Sign symbol and-communication

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Content
1. Summary......................................................................................................................... 3
2. Introduction..................................................................................................................... 4
2.1 What is meant by ‘symbol’ or ‘sign’?....................................................................... 5
2.2 Research methods ..................................................................................................... 7
3. How does the human mind understand signs and symbols?........................................... 8
3.1 History....................................................................................................................... 8
3.2 Different theories:..................................................................................................... 9
3.2.1 Adrian Frutiger................................................................................................ 10
3.2.2 Charles Sanders Peirce.................................................................................... 13
3.2.2 Ferdinand de Saussure .................................................................................... 16
3.3 Why is it important today?...................................................................................... 19
4. Symbols and signs in graphic design............................................................................ 20
4.1 When did it begin to occur?.................................................................................... 20
4.2 The concept of branding ......................................................................................... 21
4.3 Case Studies............................................................................................................ 23
4.3.1 Vodafone .......................................................................................................... 23
4.3.2 Shell.................................................................................................................. 24
4.3.3 Bold.................................................................................................................. 26
5. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 27
Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 28

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1. Summary
Chapter two sets the context for the work by discussing the importance of the
understanding of the difference between sign and symbol. To be able to understand the
rest of this essay properly, all the aims and research methods are also explained.
The various ways that symbols and signs are defined is examined in chapter three.
This shows the importance that has been attributed to the psychological, semiotical and
typographical approach.
Chapter four concludes a brief introduction about branding and the use of signs and
symbols. More-over it discusses three case studies: Vodafone, Bold and Shell. Most of
them based on company material and articles found on the internet. The case studies
show that there is a lot of similarity in the world of branding and they also demonstrate
the theories explored in chapter three.
The conclusion based upon the examined information is written in chapter five,
containing a more personal view on the subject. While this is only a five thousand word
essay I was unable to explore other sign theories. They are also named in the conclusion.

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2. Introduction
Every day when we walk outside and look around all we see are signs, they do not only
appear in advertising and design. Signs seem to be in every form of communication we
use, for example: if you want to cross a street, the first thing you do is look at the traffic
light to see if it is safe to cross over. It is a usual thing, but someone did invent that light,
chose its colour and its shape, to make sure that everyone could understand this message.
Most of the time, when people talk about signs they mean signs as in an actual shape.
Only, a word is also a sign, the word refers to a certain image in our brains. Everyone
will know what you mean if you talk about a chair, but no one can actually tell what the
chair looks like, specifically in your head.

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2.1 What is meant by ‘symbol’ or ‘sign’?
Starting off with this research about symbols it soon became clear that we are using the
word ‘symbol’ in the wrong way. When we develop new signs we also call them
symbols, but there is a difference between a symbol and a sign. Every symbol is a sign,
but most of the time we use the word symbol instead of the word sign. Figure 2.1 Shows
a nice comparative guide, when it comes to defining symbols and signs. In paragraph 4.3
we will show you that brands sometimes use those different appearances of the same
thing.
.
This essay will contribute to a better understanding of the symbols and signs we use
nowadays. It will tell you more about the similarities and contradictions between
different signs. After reading this essay one will understand more about the world of
signs and symbols and will be able to use this knowledge in future designs, without
making common mistakes of using a misunderstood sign.

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Figure 2.1 Comparative guide about symbols and signs

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2.2 Research methods
Most of the information used for this essay, is from books. Not only books about signs
and symbols are used, also books about: psychology, branding, logos and semiotics were
also used to write this essay. To find some more resent documentation about the subject,
the internet has proven itself to be a useful source. At last to evaluate all the knowledge
gained from those sources, a case study was made.

