Tag Archives: symbol

Symbolism of Color and Web Design

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When thinking about how the study of symbols and signs can factor into interface design (whether for the traditional web or a mobile environment) two questions come to mind.  First, up to which level of a semiotic sign – iconic, index, and symbolic sign – should symbolic meaning be dealt with in eBranding?  Second, how are aspects of color and texture as a semiotic signs related to the purposes of 1) increased brand awareness, 2) enhanced brand loyalty, and 3) cause to purchase/commit?

I’m characterizing the different modes of reference of color application through Pierce’s model distinguishing iconic, index and symbolic signs.  Especially iconic and indexical signs seem to structure representation in a new way from the design. The sign may refer as an icon, an index, or a symbol to its object (X). Color may represent icon index, and symbol by the viewer’s interpretation. So, color of the webpage may function as an iconic sign when it refers to another thing with a similar color or texture.  Tan may, for example, refer to limestone even though there is no real limestone imagery used.

An indexical unit draws attention by being existent and not similar as does the iconic item. The cultural and social background of the person interpreting the site’s images and colors the third level of “symbol”.  This means symbols are more subject to variation in response and reaction than icons, icons more so than indexes. Returning to the use of tan, it may reflect a sense of the exotic by tying it to underlying associations with the desert and the Western construction of mythical representations of the Middle East. The point is that color is more than we think and can be remarkably powerful in helping establish connections with the user. It is a symbol and symbols have tremendous value.

Signs do not function separately, but form multilayered references.  The complexity of a sign is increased because the references are not stable or fixed qualities of the product.  Since references of the sign can be interpreted differently at different times and contexts, it means they display greater variability when not grounded in iconic and indexical messages.

So how do we use this when developing a site? Execution means integration, resemblance, and metaphor:

  • Colors can integrate, that is they create a visual unity of the elements shown.
  • Color can make objects and scenes resemble very closely what they look like in reality.
  • Through symbolic metaphors, colors, images, and textures address themselves to the imaginary and imply comparisons.  Identity is transferred from one object to another (i.e. website to prospective consumer).

Innovation and the Creative Mind

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For years businesses have been calling for more and more innovation, creativity and/or enterprise. Particularly in a weak economy where innovation can mean the difference between life and death, the call for creative thinking has grown increasingly strong.  Unfortunately, budgets and a stomach for risk have not followed suit.  But before we even attempt to tackle those issues we need to think about what innovation and creativity mean. Why? Because these things mean very different things to different people. we are faced with a need for something, something seen as important, but which is either undefined or is defined with a wide range of interpretations.

Creativity is, in its broadest sense, the ability to think a new idea. This may be a new design, a new way of understanding the world, a new way of approaching a problem, a new melody, etc. It may be rethinking an old idea or a use for something we had forgotten.  Out of the creative act is born symbols and myths.

Innovation is the process by which the new idea is put into practice.  It challenges the existing ways of doing things and is a means of tangible change. Because it is a form of change, people will react as they do to any change. The more surprising the innovation, the more extreme the reaction will tend to be positive or negative. As with creativity, innovation can provoke, inspire or simply be lost in translation.

Creativity and innovation are inexorably linked, two sides of the same coin. Both are characterized by the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Both involve thinking, then producing. If you have ideas, but don’t act on them, you are imaginative but neither creative nor innovative.

Unfortunately, language can get in the way of action.  It does not help that “creativity” has strong associations with the special artistic talents of a small number of exceptional people: creative geniuses like Mozart or Shakespeare. People in business often claim to be uncreative for this reason. Equally, “innovation” has connotations of logic and technical expertise.  Think Bill Gates or Einstein.  Consequently, innovation often falls to people other than the creative class.

We often forget or ignore our creativity and potential to innovate because we get too wrapped up in the roles we assume in our professions. And yet, as a species we are hardwired to embrace both. That means taking risks and relearning how to reject the mundane, assume risk and be willing to experiment.  Especially during a time of economic uncertainty.