Learning to See Iconography
and/or Getting Away from the Computer
One of the assignments from my UX Design was to get up, step away from the computer, and go look at some iconography in your area. I gladly accepted that, as I feel my eyeballs have been frying up as of late, looking at my screen for so long. Also, my natural instinct now is to “Google” pretty much everything, and graphic elements definitely fall into that category.
I went looking for icons…symbols that create language, without the use of text. Icons could most easily be found in city signs, with some being unique to each city. As I walked around the Fremont area in Seattle, I came across this fine instructional piece. Do you know what it means? This sign sums up Seattle in so many ways. Power to the cyclists…I guess.
How about this one? Does your city or town have roundabouts? If used properly, they are awesome. Most of the time, I really wish there was a plain old stop sign. “You go ahead”. “No you go ahead”. “No you go ahead”. Smash…
The round dot caught my eye…made me feel like I needed some round energy. So I had a bagel, with stereotypical salmon lox on it. OMG, that’s like so Seattle…
Another sign that caught my attention was a photo radar sign. I know it’s a camera icon…and you may know it’s a camera icon, but when will the next generation ask “What is that box with the circle on it?”. It may have to change to something like the new Instagram icon, so it can relate to today’s world. Fun fact: those intersections haven’t been photo enforced in Seattle for a while, but they kept the signs up.
I’ll admit it…I didn’t know that this was the symbol for “Exit Only”. Or is it just The Bank of America’s symbol or “Exit Only”?
A very stylized arrow. It still made me look to my left.
Oh come on…this isn’t even trying! Can’t we come up with some iconography that means “Home. Where people live. Yards. People. Crazy kids on bikes”? I think I may have it. Here’s my sketch…
Again, it was great getting away from the usual icon generator (Google), and experience looking at iconography with a different perspective. Of course, I had to visit a Seattle icon in itself; the Fremont Troll. Damn hippies…
If I can get away from the computer, you can too! Thank you for reading!