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3. How does the human mind understand signs and symbols?
3.1 History
Many scientists have tried to find out how our brain interprets signs. Ever since man
inhabited the earth, he left a record of symbols behind, ages before he learned how to
write. No one knows exactly how it all started, but you could compare it with the
curiosity of a child. Whenever a child discovers something new he will try to imitate it.
For example: a child sees a tree for the first time and afterwards he will pile up sticks and
stones to see if he can reproduce that tree. At that moment the child is already
communicating with the outside world. He is trying to transfer knowledge to his
relatives, to see whether he is learning them something new or to find confirmation
about the object he just saw. That is probably what happened when man first walked the
earth. Discovering this new world in which all other creatures and nature itself are new
enemies. Man developed an ability to leave record of himself and to fight for survival by
using signs at first to communicate.
But what happens if we see a sign and how do we categorize those signs? Questions like
these, have kept scientists busy for years. Besides scientists, also psychologists,
designers, artists, musicians and other professionals are fascinated by the meaning and
use of signs.

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3.2 Different theories:
The essay thus examines the importance of signs and symbols. However, while finding so
many different theories about this subject, a choice had to be made. The following three
paragraphs provide a brief introduction into the understanding of signs and symbols.
Each paragraph explores a theory from a different field of study, namely, Psychology,
typography and semiotics.

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3.2.1 Adrian Frutiger
Adrian Frutiger was a well-known (font) designer in the twentieth
century. He was born in 1928 at Unterseen, Switzerland. For four
years he attended courses at Zurich School of Arts and Crafts,
where he was being taught by Alfred Willimann and Walter Käch
(two renowned professors. In 1952 he went to Paris where he
started of working as a typeface designer and artistic manager at Deberny and Peignot.
During the next couple of years he designed the fonts: Meridien (1955), Egyptienne
(1956), Univers (1957), Serifa (1967)OCR-B (1968), Iridium (1975), Frutiger (1975),
Glypha (1979), Icone (1980), Breughel (1982), Versailles (1982), Avenir (1988), Vectora
(1990), Linotype Didot (1991). In his life Frutiger has seen a lot of movements in the
business. He started his work while using metal, the same as Gutenberg, who invented
processed type.
Frutiger used a totally different way to define signs. In his book, ‘signs and symbols, their
designs and meaning’ (1978), he describes three themes on which he bases sign
recognition.
The first one is disorder-order. Every sign contributes to our will to categorize the world
into a less chaotic one. This is our way to keep grip on reality. Through the ages we have
been improving on categorizing and classifying our environment. To prove that the
human brain is more likely to produce a pattern than chaos, Frutiger shows us four
Figure 3.1
Adrian Frutiger (2004)

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figures, while considering the following steps:
We take an empty square (Figure 3.2), symbolizing the concept of emptiness. Than we
try to draw sixteen dots, at random positions within the square. When we look at this
square, our eyes will try to create a pattern out of these dots. On the other hand, it is very
easy to arrange those dots within a pattern. Create a cross, for example, or divide the
sixteen dots into groups of four. Looking at this study, it becomes clear that the
production of an ordered form is easier than creating a disorder or nonform.
Figure 3.2. Disorder - order
The second theme is remembering a figure. When one looks at something as simple as a
Dice (Figure 3.3), it is easy to explain that one looks at it because of memory.
Figure 3.3 The normal dice
There is not a single person who will count the dots on the dice to find out the amount of
dots. Because a dice always looks the same, we know which side is what number.
However, if we change the layout of the dice (Figure 1.5), one will first be a bit puzzled
about this change. The reaction will lead to counting the dots. After counting about three
sides of the new dice, our mind catches up again and one knows, without guessing, that
the next three sides will probably be four, five and six.

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This is based upon our memory, for we know that a dice has six sides, and every side
refers to a number between one and six.
Figure 3.4 The adjusted layout of the dice
According to this knowledge, one is able to know what number the last three sides will
show. To Frutiger, his most fascinating theme is light and shadow - or black and white.
"We recognize light only when comparing it to shadow. When we draw or write, we don't
add black, we remove light"
His way of looking is different from what is commonly accepted. Frutiger claims that all
signs are based on this duality of light and shadow. Both need to be present to create a
recognizable sign.

