Signs and Symbols

and Their Meanings

Prepared by: Phoebe D. Bacod – ALS Teacher Cawayan West District

Credits to: Venngage https://venngage.com/blog/symbols-and-meanings/
Prepared by: Phoebe D. Bacod – ALS Teacher Cawayan West District
Credits to: Venngage https://venngage.com/blog/symbols-and-meanings/
 Designers use symbols and icons to:

✓ Add a touch of creativity to infographics

✓ Make presentations more memorable and
engaging
✓ Break up text content in dense reports
✓ Help users navigate websites

You are probably familiar with many of these

symbols already.

Some of the most popular symbols are:

Heart symbol this represents love, compassion and health

Dove symbol this represents peace, love, and calm
Raven symbol this represents death and doom
this represents growth, nature, stability, and eternal
Tree symbol
life
Owl symbol this represents wisdom and intelligence
this represents power, wisdom, strength, and
Dragon symbol
mysticism
Butterfly symbol this represents rebirth, beauty, and transformation
this represents loyalty, protection, and
Dog symbol
companionship
Lion symbol this represents courage, leadership, and royalty
Fox symbol this represents slyness and cleverness

Why are symbols used in graphic design?

It’s always better to show than tell.

Symbols, used in combination with text and images, can make messages
more meaningful and memorable than text alone and have been used
throughout the history of marketing and design.
They have the power to cross language barriers, and can help you engage
with your audience on a deeper level than is possible with just words.

Prepared by: Phoebe D. Bacod – ALS Teacher Cawayan West District

Credits to: Venngage https://venngage.com/blog/symbols-and-meanings/
Symbols can even be combined like words in a phrase to tell a powerful
story, as seen in this creative flyer design:

Common symbols used in graphic design (and the real world) are:

Arrow symbols used to represent directions

Cloud, rain, snow and sun
used to represent weather
symbols
Power, disk, wifi and
used to represent tech
bluetooth symbols
Wheelchair, information,
used on different signs found in public
bathroom and no-
places
smoking symbols

Prepared by: Phoebe D. Bacod – ALS Teacher Cawayan West District

Credits to: Venngage https://venngage.com/blog/symbols-and-meanings/
Universal symbols like these are so commonplace that they’ve become so
second-nature to us. We understand them immediately and
intuitively…there’s simply no need for explanation!

Geometric shapes are the most basic symbols that carry meaning.

While designers typically combine basic geometric shapes to create more

complex, meaningful symbols, geometric shapes still hold meaning on their
own.

Understanding the meaning of basic shapes is foundational to logo design

and other forms of graphic design.
Prepared by: Phoebe D. Bacod – ALS Teacher Cawayan West District
Credits to: Venngage https://venngage.com/blog/symbols-and-meanings/
Here the 10 basic shapes and lines and their meanings:
Circle: Completeness, cycles, continuation, playfulness
Square: Stability, tradition, security, straightforward
Triangle: Transformation, movement, balance
Intersecting lines: Relationships, connectedness
Spiral: Growth, evolution, transformation
Five-pointed star: Excellence
Arrow: Direction, movement, force
Curved lines: Movement, connection, fluidity
Diagonal lines: Tension, excitement
Zigzag: Path, confusion

Curved lines and shapes tend to provide a sense of movement, fluidity,

continuity, and informality.

Shapes with hard corners and straight lines, in contrast, typically suggest
stability and groundedness.

Graphic designers use basic shapes and lines to:

✓ Organize information through grouping and separation

✓ Highlight important information
✓ Add texture and depth
✓ Create structure
Shapes like circles and squares can also be added behind other icons and
symbols, emphasizing important information and creating a sense of
repetition and depth in a design.
Geometric shapes and lines are particularly critical in logo design, where
basic shapes often form the essence of the logo. The logo below, for
example, is a simple yet effective play on a rotated triangle:

Prepared by: Phoebe D. Bacod – ALS Teacher Cawayan West District

Credits to: Venngage https://venngage.com/blog/symbols-and-meanings/
If you take a look around you, you’ll likely notice many logo designs, like
these ones from adidas, Google Drive, and Mitsubishi, that are based on
simple geometric shapes.

