What if the world didn't have iconography, the language of signs and symbols? On our way to work traffic would be a mess. Nobody would understand what that red octagonal shape is at the corner of the street. We probably wouldn't even be able to find the freeway let alone drive on it safely. And when you finally got to your destination, how would you even know that you had arrived?
We use these signs and symbols as a sort of shorthand language. Everyone accepts the meaning of these symbols. Iconography is a sort of language without words, a universal language. Symbols are used in every aspect of the world we live in. Going to a new place, you can spot immediately what room the bathroom is and for which sex it belongs to.
We rely on symbols in our everyday lives and the design of them is crucial. The design has to be concise and to the point. An icon that is unclear is an unsuccessful icon. People from around the world should be able to see the icon and know immediately what it means, despite cultural differences. Icons must convey a message with ideas instead of words and are definitely a crucial part of our society.
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