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3.2.2 Charles Sanders Peirce
Charles Sanders Peirce had a hard life. He never received any of the
credit he deserved. Because he wrote down his thoughts,
inconveniently and chaotically arranged, they are still trying to get
them all organized at Harvard University, Illinois. After he finished
studying chemistry at Harvard University, Illinois he worked at the
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. This job made it possible
for him to spend his
spare time to find out about semiology. After twenty years he received his inheritance
and chose a solitary life, living in a small town near Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. He spent
the rest of his life there, living with his second wife working on his brilliant ideas. While
he was living his life as a hermit trying to escape from his creditors he finally found out
that all our primary thinking is in signs. ‘We think only in signs.’(Peirce 1931-1958)
because in everything we see we look for an interpretation, it is our way to organize the
world. The base of Peirce’s work is a triadic model (Figure 3.6) and within the next few
pages you will notice that Peirce was clearly fascinated by tripartite structures, because
he uses it several times.
What those categories contain becomes clearer according to the life cycle of signs. In
theory everything can be a sign or can be read as a sign. That anything can be a sign is
the Firstness. If a single individual lifts something up from reality and makes it a valid
Firstness: The potential, the possible
Secondness: The actual, the realistic
Thirdness: The necessary, the systematic, the regular
Figure 3.5 Charles
Sanders Peirce (1958)
Figure 3.6 The triadic model

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sign for himself that is the Secondness. The Thirdness is the sign group which is regularly
accepted by a larger group. When Peirce mentions a First he is talking about ‘Feeling’ or
‘Quality’ a First is a ‘Perhaps’. Something independent and not connected to anything
else. A Second on the other hand is dyadic or two-parted, which means a Second is
identified by its relationship with something else. Secondness according to Peirce is like a
‘confrontation with the hard facts’. It is everything that exists or takes place in the outside
world. When a Second starts a relation with another Second a Third could come into
being. When this happens simultaneously the entire situation becomes triadic. A third
could be a law, a convention or a conduct. The Third is at that moment our territorial gain
on the struggle against chaos. This diagram is the base of Peirce’s semiotic research.
Peirce also divided the kinds of signs in those three categories, based on the question
‘when is a sign a sign?’ When a sign functions on a certain quality, idea or feeling we
talk about a qualisign. Such a sign is a First. We begin with a feeling about a certain
quality suitable to fulfill a semiotic meaning, for example black means death and red
means danger. Sinsigns are signs that are individual and not for institutes. Like the
ticking sound of high heels or someone’s characteristic stopgap. In the social domain we
have to deal with signs that are signs based on regular rules or agreements like traffic
signs, nodding and handshaking. Peirce named them legisigns, every language sign is a
legisign because they are all based on agreements.
Peirce also found a way to distinguish signs in how they refer to things. If a sign looks
like the thing it refers to you call it an icon, for example a map of England or a picture of
the president. The sign and the object both share the same image. But if you see smoke in

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the air, which means there is a fire and if someone screams because he hurt his thumb,
the scream refers to the pain. This type of signs is called “indices”. The Third in this
diagram is the symbol, when the relationship between sign and object is based on an
engagement Peirce defines it as a symbol. Language is the most common symbol, if we
talk about the sun everybody knows what we mean, because we all agreed that the sun is
the round thing that comes up every morning and provides us light during the day.
The most famous triadic model Peirce thought of is the semiotic triangle. He created this
triangle to make it easier to understand how a sign works.
Within his semiotic triangle there is a sign vehicle, an interpretant and an object.
The sign vehicle is the carrier of the sign.
The interpretant of the sign is our knowledge
about the object. The object could be an
international agreement about the meaning of
this traffic light. Though it seems obvious that
you can use this method with every sign it is
more likely that you combine more than one triangle. Most of the time signs become
interpretants and those interpretants function as signs and this continues. So you are
actually moving around in a field of semiotic triangles. If you are moving through this
field rationally, you follow a straight line, but if you move through the semiotic field
irrationally you are rambling from one subject to another. Creativity is on of the things
that start off by leaping through that semiotic field in an irrational way. It is the gift to
notice strange connections that other people do not see.
Figure 3.7 The semiotic triangle

