From the course: Graphic Design Foundations: Ideas, Concepts, and Form
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Icons as language
From the course: Graphic Design Foundations: Ideas, Concepts, and Form
Icons as language
- If icons can serve as a substitute for words, can they also stand in for images? Of course they can. This is a great way to turn up the volume on a project with no images or drab photography. It's also useful to give the viewer something to solve, thus making the communication more intimate and personal. So how do we go about putting icons into action? A stellar example is a booklet cover that Paul Rand designed for the students attending the 1939 World's Fair. The centerpiece of the '39 World's Fair was the Trylon and Perisphere, two giant structures. One, a tall pyramid shape, the other, a sphere. Rand could have taken a photograph provided, add some type, and be done with the project, but he recognized that this was intended for design students and required a smarter solution. I imagine Rand followed the process similar to the fused metaphor idea. Rand made a list of symbols for design students. Art, tools…
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