As a child I used to love leafing through the Encyclopaedia Britannica.This was not symptomatic of a thirst for knowledge on my part so much as an instinctive interest in lateral thinking. What had me hooked was the manner in which the entries appeared: bizarre juxtapositions and marriages of subject matter, all arranged by the superimposed and seemingly arbitrary framework of alphabetical order. Such enjoyment may partly have been a result of my short attention span, of course, but the presentation of such diverse entries cheek by jowl did open up new and unexpected pathways of appreciation and absorption of information.

This book features over 1,300 symbols, organized into groups and sub-groups according to their visual characteristics. Every symbol is captioned with information on who it was designed for, who designed it, when, and what the symbol stands for. These sections are interspersed with short but detailed case studies featuring both classic symbols and exceptional examples of recently designed symbols.

ABSTRACT

Circles

  Transport for London

  CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament)

Squares and Rectangles

  Deutsche Bank

Triangles

  MOT

  Paul Forrer AG

Polygons

Ovals and Ovoids

Geometric Combinations

Rhombi

Cubes and 3-D Forms

  BAM (Royal BAM Group nv)

  The Cooper Union

  Museum fvr Gegenwartskunst Siegen

Stripes

Plaid, Woven and Chequered Motifs

Chevrons

Diamonds

Wavy Lines, Ribbons and Zigzags

Dots

Rings and Roundels

Loops, Knots and Guilloche

Curves, Crescents and Arcs

  Continental Airlines

  Nike

Radiating (Circular)

  Munich Olympics 1972

Concentric (Circular)

Rotary (Circular)

Amorphous

Crosses

Arrows

 Swiss Federal Railway(SBB CFF FFS)

 British Rail

Speech Bubbles and Punctuation

REPRESENTATIONAL

Water, Liquid and Waves

Snowflakes

Fire and Flames

Flowers

Plants and Leaves

  RACE (Research for an Alternative and Clean Energy)

Trees

Fruits and Vegetables

  Apple

Domesticated Animals

Wild Animals

  WWF

  The New York Public Library

Birds

 Sprint

  Penguin

  BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation)

Fish and Other Marine Animals

  Shell

Insects

Extinct and Mythical Creatures

Landscapes

Stars

The Sun

Planets, Globes and Moons

  Pan Am

Figures

Faces

Eyes

  CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System)

Hands and Feet

Architecture

  Nouveau Theatre de Montreuil

 Centre Georges Pompidou

Transport

Tools, Machinery and

 Appliances

Everyday Objects

Sports

Music, Craft, Art and Fashion

Food and Drink

Books and Paper

Hearts

Crowns

  KLM

Heraldry, Shields and Flags

Locks and Keys

Client index

Designer index

Sector index

Picture credits

Acknowledgements