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3.2.2 Ferdinand de Saussure
Ferdinand de Saussure was a Swiss linguist, born at the 26th
of
November 1857. He wrote his first professional essay at the age
of fourteen. In 1876 he started his graduation at the University of
Leipzig. After that he taught himself the Indo-European Classical
language: Sanskrit and attended a year of courses at the
University of Geneva.
Saussure developed a dyadic (two-parted) model of the sign. According to this model a
sign was composed of: a ‘signifier’ and the ‘signified’. In which the signifier means the
form which the sign takes and the signified being the concept it represents (Saussure
1974-1983). When one combines those two, we can speak of a sign. The relationship
between those two is known as ‘signification’ (Fig. 3.9). For example: if we take the
word ‘tea’ (when written on a menu) it is a sign made out of: a signifier, the word tea and
a signified concept: the drink made out of tea-leaves and hot water. The key role of this
model is that there is not a single sign without a signifier or a signified. A sign most have
both to become a sign. There is no such thing as a
meaningless signifier or an amorphous signified.
However, a certain signified can mean something
totally different if it is combined with another signifier. At the same time, one can
conclude that this also works the other way around. If we look back at the example of the
tea (the signifier), only then putting it on a bag of tea leaves, the signified has come up
Figure 3.8 Ferdinand
de Saussure (1884)
Figure 3.9 The dyadic model

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with a different meaning. It is no longer referring to tea, as in the hot drink made out of
the leaves. It now refers to the tealeaves inside the bag.
Within the last thirty years Saussure's model has been generally adopted, the actual
meaning he wanted to educate has changed. The new model tends to be more of a
materialistic one than Saussure's original model. The signifier is now generally known as
the material, or physical, shape of the sign. Anything that can be noticed by our senses is
the signifier. Though Saussure looked at the signifier and the signified as to be only
psychological, they both were from rather than substance.
He stresses the need for the meaning of his signified, as in not to be identified directly as
a thing. He preferred to refer to that as a concept in the mind. While being a linguist, it
seems rather obvious that Saussure focused more on the linguistic sign. Though not all
linguistic signs are spoken words, he did prefer them to the written word. He looked at
writing as a separate, secondary, dependent but comparable sign system. Nonetheless
writing did relate to speech in the same way signifier related to signified.
Another central argument of Saussure’s work is that every sign needs a history and
connotations of its own. Those are well known to the members of the sign user’s culture.
Signifiers seem to be freely chosen, but from the viewpoint of a linguistic member it is
more likely to be imposed than freely chosen. When using a language one has no choice
but to accept the inheritance from the past. (Saussure 1974- 1983)

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A linguistic sign is arbitrary, it knows no other law than tradition. This arbitrariness does
not mean that an individual can choose any signifier for a certain signified. The bond
between signifier and signified is not an individual choice. If that was the case,
communication itself would be impossible. One needs to have an agreement whether the
signified and the signifier are to become a sign.

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3.3 Why is it important today?
Since our world is changing fast, we often forget to look back to our origins. The digital
revolution makes it so much easier to communicate with the public. On the other hand, a
medium like the internet provides us with a big blur. However, if we go back to the main
message we want to communicate, we will be able to keep a better grip on this massive
medium. What is the sign and what is its signifier or signified? Which sign vehicle is
appropriate for the sign? Asking questions like these it is possible to keep a better grip on
our current world.