Symbols to represent communication, collaboration:

Speech bubble symbol: used to represent speech and communication.

People symbol: used to represent teamwork and collaboration.
Mail/email symbol: used to represent messages and communication.
Presentation symbol: used to represent learning and teaching.
Handshake symbol: used to represent agreement and cooperation.

Communication is traditionally represented with speech bubbles or email

symbols, but there is so much more room for creativity here.

Common symbols used to represent business growth are:

Plant symbol: used to represent growth, change, value, and positivity.

Rocketship symbol: used to represent rapid growth or product launches.
Up arrow: used to represent positive change.
Graph symbol: used to represent trends.
Dollar sign: used to represent money or revenue

Symbols to represent design, art, creativity:

Pencil symbol: used to represent drawing, sketching, and ideation.

Shape symbols: used to represent abstraction, creativity, and graphic
design.
Browser symbol: used to represent user interface design.
Color palette symbol: used to represent graphic design, art, and interior
design.
Lightbulb or brain symbol: used to represent brainstorming, creativity,
and ideas.

When talking about design, there’s a bit of pressure for your design to be
unique. This is the perfect place to think outside the box when it comes to
symbolism.

Prepared by: Phoebe D. Bacod – ALS Teacher Cawayan West District

Credits to: Venngage https://venngage.com/blog/symbols-and-meanings/
Symbols to represent safety, security:

Hard-hat symbol: used to represent safety in the workplace.

Lock symbol: used to represent data security in browsers and other digital
products.
Pylon symbol: used to represent physical safety and caution.
Shield symbol: used to represent both physical and digital security.
Umbrella symbol: used to represent protection.

One way to find unique symbols is to take the meaning you’re trying to
convey from one context and use it in another context.

Symbols to represent alert, attention:

Exclamation mark symbol: used to show emphasis, importance.

Loudspeaker symbol: used to represent an announcement or alert.
Hand symbol: used to indicate that stopping is required.
Bell symbol: used to represent an alert or notification.

The classic symbol for attention is a triangle or diamond shape with an

exclamation mark inside.

Other more unique attention-grabbing alert symbol examples are bells,

alarms, red lights, loudspeakers, or even a simple circle with an
exclamation point. Anything that screams “look at me” works well for this
application.

Symbols to represent metrics, research:

Magnifying glass symbol: used to represent research and analysis.

Graph symbol: used to represent trends and associations.
Target symbol: used to represent goals.
Microscope symbol: used to represent research and discovery.
Gear symbol: used to represent work or progress.

When it comes to symbolizing metrics and data, the options are practically
limitless. You could stick with the standard visuals showing charts and
trends, but there is so much more out there.

Symbols to represent goals, strategy:

Target symbol: used to represent a goal or a success.

Path symbol: used to represent a plan or procedure.
Mind map symbol: used to represent planning, connections, or strategy.
Checklist symbol: used to represent planning or strategy.
Prepared by: Phoebe D. Bacod – ALS Teacher Cawayan West District
Credits to: Venngage https://venngage.com/blog/symbols-and-meanings/
The tried and true way to symbolize goals is to use a target icon. Which is
great, and all…but we can do better.
Symbols to represent information, ideas, insight:

Lightbulb symbol: used to represent invention, ideas, and creativity.

Spreadsheet symbol: used to represent information and organization.
Lightning bolt symbol: used to represent insight, clarity, and inspiration.
Document symbol: used to represent knowledge and communication.

We have been using a lightbulb to represent ideas for ages. It’s effective, but
probably a bit overused.

Symbols to represent change, progress:

Gear symbol: used to represent progress, work, and innovation.

Curved arrow symbol: used to represent cyclicity or process.
Checkmark symbol: used to represent success or show that goals have
been met.

Outside of the business world, symbols to represent change are related to

rebirth, renewal and transformation…symbols like the sun, the moon, and
water.

The key to visualizing change in a professional context is to go way more

concrete. Find symbols that show a beginning state and ending state,
suggest movement, or show a path from one place to another.

Here are a few change and progress symbol examples to get you thinking:

Prepared by: Phoebe D. Bacod – ALS Teacher Cawayan West District

Credits to: Venngage https://venngage.com/blog/symbols-and-meanings/