Journal Four

            “Setting Sights on the Arrow” by Phil Patton was a very interesting and informative read about a symbol that everyone uses so casually, it is forgotten sometimes that it had originated somewhere. The twenty arrows I found, I categorized into five sections, from left to right: instructions, natural, simplified, street, and symbols.

            One of the points they made was that it was first made by the primitives, who used the original hunting weapon from which our simplified arrows of today derived, to possibly point out a good food or hunting source. This could be related to the instructional arrows of today, which show the direction to do a certain action, even though not all are straight lines like original arrows. For example, you swipe a credit card down or you turn the key counterclockwise to open the lock. Surprisingly, as simple as an arrow seems, three out of the four shapes are asymmetrical. They, like all symbols, have a high contrast between the rest of the sign that they appear on. Mostly, the arrows are the focal point of every sign.

            The natural arrows show that it is easy to spot things that resemble the shape, since most arrows are a triangle-tipped line. This comes from the original arrows that were used for hunting with an aerodynamic length and a sharp-tipped point that goes from a point to a large base so that it would easily go in, but not as easily come out. The top arrow is pointing upwards, and is made from the side of a building made of glass. The middle pictures show a simplified version of an arrow with only the triangle tip, but both seem to be pointing into a direction by the repetition and rhythm of the triangles. The bottom arrow, as mentioned in the article, is spray-painted onto a sidewalk. It shows how the arrow is typically depicted; as long as there is a straight line and an angled tip, it will resemble an arrow.

            The article also mentions how the arrow has many different variations, and over time it has simplified down to a triangle. The symmetrical, simple shape is usually small compared to the space and other objects around it. They all have in common that they do not have the straight line extending from the tip, but they vary from there. They can be completely equilateral triangles, like on an iPod, to show which direction to press to rewind; with a slight indent, like on an elevator button, to show that this will make the elevator go up; or made of two lines, like on an “Exit” sign, to indicate direction.

            The most common place to find arrows, I believe, is on the street to indicate direction. They are very self-explanatory, and usually the contrasting black on white or vice versa. The article mentions the squiggly arrows for winding roads or symbols that show what happened during an automobile accident. Half of my pictures are symmetrical, the “One Way” sign and the bottom arrows that show where parking is permitted. A very common occurrence is to see them directly painted on the pavement.

            Lastly, there are symbolic signs. The top arrow shown it showing the direction of north, like on a compass, from which it was derived from, according to the article. The next two are different versions of the “Recycle” sign, also mentioned in the article. Patton says that “the basic message of direction can be built on and played with,” as it was to indicate the continuous cycle of recycling (Patton). As seen, the arrows can be played with so much to get a message across. With these two signs, they are symmetrical, but vary different. For instance, one is an open shape with curved sides, while the bottom sign has sharp points of the triangle and is a solid color. The bottom shape also plays with the elements of rhythm and unity, by having the same shape repeated three times, but varying in size. The symmetrical bottom arrows that point in opposite vertical directions with two people standing within a square indicate an elevator.

            Overall, I found this assignment very interesting. It made me look at the way arrows are presented. For an everyday use, it is kept simple, smooth, and solid, while a more elaborate arrow has a different shape or style because of the purpose, such as catching attention in a busy sign. I like the way arrows are developing into simpler shapes, but I think that they are at the brink of the simple shape that they can be. It was interesting to have the development of the symbol have attention drawn to it through the article. It is something that isn’t thought about much, but once it is, it has an interesting history and without arrows, our world would literally be chaos, in some respect. We are guided along roads to tell us which way to turn, how to achieve a certain action, and which direction to go to get to a certain place.

Journal Three

Possibly the best symbols are the ones that are now subconsciously recognized by the entire public. Most of use glance around and know what the signs mean and where they will be. I was able to walk down from the fifth floor of my dorm, and down San Francisco Street to the end of North campus to attain all 15 symbols.

            The bottom three symbols were found on a dumpster right outside of my dorm. It had three symbols that I find easily recognizable. The infamous yellow sign with the exclamation mark for “Caution” is very self-explanatory. It is a simple, symmetrical sign, which uses a yellow hue that is highly saturated to be bright and bold so it catches a person’s attention. The bottom symbols display the universal “Do Not” symbol, the bold red circle with the diagonal slash across it. It surrounds the shapes of the simplified human, one falling off and another about to be squished by a dumpster.

            The third row from the top and the yellow “Pedestrian Crossing” sign all have a human form on them. Each body is made up of simple shapes, such as circles and rectangles. Mostly, the signs seem symmetrical, but upon closer examination, it is realized they are not. For example, the “Pedestrian Crossing” sign has a sense of depth to it with the relationship between the obvious male walker and the woman, who is farther away by her feet being above the man’s, and her head below his head. Lastly, the fountain sign and the “In Case of Fire” sign are asymmetrical.

            The seven signs left are all easily recognized street symbols, most signs, but are nationally recognized when the shape is made out. All of these signs are very symmetrical and use the bold red hue to put emphasis on the meaning of the signs. All of these signs put emphasis on the words of the signs, which, I believe, have turned into part of the symbol itself. The text also plays a role because they are all in capitals, which we have learned is associated with shouting, to catch a person’s attention.

            All signs have unity and are similar with the design elements. For instance, all pedestrians are a flat color and highly contrast the background space. Another similarity are the colors, which are all bold, bright, and contrast each other to bring attentions to each character on the sign. All of the signs are very modern because of the crisp lines and easily interpreted symbols. Lastly, only san-serif fonts are used. The point I found after examining all of the signs is that everything should be as simplified and clean as possible, in order to get the point across. It has to appeal to all audiences and draw attention to important areas. 