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4. Symbols and signs in graphic design.
4.1 When did it begin to occur?
On can not exactly tell when branding first came into being. However, Nomadic tribes
identified their ownership by branding their cattle and marking their tools with small
engravings (Figure 4.1.). Those signs are called signature-signs, which you can compare,
for example, with the sign an artist leaves behind on his artwork.
In a cave in Mas d’Azil, in France, some painted pebbles (Figure 4.2) were found, they
were dated around 12,000 B.C.. People often assumed that they were the forerunners of
our script signs. But it is more likely that they were objects denoting a person or tribe. All
those examples share the same key concept, the will to distinguish one person’s goods
from those of another. This is also the key concept of branding.
Figure 4.1 Ownership marks
Figure 4.2 The pebbles found at Mas d’Azil

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4.2 The concept of branding
Branding has changed a lot over the centuries, but distinguishing of goods is still the key
concept. Things, such as trademarks, patents and copyright are quit new arrangements.
However, nowadays they are commonly accepted. Because of all those new things
branding has become a complicated thing. When people are asked what they think relates
to the word brand, they come up with answers like: a logo, a product, corporate identity
and so on. Only this has nothing to do with the main message within branding. Marty
Neumeier says in his book: ‘The Brand Gap’ (2003), that the brand is a person’s gut
feeling about a product, service or company. It is a person’s gut feeling, because in the
end the brand is defined by individuals. It is that person who decides how he wants to
communicate this message to the public. There used to be a basic communication model
(Figure 4.3), but in the past few years this model has changed.
Companies want feedback to be able to optimize their services or products. This is why a
new model was designed (Figure 4.4).
Figure 4.4 The new communication model
By using this new model, in which the sender receives a message from the receiver, the
communication becomes stronger and more focused.
Figure 4.3 Communication model

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However, to communicate this message one needs a visual identity. This visual
identity communicates everything the brand stands for. So it is unlikely to make any
mistakes. A logo is probably the first thing that comes up into one person’s mind, when
one talks about visual identity. Only the term logo is translated from the Greek word
‘logos’ which means word. What people actually mean is a trademark. A trademark can
be a symbol, monogram, emblem or any other graphic device. When one looks at
different trademarks, one can divide them into six groups: name-only logos,
name/symbol logos, initial letter logos, pictorial name logos, associative logos, allusive
logos and abstract logos.

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4.3 Case Studies
Within the next three examples we will use the previously discussed theories to explore
some interesting brands.
4.3.1 Vodafone
Vodafone’s first call was made in 1985. But when mobile
phones were getting a big issue, it was then when Vodafone
made his big entry into the world of powerbrands.
The use of the logo known as, the suggestive quotation mark
within a circle appeared at first in 1998. The quotation mark suggested a conversation.
Because this message was not understood in every country they, now made a new logo
without the quotation marks in the ‘O’. This logo has only been released lately.
The new logo (Figure 4.5) has got a three dimensional look and by using this, Vodafone
is one of the first brands adapting the logo to be able to use it within more than only two
dimensional ways. What was done while searching for the logo from Vodafone, four
other brands where found, that show a high similarity with Vodafone (Figure 4.6)
Figure 4.6 Similar logos
Figure 4.5
The new Vodafone logo

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4.3.2 Shell
At first it does not seem to make any sense that an oil company uses a shell as a logo.
When we look back at the history of Shell, we find out that the word ‘shell’ first appeared
in 1891. It was the trademark for the kerosene Marcus Samual shipped to the Far East.
Marcus Samual originally dealt antiques, curios and oriental seashells. At some point
those seashells became the trade mark of his company (Figure 4.7)
Figure 4.7 The journey of the Shell emblem

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The first time the trademark appeared as an emblem was in 1904. A pecten seashell was
used to give Shell a visual identity. During the years, the pectin or scallop shell has
changed from a true to nature shell to a simplified version of it. The latest version of the
logo is even used without the word shell. The color of the logo is red and yellow, those
colours were chosen because of the strong connection Shell had with Spain. If we
identify the Shell logo in 1900, the shell its signified concept was its origin in the antique
businesss. Nowadays the shell has become a signified itself. Show people the logo and
they will define the signified to be the company itself.

