket image to paint color are examples of index signs as they use imagery to represent the result of using the tool. One thing to be careful with indexes is to make sure that the correlation between the signifier and signified is understood by whoever sees the sign.

However, a major league hitter or a baseball fanatic like myself understands the rotation of the pitch combined with the red stitching on the ball leads to the batter seeing the dot. Another point to keep in mind is that the correlation between signifier and signified in an index can be known innately or learned. Symbols are at the opposite end from icons. The connection between signifier and signified in symbols is completely arbitrary and must be culturally learned. The letters of an alphabet are a good example of symbols.

The shape of each letter and the sound it represents bear no physical connection to each other. The connection must be learned and it usually becomes associated with the concept it represents over time. Again language and numbers are symbols. Traffic lights are symbols. Flags are symbols. Conventions and standards help make the connection between symbols and what they represent.

An example might one day be the hamburger icon. An icon or index can also become a symbol over time through repetition. One of my first stops to research the subject of iconography was my bookshelf.

I picked up a few design books and found two of them Universal Principles of Design and Visual Language for Designers included pages about four types of iconic representation.

A warning that the choice of names conflicts with the three types of signifiers as defined by Peirce. Rogers essentially widened the definition of an index and divided them into two distinct types based on the level of abstraction. Resemblance icons work best when the representation is simple and direct. For example showing a curved line to indicate the road curves ahead, works well, but something more is needed if the idea is to communicate that the driver should slow down.

Exemplar icons work well to show examples of the signified. They show examples that are commonly associated with an action, object, or concept. Any road sign showing an airplane to indicate an airport is a good example. A padlock to represent a secure URL is a good example, because we associate locks with security. Symbolic icons are best used when the actions, objects, or concepts being represented are well-established. Signs can communicate by resembling what they represent, by implying what they represent, or through arbitrary representations that must be learned before we can understand their meaning.

Hopefully after reading this post you have a better idea when to use one type of signifier over another. I want to talk more about the meaning of signs, particularly what a sign literally denotes and what secondary meanings it connotes.

Download a free sample from my book, Design Fundamentals. Very enlightening. God bless you and we hope to see more detailed explanations. Thank you. Thanks for this! I believe you should remove the example of the red traffic light as an index. The use of iconography on a website is extremely important for user experience. I know when I visit a site and the icons catch my attention I usually spend a bit more time making my way through the pages. Thank you very much but please be clear on the examples for the indexes and symbols you used traffic lights in both explanations.

Thank you for the well organized source. Cave painting pictograms in the dawn of time depict scenes of the hunt and of the lives of our ancestors without words. But today in our globalized world, icons and symbols become ever-more important as communities and businesses become more multinational, multi-ethnic, multicultural, etc. Symbology supersedes language. If your marketing or branding is dependent upon someone knowing English, or a common colloquialism, or a western cultural concept, you may be falling short of the widest audience you can reach.

Symbology in design is the use of icons, pictures, and symbols to underscore meaning, provide information, and to pictoralize information in order to make it more visually appealing and engaging, while underscoring meaning.

Sign 1, has no symbology. Sign 2 is combining the use of iconography with words. The remaining signs have eliminated words altogether. In signs , there are fundamental themes - all of them illustrate the appearance of an elevator, some showing the buttons, and all four show the up and down arrows to convey that the elevator moves up and down. The elevator icon is universal and it exists, with slight variations, all over the world regardless of spoken language.

Partnering with a graphic designer can help you incorporate iconography into your branding in your signs and digital media. Additionally, if your logo needs to come up to speed with more graphical interpretation, a graphic designer can help with this as well. Contact us today to talk about how your brand is landing and how it could be better viewed through a global lens.

Skip to Main Content Find ideas, solutions, services and more Icon Icons represent visible objects. These become one in the same when using an airport symbol, for example: can be described as an icon representing the function of an airport, or as a pictograph representing that the place of an airport is located there. Iconic examples of pictorial logos, without words include: The symbology created in a brand is not just a logo, but the logo is important.

Consider these elevator signs: Sign 1, has no symbology. An icon is a symbol that is universally recognized that represents something else.

Think of a play button, a pin drop on a map, or a calendar image. These all visually represent something else whether it is a function or something else. An icon may also be an individual or an object.

John Lennon is a pop icon. And an eagle represents American freedom. When you are building your brand you will need to consider each of these and how they will interact with each other and the larger ecosystem. When in doubt always lean on a trusted graphic designer to help lead the way. When you get a chance, read what you can expect from your graphic designer. In it, I lay out what comprises a great designer and what to look for in your next one.