Wayfinding Systems - Pictograms, Study Task 2

PICTOGRAMS 

Is a pictorial symbol for a word or phrase. Pictographs were used as the earliest known form of writing. A starkly means of graphic communication, pictograms transcend language and relays on the visual literacy of the audience to communicate. As they are not written word but imagery they are multilingual they only need the user to have be associated/understand them basically to communicate their message.

examples - 

They strip down symbols to their most basic and shows only the needed information, they can work in monotone colour and are relevant to any time or place. They must be clear and convey the meaning in a glance, they should get straight to the point and not cause any confusion.  They're purposes are warn, guide and protect, they are created with the audience in mind for the benefit.

STUDY TAST 2

For this study task we have to create a monotone pictogram for a olympic event, using Oti Aichers pictogram grid. There are a few main features we need to consider when designing this pictogram that will inform our design decisions. Audience, scale, contrast, impact, clarity. 


research:
existing and past Olympic pictograms

olympic sports

as we have to pick an olympic sport to do i collected a list of the sports, this allowed me to make sure the sport i selected was actually in the olympics and to see if there was a sport that would produce the most creative pictogram. this will also help me if i decided to create more than one symbol, it gave me a list to pick from.

mock up digital experiments - 

this design has taken the basic body shapes and form of the skeleton of the athletes while competing actively in the sport, then reduces it to the simplest line possible so that still is clear its a body part but is simple and basic, most pictograms i found where effective by simplising the imagery and this is why i did this. For each main body part/limb i , this allowed me to see how the body work for each sport the show this as it reflect the act of performing the sport clearly. Showing the forms of the athlete reflects the way the move when competing, this shows clear the act of the sport so i combined it with the equipment needed/use to create a bold pictogram. The freeness of the lines reflect nature and natural body forms, it less mechanical than straight .

final - 

scale test -

feedback - 

for the feedback i got for this task i learn that i need to focus more on the brief we have been given and not how the overall outcome looks aesthetically, i created a pictogram that i felt work for appearing modern, minimal and nature as i use simple free forms based off the skeletons of the athletes. This created an image that appears pleasing to the eye as it an organic form thats well balanced but doesn't work as a pictogram for the Olympics for with the pictograms main purpose is to inform and guide, i should have focus more on the ideas i needed to consider. I thought about the audience, contrast and scale of the pictogram  but mostly the idea but then i didn't think much about the colour or the size of the image. I experimented with different scales but feel as i have associate myself with the pictogram too much i can see it clearly, the crit gave me an opinion of someone who was informed from why i created it like i did but just saw it for its purpose. The fresh idea is always useful as over time design work becomes very familiar to me as the designer, therefore the idea becomes the main focus rather than if its fits for it purpose, this crit helped me to realise how i need to get constant feedback from any audience at major points for my design decisions .

it wouldn't work small because of the thin lines - this feedback showed me how i hadn't thought out how the image will need to be used at a smaller scale, it may need to be used tiny (on a map ect)
 and because i selected to use thin lines to look more health/ athletic this wouldn't work when i had to make the design smaller as the lines may not be visible or be unclear, this would mean the audience couldn't understand or use the pictogram as a sign/logo.

contrast isn't clear enough - This relates to the fact i used a light blue and a white for my colour scheme, again i did this to reflect clean minimal design but also because i felt it showed water-sports, the only issues was the shade of blue i used. i should have used a darker blue that would have had a greater contrast with the white, this would have created a stronger more clear image that would be easier on the eye of the audience. Selecting a darker blue would have made the edges clear from a distance and would be more effective because then it would have been more obvious and fit for the purpose.




crit questions -