In many ways, the foundations for modern day iconography and logos can be traced back to as early as 5000 BCE, or the eras in which cuneiform, hieroglyphs, and cave paintings first surfaced. What we know as ‘writing’ today went through a myriad of transformations, but started off in a familiar form: pictographs. Much of our digital world employs the use of graphics and various other design elements to elevate systems, texts, platforms, and more, all of which almost unanimously include iconography. One of my favorite mobile applications, Discord, utilizes a plethora of icons in order to deliver an incredibly intuitive user experience.
The design tools and software of the 21st century allow for precision and complete symmetry, something people in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt didn’t have access to. Even with this tech chasm, there can be many parallels drawn between the functionality of ancient and modern icons. Both serve as a means to very quickly communicate an idea. The classic search bar can be found in almost every website and application, and it is almost impossible for most of us to see its defining magnifying glass and not immediately connect it to the idea of searching. We have been conditioned to recognize and match certain images to their respective ideas. In Discord for example, a gear means ‘settings’, a bell means ‘notifications’, and a mic offers the ability to toggle muting, all of which you could easily infer. Across platforms, icon themes bleed into each other, leading us to embed and encode their traits and meaning.
Our purposes are vastly different from those of ancient civilizations. We have thousands of established languages and working writing systems, and our pictographs now result in icons that strive to be as clean, simple, and recognizable as possible. The logographs of Egyptians had to be intricate and ornate, but we now have an indubitably better way of conveying complex ideas and information.
Nicely said – especially good to point out “Across platforms, icon themes bleed into each other, leading us to embed and encode their traits and meaning.” Learned meaning can often come from somewhere else and it is often an unsaid agreement to piggyback on the work of others to aid in understanding where iconography in digital spaces is concerned.
I like how you mentioned the precision and complete symmetry that designs of the 21st century have. This is great progress in Iconology, and it can ensure the identity and identifiability of the icon.
I enjoyed the part where you said, “Even with this tech chasm, there can be many parallels drawn between the functionality of ancient and modern icons. Both serve as a means to very quickly communicate an idea.”