Pictograms such as emergency exit symbols are often seen in daily life, but few people seem to understand what they are. Pictograms can also be used on
homepages
, and knowing how to use them properly can increase the effect of attracting customers.
Therefore, in this article, we will explain the overview and history of pictograms, and the benefits of using them. We will also introduce how to make pictograms and how to find materials that can be used commercially. There are some materials that can be used for free, so please use them as a reference.
What is a pictogram?
First, let’s start with an overview of pictograms. A pictogram is a simplified design that allows anyone to convey information, even if they do not use or understand a specific language.
A typical example of a pictogram is an emergency exit symbol with a running person on a green background.
The emergency exit mark has the effect of making users subconsciously aware that it is an emergency exit. In this way, pictograms have the characteristic of helping people understand what you want to convey without using language.
History of pictograms
Up to this point, we have provided an overview of pictograms. The history of pictograms is said to begin with the creation of isotypes by Australian economist Otto Neurath around 1920.
Simply put, isotypes are diagrams that are summarized using pictorial symbols. Users can understand data and compare statistics just by looking at the pictograms on graphs, without having to deal with language.
The prototype of the pictogram that is widely used today was created by Japanese designer and art critic Masaru Katsumi.
Pictograms that are actually familiar to us
Some people may not be familiar with the word pictogram. However, pictograms are actually something that is familiar to us in our daily lives. As mentioned earlier, a typical example is the emergency exit pictogram. In addition, the following pictograms are often seen in our daily lives.
There are also many opportunities to see pictograms of elevators and hospitals. Pictograms are used in public facilities, transportation, shopping malls, accommodations, etc.
Pictograms are also used in the Olympics.
Earlier, I explained that pictograms are often used in everyday life. Additionally, did you know that pictograms are also used in the Olympics? This is because the aforementioned art critic Masaru Katsumi and the Japanese designer are known for creating Olympic pictograms.
They created pictograms for each sport at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and released a total of 39 types. Those copyrights were abandoned, and similar pictograms were used at the next Mexico City Games.
At the Tokyo Olympics held in 2020 (2021), pictograms representing each sport and facility were used.
Reference:
Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games Sports Pictogram Design Announcement!
When it was decided that the Tokyo Olympics would be held in 1964, most facilities in Japan could only support Japanese. However, we were concerned that this would not be able to accurately convey the location of the facility to foreign tourists, and that this might create a discrepancy in communication, so the first pictogram was completed.
In other words, the prototype of modern pictograms used all over the world originated in Japan.
Types of pictograms used at the Tokyo Olympics
At the Tokyo Olympics 2020 (starting date: July 23, 2021), 50 pictograms were used in all 33 sports. This pictogram was created by Japanese designer Masaaki Hiromura while keeping in mind the dynamism of athletes.
| Tokyo Olympics 2020 pictogram list | |
| 3×3 basketball | |
| archery | |
| gymnastics competition | |
| artistic swimming | |
| athletics | |
| badminton | |
| Baseball/Softball | baseball |
| softball | |
| basketball | |
| beach volleyball | |
| boxing | |
| canoe | slalom |
| sprint | |
| cycling competition | BMX freestyle |
| BMX racing | |
| mountain bike | |
| load | |
| track | |
| Diving | |
| equestrian | dressage |
| Eventing | |
| show jumping | |
| fencing | |
| soccer | |
| golf | |
| handball | |
| hockey | |
| judo | |
| karate | shape |
| Kumite | |
| marathon swimming | |
| modern pentathlon | |
| rhythmic gymnastics | |
| boat | |
| rugby | |
| sailing | |
| shooting | |
| skateboard | |
| sport climbing | |
| surfing | |
| competitive swimming | |
| table tennis | |
| taekwondo | |
| tennis | |
| trampoline | |
| triathlon | |
| volleyball | |
| water polo | |
| weight lifting | |
| wrestling | |
(in no particular order)
Reference:
Sato of Ansho Culture Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games Sports Pictogram Design Announcement!
Why pictograms were used at the Tokyo Olympics
The reason why pictograms were used at the Tokyo Olympics is said to be “to bridge the language gap.”
The 1964 Tokyo Olympics was the first Olympics held in Japan and Asia, and Japanese was still a rare language in the world.
For this reason, pictograms were adopted in earnest as a communication tool to prevent confusion when people from overseas, including athletes, came to Japan.
A pictogram that people around the world can recognize is born
The following 11 designers, led by Masaru Katsumi, who was the head of the design committee for the Tokyo Olympics at the time, created original pictograms that anyone outside of Japan could intuitively understand as symbols. Ta.
This pictogram was well-received by many foreigners who came to Japan during the Olympics, and it was adopted overseas as well.
Pictograms continue to become popular even after the Tokyo Olympics
Starting with the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, pictograms gained popularity among people overseas as a communication tool.
A minimum number of pictograms have been designed to help you carry out your daily life smoothly, such as toilets, showers, telephones, and other facilities. In Japan, pictograms are being adopted everywhere.
A typical example is the green emergency exit pictogram. It is said to have been created in response to the 1973 Taiyo Department Store fire that caused many casualties.
Since then, pictograms have been used in a variety of situations, including safety measures, warnings, regulations, and guidance.
Advantages of using pictograms
So far, we have explained the outline and history of pictograms. From here, I will explain the benefits of using pictograms.
- The image is conveyed to the user without using language
- Can be used as a corporate image
Let’s look at each in turn.
The image is conveyed to the user without using language
Just as pictograms are used at the Olympics and in daily life, they have the advantage of conveying necessary information and images without using language.
Pictograms are often used in barrier-free promotion projects because anyone, regardless of nationality or age, can understand the characteristics of the pictogram just by looking at it.
