Symbolism

Abstraction toward symbolism required ultimate simplicity, the reduction of visual detail to the irreducible minimum. A symbol, in order to be effective, must not only be seen and recognised but also remembered and even reproduced. It cannot by definition, have a great deal of detailed information. The more abstract the symbol, the more penetration of the public mind is necessary for the education to its meaning.

Not only in language does the symbol exist as an information-packed means of visual communication, universal in meaning. It is used broadly. The symbol must be simple and refer to a group, an idea, a business, an institution, or a political party. Sometimes it is abstracted from nature. It is even more effective for the transmission of information if it is a totally abstract figure. In this form it becomes a code that serves as an adjunct to written language. The code system of numbers provides examples of figures which are also abstract concepts.

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The symbol is anything from a simplified picture to a highly complex system of attached meaning like language or numbers. In all its formulations it can reinforce message and meaning in visual communication many ways. In print, it is a large and important component of the total character of the book, a magazine, or a poster, and must be dealt with in the forming of a design as abstract visual data, despite the fact that it is information with its own integrity and form. For the designer it is an interactive force which must be dealt with in terms of meaning and visual appearance.