5ID075 - GRAPHIC DESIGN - SYMBOLS & PICTOGRAMS - MONDAY WEEK 02, 2016 - NIKLAS ANDERSSON
OPPOSITES ATTRACT
1
TASK
Your task as a team is to design a set of pictograms (signs, icons or graphical
symbols) that represents three ( 3 ) different pairs of antonyms ( two words opposite in
meaning to the other - e.g. bad and good ) that conveys a message of a certain
multi-choice option for the viewer in a certain context.
You will utilize a user-centered design process where you test the your pictograms on
others before finalizing the design.
In many public enviroments, such as airports and
hospitals, pictograms are often used to guide their
visitors. One typical example is the “female” and “male”
pictogram signs that can be found outside restrooms and
that indicates which is the most appropriate restroom for
the visitors to use.2
Often these multichoice options are called opposites ( or “antonyms” as they are labelled in
semantics ) and can be more or less concrete. One example is the antonyms “UP - DOWN”
which are rather easy illustrate with symbols. However, in written language there are
other types of antonyms that can be somewhat abstract, for example “SERIOUS TRIVIAL”, which is much more challanging to represent with graphical symbols.
The restroom sign can be described as binary opposite where the viewer is presented with
two distinct choices of action - the message conveyed by the sign is “please choose option
A or B”.
Your task in this workshop - with starting point from a collection of antonyms - is to
design a collection of graphical representations ( pictograms, icons, signs, symbols ) that
as clearly as possible conveys a pre-determined message to the viewer. The message
should be a call for action with two binary multichoice alternatives.
1
2
An accidental homage to Paula Abdul’s billboard hit from 1989 J
The example of the restroom sign can also be read through a poststructural lens, where the pictograms
can be interpreted as a manifestation of gender binarism, that classifies the human population in two
distinct, opposite and disconnected forms of masculine and feminine, leaving no option for transgendered
people. This kind of critcal analysis has been highlighted by academic fields such as gender studies.
5ID075 - GRAPHIC DESIGN - SYMBOLS & PICTOGRAMS - MONDAY WEEK 02, 2016 - NIKLAS ANDERSSON
A. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
A1.
Each individual pictogram ( of approx. 100mm in diameter ) must be fully legible so
it can be cleary seen and read by the viewer from a distance of 4 meters.
A2.
The pictograms must be designed in black & white without grayscale or gradients.
No texts, shadows or colours are allowed in the pictograms.
B. SEMANTIC REQUIREMENTS
The viewer should be able to understand the conveyed message, based on the context
scenario, by either:
B1.
being able to take action more or less instantly ( superb! ), or
B2.
after a while, being able to say the right antonym pair, spontaneously ( very good ), or
B3.
finally, being able to pick out the right antonym pair from the list of antonyms
( acceptable )
C. PROCESS
You will work in four steps, with all three sets of icons in parallel. You have four hours
scheduled for this exercise so make sure that you all of you in your team are focused and
work efficiently:
Step 1: Choose three antonyms ( ca. five minutes )
As a team, choose three pairs of antonyms from the attatched list (“Common Opposites Antonyms”). You are free to set the level of complexity, pick abstract or concrete words, as long as
the team agree on the choice.
If necessary, check out an online dictionary (sunch as http://www.merriam-webster.com/
or similar) to learn more about the antonym words you have chosen.
Step 2: Brainstorm ideas ( ca. 1 hour )
Start skechting out ideas of how these antonyms can be illustrated with pictograms.
Remember to work with all for your sets in parallel.
Brainstorm in three steps for each set:
2.1: CONTEXT: in what environment and situation are your pictograms situated?
2.2: FUNCTION: what binary multi-choice message, based on the two antonyms and the
context of use, do you want convey to the viewer of the pictogram set?
2.3: APPEARANCE: what graphical form could the pictograms have?
TIPS: Take an early or late lunch so you can user test your pictograms when people are available
during their regular lunch break at 12:00 ( see step 3 below )
5ID075 - GRAPHIC DESIGN - SYMBOLS & PICTOGRAMS - MONDAY WEEK 02, 2016 - NIKLAS ANDERSSON
Step 3: User test your early ideas during lunch ( ca 1 hour )
Catch people during the lunch break and ask them to test your pictograms. Test each set
with at least two people. Present the context and appearance for each pictogram set, but
do not reveal its function. Try to see if they can figure out what the function (or message)
is. Check if they can spot the antonyms spontaneously ( as in requirement B1 ) or if they
need help from the list. As always, during user testing, tell your test persons that you
want to test the performance of your designs, not the test persons preformance.
Step 4: Finalize the design ( ca. 2 hours )
Finalize the design, and re-test the pictograms if necessary. Clean up your design in
Illustrator, or any other similar vector graphics software.
D. DELIVERABLES
Printouts in black & white of the pictogram sets ( each set on one A3 sheet in
landscape format = 3 papers in total per team ) together with a context description in
one sentence on the same paper. Put the antonyms and chosen message on a
separate paper.
E. WORKSHOP ROOMS
TEAM
TEAM
TEAM
TEAM
TEAM
TEAM
1 - Blue room
2 - Banana holken
3 - Black room
4 - Green holken
5 - MA holken
6 - Lower conference room
5ID075 - GRAPHIC DESIGN - SYMBOLS & PICTOGRAMS - MONDAY WEEK 02, 2016 - NIKLAS ANDERSSON
F. PRESENTATION / VERNISSAGE
Monday January 11 at 15.00 in Blue Room
F1.
All teams pins up their pictogram sets on A3 papers simultaneously on the wall - but
not the antonym words or the message that are folded away (see example below). The
audience walks around and suggests what antonym pair and message they think each
set represents.
F2.
When everyone have seen the , all teams unfolds their papers and reveals what the
correct antonym and message was for each set:
F3.
The vernissage ends with a joint reflection session about the process and what you
have learnt during the workshop.