Enterprise Language Solutions has an interesting brief by Yves Lang on how to use symbols and icons in localization.
Cultural differences challenge the design and implementation of icons and symbols for international use. What is meaningful and natural for one group may be ambiguous, unintelligible, or arbitrary for another. Fundamentally, communication is subjective, as a person’s perceptions are influenced by their environment.
Since their start in the Olympics, the number of icons has grown remarkably. The US Bureau of Land Management has it’s own set of “international” symbols and rules for their use, and the ISO is looking to standardize symbols and icons internationally.
Oddly, as Enterprise Language Solutions points out, there’s no good way to symbolize language. Flags are often use, but they have real drawbacks:
Flags are nationalistic, and represent ideals, boundaries, and political beliefs, but do not represent a language. In the process of selecting the most appropriate flag, you will inevitably offend someone because you left them out. The best practice with all flags, national symbols, maps, and so forth is to avoid them as much as possible.
What else should designers be aware of when creating symbols? Here’s the list according to Enterprise Language Solutions:
- Avoid single-letter concepts, as confusion will be introduced through translation
- Avoid graphic elements with text
- Avoid graphics depicting human body elements and body language
- Avoid graphics depicting humor, puns, and slang
- Avoid graphics depicting physical environments
- Avoid graphics depicting ethnic, racial, political, and religious environments
- Avoid graphics depicting gender-specific elements
- Avoid graphics depicting images of animals
- Avoid graphics depicting sexual and violent elements
- Avoid graphics depicting regional conventions, such as reading direction, date/time, and monetary elements
None of these points, I will admit, was on my mind when designing the Redstone Brewery merchandise.
Posted February 22, 2005 by Casey Bisson
Categories: Technology. .
2 Comments
Comments RSS
TrackBack Identifier URI
User contributed tags for this post:
international symbols (4879) - car symbols (3070) - phone symbols (934) - automobile symbols (932) - International car symbols (793) - telephone symbols (739) - travel symbols (689) - Telephone Symbol (594) - International no symbol (523) - international graphic symbols (467) - international travel symbols (397) - international symbols and icons (336) - SYMBOLS TELEPHONE (271) - international map symbols (263) - hacker symbol (251) - automotive symbols (210) - international symbol (187) - parkour symbol (181) - international symbols list (172) - hacker symbols (161) - funny international symbols (158) - parkour buddy icons (151) - international symbols icons (142) - list of international symbols (139) - symbols international (138) - International Symbol For No (131) - SYMBOLS FOR TELEPHONE (121) - phone symbol (117) - international phone symbol (113) - International NO symbols (109) - parkour buddy icon (102) - symbols of cars (101) - parkour symbols (98) - symbols of telephone (95) - symbol telephone (93) - parkour icons (91) - international automobile symbols (90) - automobile symbol (87) - international phone symbols (86) - international language symbols (83) - international flag symbols (82) - email symbols (82) - symbols phone (82) - international flag icons (81) - symbols in a car (81) - international gender symbols (78) - international symbol list (77) - international automotive symbols (77) - international icon symbols (76) - international hacker symbol (74) - CARS SYMBOLS (71) - telephony symbols (70) - car symbol (68) - symbols car (63) - international symbol for telephone (59) - international symbol font (58) - symbols of car (57) - telephone symbol font (56) - symbol for telephone (55) - gender symbol font (55) - international simbols (54) - international icons (52) - international icons symbols (51) - international telephone symbol (51) - iso automotive symbols (50) - International symbols (ISO) (49) - international symbol library (48) - symbols of travel (48) - international symbol language (47) - international symbol icons (47) - international symbol telephone (46) - international symbols travel (45) - gender symbols (45) - international symbol for language (44) - automotive iso symbols (44) - international language symbol (43) - parkour icon (43) - symbol of telephone (43) - phone symbol font (42) - symbols in car (42) - car symbols pictures (42) - international restaurant symbol (41) - direction symbols (40) - SYMBOLS FOR TRAVEL (40) - internationa symbols (40) - symbols in cars (40) - automotive symbol (40) - symbols for gender (39) - TELEPHONE symbol icon (38) - international symbol for translation (37) - international symbols on off (35) - international symbol for water (34) - AUTOMOBILES SYMBOLS (33) - restaurant symbols (33) - symbols for phone (32) - International symbol icon (30) - telephone symbols icons (30) - international symbol for phone (30) - international gender symbol (28) - international telephone symbols (28) - international symbols phone (28) - international symbol for travel (28) - International restaurant language symbol (28) - international symbols funny (27) - car simbols (27) - international symbols No (26) - international direction symbols (26) - international body language symbols (26) - gender symbol (25) - symbols on a car (25) - international funny symbol (25) - symbols on cars (25) - symbols for cars (25) - automotive international symbols (25) - iso car symbols (24) - body language symbols (24) - no phone symbol (24) - gender symbols font (24) - No symbol graphic (23) - symbols for car (23) - international symbol animals (23) - international symbols for intellectual property (23) - international symbol for hot (23) - international on off symbols (23) - international symbols humor (22) - international no entry symbol (22) - telephone graphic symbol (22) - gender symbol icon (22) - car symbols font (22) - symbols for international (22) - international car symbol (22) - international symbols graphics (21) - international flags icons (21) - car symbol font (21) - car international symbols (20) - phone symbol icon (20) - internation no symbol icon (20) - international symbol phone (20) - international flags with bear symbols (20) - international symbol restaurant (20) - phone email symbols (19) - international automobile symbol (19) - international symbol map (19) - international symbols for animals (19) - INTERNATIONAL symbols for (19) - iso international symbols (19) - international symbol water (19) - symbols (18) -
[...] » International Symbols [...]
[...] and social bookmarking, but where’s our translate icon? A lot of folks simply use flags, but that’s a bad idea because they’re “nationalistic, and represent ideals, boundaries, and political beliefs, [...]