The Pokeball

In the world of Pokemon, one item serves a large function of explaining away the transportation and containment of Pokemon. This simple form that solves a complex problem, is the Pokeball. It comes in many other upgraded forms such as the Great Ball, Ultra Ball, and Master Ball. These are more effective at catching higher level or rarer Pokemon, but do not vary widely in form. Each is a round sphere with a release button held in a band around the center. The only visual variation is the surface design on the spheres. In one click, the largest whale-sized Pokemon or the smallest bug-sized Pokemon can be contained inside the form. This explains how Ash and other trainers manage to bring up to 6 Pokemon with them, while only having one or two in a fight at a time. If they were all constantly out and about, it would seem like they should all be fighting at once, which would destroy many of the core mechanics of the game.

The Irish Claddagh Ring

There are many variations and elaborations on this classic ring design, but a few elements hold true throughout. The Claddagh Ring typically includes “two hands clasping a heart, usually surmounted by a crown,” (http://www.claddaghring.com/How-to-wear-claddagh-rings-a/122.htm). The heart of course is thought to depict love, the hands friendship, and the crown loyalty.

The interesting point of the ring is the functional element. If it is worn on the right hand facing outward it indicates the wearer is single, his or her heart is open. If it is on the right hand facing inward , the wearer is in a relationship, his or her heart is captured. Additionally, when worn on the left hand facing inward, the wearer is indicating he or she is married.

Campbell’s Soup Cans

Andy Warhol responded to the popular culture in 1962 with his highly graphical screenprints. “At the time, the Campbell’s Soup Company sold 32 soup varieties; each canvas corresponds to a different flavor,” (http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/andy-warhol-campbells-soup-cans-1962).

His work tied to the experience of everyday Americans, who would be reminded of the events tied to flavors. For instance, chicken noodle may be associated with being sick while another might remind people of Christmas with Grandma. By depicting ordinary objects this way, he caused the public to observe the regular more closely.

Harry Potter: Sign of the Deathly Hollows

In the Harry Potter series of books and films by J.K. Rowling, a symbol rivals the popularity of the lightning bolt on Harry’s forehead. This is the Sign of the Deathly Hollows. The Deathly Hallows are 3 legendary objects that come together to create the Master of Death, who is thought to gain some form of immortality.

This mark combines 3 different marks into one.”The Elder Wand is represented by the straight vertical line, the Resurrection Stone by the circle surrounding it, and finally a triangle enclosing them both to represent the Cloak of Invisibility,” (http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Sign_of_the_Deathly_Hallows). Additional associations have been made to particular characters and other aspects of the plot.

League of Legends: Wards

In the video game, League of Legends, wards are arguably one of the most important items to ensure success. They allow teammates to see spots on the map without actually being there. These areas would otherwise be clouded by the fog of war. With wards, a team can more easily keep track of the enemies locations and movements, making it less likely that a team member gets caught without any big chance of escape.

As the game has developed, key warding spots have been found. These are often at the meeting point between several paths in the jungle. To put things simply, good ward locations allow key intersections to be seen or key objectives such as important monsters like Baron or Dragon.

These wards take several forms. There are the default free ward trinkets that users get at the start of the game generally. These are indicated by their yellow look. There are also stealth wards and vision wards, which vary in duration. These each appear differently on the map, and show vision on the minimap. An eye symbol indicates the location of a ward on a mini map and is quite fitting.

Ichthys: Fish Symbol

So we see it on bumper stickers and we know it has to do with Jesus, but what are the origins of the fish symbol? The Greek word for fish is “ichthys.” The symbol is referred to as the sign of the fish, the Jesus fish, ichthys or ichthus. Two intersecting arcs depict the profile of a fish.  The writing serves as an acronym which translates from Greek to English as “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.”

Fish references can be  found throughout the Bible. One example is the feeding of five-thousand by multiplying fish and bread. Fish also represent the followers of Christ. The apostles were called fishers of men. Water baptism further strengthened the analogy.

It was originally used in the Roman Empire, during Christian persecution to differentiate between Christian tombs, meeting places, and supporters. It found modern popularity in the 1970s as part of a peaceful response and rebellion against the Vietnam War. Some variations featured the word Jesus in the center or no words at all.

 

Mario’s Mushrooms

Symbols play a special part in video games such as the Mario series, which has been around since the 1980s. Symbols are consistent elements used throughout the games that become familiar and visually representative of their functions or effects. They must be quickly understood as games are often time sensitive. If a gamer does not recognize and reach a mushroom soon enough, he or she might die.

The games contain many varieties of mushrooms. A super mushroom, indicated by its red color, turns Mario into his super form, while a 1-up mushroom, indicated by its green color, gives Mario an extra life. A poison mushroom is purple and reduces one power up, sadly.

Mushrooms work well as symbols in Mario because gamers already have firsthand knowledge of them. Some mushrooms can be fatal, mind-altering, or just a nice addition to a pizza so it makes sense that mushrooms in the Mario series can either be beneficial or detrimental. What other symbols might work well as an alternative to mushrooms?

Abstraction: the USB symbol

Some symbols we see everyday feel awfully familiar, but do we truly know the meanings behind them? In an increasingly digital world, many of our symbols refer to previous physical forms to give us some sense of concreteness and stability. One clear example is the common depiction of envelopes to indicate email inboxes. Certainly, we largely no longer utilize actually letters and envelopes but the metaphor is close enough to give us an understanding of how the email system works.

There are many symbols that we assume are totally non-representational, but are actually abstracted versions of things.The USB symbol actually meant to resemble Neptune’s trident. Instead of using all triangles for the 3 tips of the spear, the square and circle were indeed used to indicate the various devices USBs can be connected to.

For more info check out a wired.com article on the topic. 

Here’s some of  design guidelines for the use of the USB 2.0 logo.

Emotions :-) & Emojis

Emoticons have become an integrated part of human communication, especially with the growing popularity of texting and social media within the past 10 years. They are a means of adding humanity and emotion into the otherwise distant seeming written words. With limitations on character counts as seen on Twitter or data messaging plans, one must have a concise way of expressing feeling. There is often no space to type “that made me laugh so much that I am now crying.”

Additionally, actually pictures have been added to most smart phones. These are commonly referred to as emojis. New additions are constantly being created to fill new unique needs. How will emoticons and emojis continue to evolve over the next 5 years? Will they be replaced by something else?

Symbol Study: Languages + Science

Here is an exploration of mine for a symbol made to symbolize a language services group as being systematic and scientific in their interpretations and translations. For the featured exploration, the concept of a scientific beaker and a thought bubble were combined. Other variations include references to speech bubbles and pencils.

A designer must consider many variables when crafting a symbol or logo. Can I simplify my concept further without making it boring? How can my symbol be differentiated from others from the same subject area or industry? Will my symbol work in different scales across media?