Journal Two

What if signs were changed to an international pictorial language that not only identified the door, room, fire extinguisher, etc., but added art to the space? Create new signs for:

Men's Room

For the men's room, I wanted to incorporate stereotypical things about restrooms and men that would automatically link the two together. I have to signs above, with an "M" made from rolls of toilet paper to come down to a tie. The second is the symbol that could be used worldwide, which is just a simplified version of the morph. The colors I chose were dark, rich colors which is the opposite of the pastels that are usually thought of for women. They are both evenly weighted on both sides, or symmetrical, and they are not the stick figure signs of today. There is shading and highlighting on both which adds the illusion of texture to the sign. 

Women's Room

The women's room has the same concept of the men's room, so that the two signs would flow together since they both represent a restroom. There is still the switch from toilet paper, but it is not a pink ribbon, which is one of the most feminine things that comes to my mind. The color of the pink is more of a pastel, which reminded me more of a powder room, and that sounds much more appealing than a restroom. Again, there is the same second symbol that mirrors the men's room, but it has the ribbon attached. The women's restroom is more asymmetrical than the other sign because I did not think the concept of toilet paper made itself appear with the small sliver that would have been showing. I elaborated a little on it, but I think it adds a nice touch to get away from the normal symmetrical signs. Again, they are shaded and give a little texture to the signs.

Fire Extinguisher

The fire extinguisher was one of the harder symbols to remake because it is very self explanatory to what it is. I have the classic red fire extinguisher, but with more detail than a two-colored sign. On the label, there is the universal sign of "no" surrounding a blazing fire. From the opening of the extinguisher is the white foam that extinguishes the fire. There is slight shading to make the object look three-dimensional. The sign is asymmetrical, and the extinguisher is slightly angled as a person would hold it if there was a fire. 

Janitor's Closet

In a janitor's closet, there are three things I thought would always be in it. There is the mop, a spray bottle, and the infamous yellow gloves. I think the image is weighted almost evenly on both sides because both images have more of a diagonal motion set up to where they are almost crossing in the middle, with the spray bottle being the center. The colors are basic, but they represent classic janitor supplies: the blue water, red spray bottle, and again, the yellow gloves. The primary colors worked best for this image so it was not too elaborate, but it still had colors to make it appealing. The red "J" in the middle could be swapped out for any symbol for any language, or eliminated all together.

Executive Washroom

The executive washroom seems like one of those over-exaggerated high statuses, like the jock lunch table or the parent's dresser drawer. I felt the need to over-exaggerate the executive washroom to really get the point across because to be at that status, a person had to have worked very hard to finally get that spot in the office . . . And to get to use that washroom. The symbol on the right is my universal symbol. It is a symmetrical blue, sleek sink filled with gold and jewels in the basin and diamond knobs. Of course, it is all in good humor, but the rich colors get the point across that this is no ordinary bathroom. The symbol on the left was an idea that I really liked and could not resist making it into a symbol for an American bathroom. It has an "E" for "executives" and it has a diamond crown on the edge. Of course, the toilet paper is made of money and the shaded "E" has a small sparkle at the top right to show that this is elegant.

Parking Garage

The parking garage was another difficult symbol to create, because I was torn between the idea of the outside of a large structure or the car actually parked. It was difficult because to combine the two most important elements of a parking garage, it would be too cluttered for the look and designs I was going for with the detail, shading, and colors. In the end, the smaller symbol got the point across of a car going through an entrance where there are other cars (colors) parked in. The larger image was what I thought was the most important aspect of the sign because a person needs to know it is a place where parking is available. I have a red car with slight detail and shading to make it look very nice, as in a person would want to park their car in a place where that car was. It is in the parking lines that have a slight perspective to it, and a large "P" would indicate the parking in the English language. Like with the janitor sign, it can be replaced with any symbol. 

Exit

It is a difficult task to redo a sign that is probably the most recognized in the world. There are only so many things a person can do to get the message of "leaving" across to another. The word "EXIT" shows that this, of course, is the exit, and the green is a positive color that represents "go" as well. The right part of the sign has a doorway with a green arrow leaving through it. The word and the sign can be paired together to get the meaning across the best, or the doorway alone can be used as it can be recognized worldwide. I thought this should be the most simple sign, but I did add a little shading for depth and appeal.

With my signs, I drew them all, but if it were my choice, I would have them be digitally redone so the colors are smooth, and can be glossy and as three-dimensional as they could be.

Journal One

How would you define who you are in one symbol or icon? 

If I were to choose one image that would describe how I think about myself, it would be a piece of jewelry. I don't mean it in a vapid way; I do not think I am a precious treasure that is gorgeous. A jewelry piece would best describe me because to me, a special piece of jewelry has meaning to it. For me, this necklace was given to me by a person I have been in a relationship with for almost three years. The idea of jewelry is thoughtful and quietly lovely. It does not have to have anything added to it to make it look nice, it is the idea that it is worn alone, delicately around the neck. This would describe me because I am a very thoughtful, sensitive person and I know I have a lot of worth to me, as would a jewelry given as a gift. I am an introverted person and I have no problems being alone, but it's nice to have companions, just like a necklace could have other accessories to complete a look. Also, though I don't like to admit it, I am a sensitive person and I care about being treated kindly more than a lot of people. Lastly, I chose the background of rocks because even with all of my characteristics, I love being outdoors and I am firmly grounded to who I am.

How do you think someone else would define you?

The first impression, that I have been told by most people, is that I am shy and pretty. This image has a pretty flower, nothing extravagant, but it is surrounded by a lock. To me, I probably seem like the flower who does not want to come out of lock, or my shell. Of course, with the right person, or key, the shell comes off easily and I can be more relaxed and optimistic.