A symbol is 'a sign that has no connection between the sign and what it means. It relies exclusively on the reader having learnt the connection between the sign and its meaning'
+ a symbol does not work if there is any doubt to what it is
++ we can store 2000 images but over 50 000 words and we are constantly reading and seeing new ones
- visual clues
- understanding culture
- reading and seeing
- a good symbol should work in any culture with someone who can read and someone who cant
- symbols can have 2 messages
[ANALOGUE] - continues, you experience something - it moves on
[DIGITAL] - something you break down ie. letters
iconic sings - have a meaning, symbolic eg. photographs
iconic words - POW!, smashed! (humans make 41 sounds)
semantic - danger affiliation
pseudo writing - abbreviating eg. txt msging and I <3>
>pictograph - object/action, oldest symbols, we draw what we want to explain
>phonogram - sound mark
>ideogram - concept/ idea