From the course: Graphic Design Foundations: Ideas, Concepts, and Form

Unlock the full course today

Join today to access over 22,400 courses taught by industry experts or purchase this course individually.

What is an icon?

What is an icon?

From the course: Graphic Design Foundations: Ideas, Concepts, and Form

Start my 1-month free trial

What is an icon?

- We take icons for granted. We see a restroom sign and determine if it is for men, women, or family by the icons on the door. We put bumper stickers on our cars promoting coexistence with all religions. We assign meaning to the cross on the top of a church. And we determine our political viewpoints with either a donkey or elephant. Now here's the question everyone asks. What's the difference between a symbol and an icon? To be honest, in the dictionary they mean the same thing. But in the context of graphic design I consider symbols to be a wide reaching term for images that represent an idea. Icons are straightforward forms that operate more like hieroglyphics. They are a quick and easy read of an idea, often designed as a simple shape. Up until the 19th century, graphic artists and printers communicated ideas with illustrations and imagery. In the early 20th century this changed. In 1905, influenced by work he saw in…

Contents