about graphic symbols and graphic symbol of the day
The Muse Of Fine Arts holds the opinion that graphic symbols are
made for a purpose, no matter by what historical coincidence,
unconscious motivation, or long and winding
road they may have
reached the light of day.
This is the case whether a symbol has been designed by a person with a deliberate
purpose in mind or whether it has sprung
whole, "out of the woodwork," the unattributable product of a population or a
culture. Even symbols borrowed from nature like the sun, moon, or
stars, are have a reason for being. Why? Because they bear a significance
that has been ascribed to
them by the mind of man.
Undoubtedly, the repetition of memes accounts for a sizeable number of
the graphic symbols that are with us today, some of which have persisted for
what seems like eons and carry great power. Who knows, some symbols might even be the offspring of mankind's
collective unconscious, as Jung would say—the
archetypal inborn unconscious psychic material common to humankind,
accumulated by the experience of all preceding generations.
While many symbols have no specific designer, many others do. Most logos
are a prime example. Many graphic symbol designers are unknown while a
lesser but still sizable number are known—they actually
have a name. For example, take the Smiley, the icon at the right.
No, Smiley wasn't
inspired by Forest Gump's T-shirt or by a pepperoni pizza. That ubiquitous sun-like face lit up
with an optimistic upward-turned mouth, the one that appears on walls,
shirts, bumpers, printed matter, in ads, and almost everywhere else—the one
at the right—was, as nearly as can be
determined, invented in 1963 by one Harvey Ball, a graphic artist in
Worcester, Massachusetts, while working on an assignment to promote company morale for State Mutual, a life
insurance company. Reportedly, Mr. Ball earned $45 for his troubles. Alas
for Mr. Ball, his symbol was never copyrighted. Even so, he has much to
smile about.
From this example, you can see that it's not unusual for icon designers
to be obscure, even though their productions are not.
Whatever its source, significance, or purpose, a graphic symbol does not have to be beautifully
rendered or artful to be effective or affective. Anyone can draw one, albeit
some draw better ones than others. The Muse thinks of the person or group
who devises a graphic symbol as a graphic artist, whether or not he
(or it)
has or applies artistic skills, and whether or not the "person" is a
cultural entity. He could be a cave man, aborigine, scribe,
monk, Renaissance "man of all seasons," amateur, professional, or, in modern
times, a commercial artist. He could be a religious group or a nation. This kind of artist could be a Rembrandt or the
guy or gal down the street; he could be a country or a culture.
Graphic symbols spring naturally from mankind because man is a symbolic
creature and because he employs eyesight to see and visualization to express
himself. Since graphic symbols are born in the mind, each symbol is the
product of a discovery, an adventure in thought, and an expression of a point of view. With this
idea in mind, The Muse includes among graphic symbols displayed in this
feature any man-made symbols that can be
rendered visually.
The emphasis of this feature is on the iconic nature of the image and it's design from a
visual and/or aesthetic point of view—its pictorial aspects—its pictorialization.
This feature belongs to The Muse Of Fine Arts because it is focused on the
way graphic design influences symbols and vice versa.