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4.3.3 Bold
Bold is a national brand within the United Kingdom and Ireland. The
brand was launched in 1972 by Procter and Gamble. Bold is a two in one
product. It is the combination of a detergent and a fabric softener. Bold two
in one is available as a Powder, Liquid, Tablets and now also Liquitabs
Unfortunately there was not enough information available about the designing process of
the logo. Nonetheless this logo is still an interesting example if you look for the borders
between symbol and logo (emblem). The first thing you probably notice about the logo is
the similarity with the Yin Yang symbol (Figure 4.9). Even though the colours are
different the basic figure of the form remained. The Yin Yang symbol is originally from
China and its roots in the TAO, which means ‘road’ and also ‘universe’ or ‘primal law’.
The Yin Yang symbol contains two opposites in which you can find everything.
Yin stands for the female, dark and cold part. While the Yang is male, warm and light
part. According to this symbol there is a little Yin within every Yang. When you compare
the meaning of this symbol with the logo of Bold you start wondering whether the
product, the two in one solution, shows us the similar meaning as the Yin Yang symbol.
Because there is a detergent inside the fabric softener and there is fabric softener inside
the detergent. We cannot tell how much of this was meant by the designers, or that they
just designed two drops and combined them together to become one. We do know that it
is an intriguing design that provides us with a lot of questions like:
’is this similarity allowed?’
Figure 4.9 The
Yin Yang symbol
Figure 4.8
The Bold logo

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5. Conclusion
While working on this essay, I developed the ability to understand signs and symbols
much better. I started looking at signs in a different way. Still, there is a big mystery
behind signs like the swastika and how it changed from a good meaning to a bad
meaning.
When looking at the case studies it appears that even big brands like Shell and
Vodafone use the theories Saussure and Peirce used to find out about signs.
If you look at the design Shell made for its trademark, you notice a big difference
between now and then. Back in 1900 they remained true to the ‘actual’ look of the shell.
While nowadays it had become an abstract version of the shell. Unfortunately there was
not enough space in this essay to write about other theories like Carl Jung’s theory.
Though a couple of things became clear while writing this essay, there is still a lot to
explore. Because for example, what is the use of colours in our signs and how do they
contribute to our interpretations of signs. And how did informational graphics changed
during the years. Is there a reason why our sign system is slightly different in each
country. Also the logo that looks quite like the Vodafone logo (the snake on page 22) is
from a recycling company, but no one in Britain would have thought that, because we
link green arrows with recycling.
I hope that one day I will be able to answer one or more of those questions.

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Bibliography
Books:
Frutiger, Adrian. (1998) Signs and Symbols their design and meaning. Ebury Press
Neumeier, Marty. (2003) The Brand Gap. New riders publishing
Post, Karen. (2005) Brain tattoos. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Murphy, John. (1987) Branding: a key marketing tool. The MacMillan Press LTD
Murphy, John and Rowe, Michael. (1988) How to design trademarks and logos. Phaidon
Press Limited
Van der Lubbe, Jan and van Zoest, Aart. (1997) Teken en betekenis. Aramith uitgevers
Miller, Anista and Brown, Jared. (2000) Global Graphics: Symbols. Rockport Publishers,
Inc.
Journal:
Chandler, Daniel. (August 2004) Semiotics for beginners.
Internet:
Texts
http://www.brandchannel.com
http://www.somethinkodd.com/oddthinking/2005/08/14/65/
http://www.identifont.com/show?110
http://www.wikipedia.org
http://www.uk.pg.com/products/products/bold.html
http://www.shell.com

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Pictures and images
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Ferdinand_de_Saussure.jpg
http://www.fontshop.de/fontblog/C420185419/E1442013706/Media/AdrianFrutiger2004.
jpg
http://www.heinpragt.com/symbols/symbols.php

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