Can be used as a corporate image
Pictograms can intuitively convey the necessary information to others. If you use pictograms on your company’s homepage or logo, you can use them as a corporate image.
Just by looking at pictograms, you can tell users what kind of company you are and create
branding
. As a result, companies can expect to increase their ability to attract customers.
Difference between pictogram and icon
So far, we have explained the benefits of pictograms. By the way, many people may be wondering what the difference is between pictograms and icons.
In fact, both pictograms and icons have in common that they are expressed visually using symbols, etc., without the use of language.
The main difference between pictograms and icons is that they are used in different situations. Pictograms are mainly used in public places such as accommodations and transportation, whereas icons are often used on homepages and corporate logos.
Additionally, pictograms are often expressed in two colors, such as white and black, and icons are often expressed in two or more colors.
How to make a pictogram
So far, we have explained the outline of pictograms and the difference between them and icons. Here we will explain how to make a pictogram. However, the process of creating pictograms is very simple. I will show you the steps to create a pictogram.
First, decide on the information you want to convey based on the context in which it will be used, such as your company’s homepage or signboard. Next, in order to visualize that information, we replace it with characteristic symbols. Finally, remove unnecessary elements.
Pictograms have a tendency to be difficult to remember in the user’s memory if they have a lot of unnecessary elements, so the design must be as simple as possible. Therefore, removing unnecessary elements is the most difficult part of creating pictograms.
Pictogram materials available for commercial use
Up to this point, we have explained how to make pictograms. Finally, for those who find it difficult to make their own pictograms, I would like to introduce a site where you can search for pictogram materials that can be used commercially.
It is important to read the terms of use properly, even if it is stated that it can be used commercially or is copyright free. This will help prevent major problems later on.
Let’s look at each in turn.
Pictogram free material
Pictogram Free Materials is a free site that has many pictograms based on human shapes. The main focus is on pictograms that can be used in business situations.
In addition to pictograms, there are also illustrations that can be used for free, so there is no doubt that this site can be used in many ways.
Human pictogram 2.0
Human Pictogram 2.0 is based on the design of the emergency exit mark described in the pictogram example at the beginning, and includes pictograms of various scenes such as not only business scenes but also daily life and events.
Also, within one design theme, there are many variations with different movements, so it can be said to be one of the sites with a large number of materials.
silhouette AC
Silhouette AC is a site that brings together pictograms that you can download as much as you like. There are many pictograms that can be used in all kinds of media, such as website advertisements, flyers, and billboards.
Additionally, it supports extensions such as JPEG, PNG, and EPS, so you can choose the one that best suits your business situation. Also, the Silhouette AC pictogram does not require credit or permission.
silhouette illustration
Silhouette Illustration is a site with over 10,000 pictogram materials. You can choose from all categories, including “People/Humans,” “Money/Finance,” and “Sports/Exercise.” However, download permissions for silhouette illustrations differ depending on the pictogram material.
Therefore, be sure to read the terms of use before downloading.
Caution/poster template
The caution/pamphlet template is a colorfully designed pictogram using blue, yellow, red, etc. in addition to black. There are many types of designs, and multiple patterns are available.
It is a service that is easy to use, mainly in situations such as warnings and regulations, as it has a wide variety of warning systems. You can download the “pdf” and “eps” file formats that can be printed and edited, as well as the “doc” file format that allows you to write in text.
ICONSDB.COM
ICONSDB.COM is a pictogram that features a colorful design that uses a lot of pastel colors. There are many genres and types, with over 36 themes and over 4000 icons. All these icons can be converted to your favorite color and downloaded.
Although a wide variety of colors are available, each design adheres to a design that takes into account the original purpose of the pictogram, so there are no colorful pictograms. This is a service that provides pictograms that are extremely practical and have excellent visibility.
ICOOON MONO
“ICOOON MONO” provides pictograms that are completely simple, keeping UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) in mind.
The service emphasizes that pictograms are communication tools, and has a policy that emphasizes “ease of understanding,” “accuracy,” and “simplicity.”
The pictograms are designed with only black to depict various objects and scenes in an easy-to-understand manner. The basic color is black, but you can choose red or blue when downloading.
The download file is available in three formats: “png”, “jpg”, and “svg”, and you can specify the size from 16 pixels to 512 pixels, so it is convenient to use it depending on the purpose.
unique pictograms
There are many unique pictograms on the streets. I would like to introduce some of them.
Prohibited
The “prohibited” pictogram is often used for warnings and regulations. Although the design may seem unique at first glance, these are “ISO standards” established by the international standard ISO. Marks such as warnings and regulations that involve danger are set as international standards so that they can be recognized in the same way all over the world.
The green emergency exit pictogram, which was explained in the section “Pictograms continue to become popular even after the Tokyo Olympics”, has been established as an ISO standard because it is an important symbol that can mean the difference between life and death in the event of trouble.
interesting
In recent years, there have been some interesting pictograms created by individuals.
for example,
There are many pictograms that contain elements that will be popular.
school
Pictograms are also often used in schools. For example, pictograms are very effective for making things easier to understand for children.
Use visual elements to help people recognize situations that are difficult to express in words, such as displays in rooms such as staff rooms, lunch rooms, and health rooms, human silhouettes to help people understand actions, and scene silhouettes to help people understand scenes. You can.
summary
In this article, we have explained about pictograms. Pictograms are simplified visual symbols that can convey necessary information without using words.
By using it on your homepage, it can be conveyed to users as an icon or image of your company, and can also be expected to have a branding effect.
Pictograms can be created by your company or downloaded from sites that allow commercial use. Why not start by considering what kind of pictograms your company will use?