Wayfinding Symbols and Icons

At the core of the world of Wayfinding you will find Symbols and Icons! These graphics are integral to your communication strategy, whether that be digitally or in real life. So, it’s very important that they are designed well and used effectively. In this article, we want to revisit the unique benefits that symbols and icons possess and share a few tips for their design and use. But first, let’s run through the differences between them!

What are they?

Symbols are used as graphics that resemble something else. The connection between them sometimes has to be learned as there may not be an obvious link. Two examples of symbols that have worked very well in resembling their assigned meanings are a house for a homepage and a thumbs up for a like. The link may not have been glaringly obvious at first glance but once we learned what they meant they became the only thing that made sense!

Icons are used to represent something, someone or a place. The connection between the icon and what it represents is usually very obvious, like a knife and fork for somewhere to eat or a tent for a camping site. 

There’s also another graphic often used in digital and physical Wayfinding called a Pictogram. This graphic explains a concept or instruction in a way that is easy to interpret and understand. The most common use of pictograms are road signs such as an arrow pointing left with a cross through it.  

Benefits

So, what are the benefits of using these types of graphics in your wayfinding? We’re very glad you asked! Here’s just our five favourites:

1. They help to communicate messages quickly and easily
2. They take up a lot less space than lengthy text explanations, labels or instructions
3. They’re great for use in multilingual environments for universal understanding – though you need to be careful cross-culturally that they are appropriate!
4. Unique designs can be great for making your brand stand out, for example, every Olympics has their own unique pictograms for each sport
5. They are perfectly aligned with the ‘emoji language’ the world now fluently speaks – making your communication more accessible and legible!

Symbol and Icon Design

Although these graphics may be small and simple, the way they are designed can be crucial in how effectively your brand communicates with your audience. You want to ensure the user experience is painless, and safe, while helping them to get the best out of your platform or physical space. When designing these graphics we recommend that you consider five key areas.

• Clarity – Use these graphics for messages that can easily be simplified to improve clarity. Some things require information in text form so don’t try to use a symbol or icon here because it will become too complicated. 
• Brevity – Keep the design simple, don’t use too many shapes or details in the graphic which reduces readability
• Consistency – Ensure your collection of graphics share similar design elements so they look good together and fit with your branding
• Personality – Allow your branding to create playful elements in these graphics, it’s a great way to show off and reinforce your brand’s character and voice
• Easy Use – Remember that these graphics are all about making things easier for your customers and consumers, test them out with your audience to make sure that they do just that!

If you’re looking for any advice or help in designing symbol and icon graphics for your brand, get in touch! We’d love to help.