Signs, Symbols and Icons: Pre-history to the Computer Age

201 Pages·1997·3.14 MB·English

by  Rosemary Sassoon

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title: Signs, Symbols and Icons : Pre-history to the Computer Age
author: Sassoon, Rosemary.; Gaur, Albertine.
publisher: Intellect Books
isbn10 | asin: 1871516730
print isbn13: 9781871516739
ebook isbn13: 9780585218915
language: English
subject Signs and symbols--History, Nonverbal communication,
Computer graphics, Computers and the handicapped.
publication date: 1997
lcc: P99.S177 1997eb
ddc: 302.2/223
subject: Signs and symbols--History, Nonverbal communication,
Computer graphics, Computers and the handicapped.
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Signs, Symbols and Icons
Pre-history to the Computer Age
Rosemary Sassoon
Albertine Gaur

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Signs, Symbols and Icons
Pre-history to the Computer Age
Rosemary Sassoon
Albertine Gaur

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First Published in 1997 by
Intellect Books
EFAE, Earl Richards Road North, Exeter EX2 6AS
Copyright © 1997 Rosemary Sassoon and Albertine Gaur
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission.
Consulting editor: Masoud Yazdani
Copy Editor: Wendi Momen
Designed by: Pardoe Blacker Publishing Limited
Shawlands Court, Newchapel Road, Lingfield, Surrey
Illustrations: Personal icons. Illegible signatures from the collection of Kathleen Strange
In part 1, except where otherwise stated, all illustrations come from either
Albertine Gaur's History of Writing or her History of Calligraphy.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the many friends who have contributed to the second part of this book, beginning with those who have
written sections about their work or special interests; Jill Day for her contribution to chapter 5, Isobel Yule and Pat Lorimer who
have contributed to chapter 6, Rob Baker and Sarah Head who have contributed to chapter 7, Lesley Ellis and Trevor Harvey
who contributed to chapter 8, Adrian Grater and Helen Atkinson who contributed to chapter 9 and Paul Honeywill who helped
with chapter 10.
In addition I would like to thank my good friend Briem for his various contributions, Kathleen Strange for the signatures on the
frontispiece and several other contributions, Paul Green-Armytage for his insights into Blissymbolics, Rosie Scott of WEC
International and Dr Philip Stine of the United Bible Societies for their help with iconic typefaces, Patrick Wallis Burke for his
generous help and for permission to use material from Icographic and also Anna Partington for her useful comments. I would
like, as always, to express my thanks to my husband, John, for his unfailing support and wise counsel, and to Michael Blacker
for his invaluable contribution as designer of this book.
ROSEMARY SASSOON
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 1-871516-73-0
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Cromwell Press, Wiltshire

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CONTENTS
Preface
Part 1
The History of Non-Verbal Scripts
Chapter 1
A History of Symbols and Iconography 11
Early Uses of Icons
Iconography and Memory Aids
Maps and Property Marks
Chapter 2
Iconography and Writing 29
From Icons to Phonetic Scripts
Abbreviations in Handwritten Texts
Numerals and Music
Chapter 3
Iconography in Calligraphy, Religion and Art 43
Secret Communications
Calligraphy
Religious Symbolism
Symbols in Secular Art
Part 2
Iconography in the Computer Age
Chapter 4
Extending the Subject of Iconographies 63
Preconceptions to be Dispelled
Learning from History
Designing Icons
Chapter 5
Symbols and Special Needs 79
Computers and Special Needs
Symbol Systems and Special Needs
Working with Words and Symbols

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Chapter 6
Symbol Systems for Visually Impaired 93
Moon and Other Codes
Unified Braille Code
Guidelines and Objectives
Balancing Issues
Chapter 7
A New Iconography for Deaf Signers 105
The Use of Sign Graphics in Bilingual Education for Deaf Children
Sign Graphics Sociolinguistic Issues
Chapter 8
Music Notation 121
Computers and Music Notation
The Many Ways that Music has been Created: from Manuscript to
Computer Graphics
Music and Typography
Chapter 9
Movement Notation 139
Dance Notation
Movement Notation for Clinicians
Chapter 10
The Way Forward 155
Designing Icons for the Screen
Design Considerations for a Visual Language
The Atlantis Inter Arc Research Programme
A Prototype for an Interactive Iconic Hotel Booking System
An Educational Multimedia Network in Chile
ConclusionsImplications for Designers Today
Postscript 176
References 179
Index 184

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PREFACE
The two authors of this book approach the subject of iconography from different directions. In the first part Albertine Gaur takes
a comprehensive historic overview, looking at the uses that evolved throughout the centuries, from the earliest known
emergence of iconic communication. She brings her treatise up to date with the eye of a historian, asserting the icon as being
universal and ever present. Rosemary Sassoon, after a bridging chapter, directs her thoughts to the future and the effects of the
computer on iconic communication.
Several practitioners who use various means of symbolic communication in their work, were invited to contribute to the second
part of this book. Some of their reports are detailed. In this way parallels between such varied symbol systems can be drawn.
Inevitably there are a few overlaps; moreover, different voices speak with different tones. We believe that such a complex
subject needs a variety of viewpoints in order to outline the possibilities for the future as well as point out dangers that may lie
ahead.
In many ways, particularly in assisting those with special needs, the computer enables tasks to be undertaken that were
impossible before. In others it may limit, through a need to simplify and categorise, tasks which although cumbersome by hand,
were more flexible. Interactive computer generated iconic communication may increasingly transcend languages, with the
prospect of virtual reality taking its part. Even so, there may arise a need for a larger number of specialised symbol systems
rather than more grandiose schemes. There are vital issues to balance throughout. All this is breaking new ground in areas
where knowledge (and equipment) quickly become obsolete.
From the earliest stages of planning our aim has been to create a snapshot of the state of art at a given moment. However, we
have always remained conscious of the pitfalls inherent in such a venture. Future inventions cannot be predicted, nor can anyone
be absolutely certain of their use. Those examining the past are limited by other, though not necessarily less potent factors.
Research, as indeed all

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decision making, depends on the use of available data. Data, however, is never complete. At the very moment we say that the
Greeks probably (and it is always prudent to insert the word 'probably') took over the Phoenician consonant script some time
between 1000-800 BC, a tourist in a remote corner of Ethiopia might stumble across a Greek inscription dating from 1300 BC.
We have just to think of the mysterious Phaistos disc discovered in Crete and (at present) dated 1700 BC. The disc bears the
impression of 241 signs arranged in (word?) groups, reading in a spiral either to or from the centre. Those impressions have
been made by 45 different punches and nothing similar has ever been discovered anywhere else. So what is this disca one off, a
left-over from a lost 'civilisation', a fake, or the work of a visionary who saw the possibilities of printing long before Gutenberg
or even the Chinese?
The authors have set out to make this somewhat neglected subject comprehensible to the general reader but also useful for the
researcher and more serious student. This book reports new ideas that extend the barriers of communication. In doing so, and in
particular, in comparing the concepts that have governed iconography throughout history, the intention has been to raise the
awareness of how handwritten and machine-generated icons might work together to our benefit.

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PART 1
THE HISTORY OF NON-VERBAL SCRIPTS
The present connects the past with the futureknowing about the past provides a basis from which we can plan. Signs, symbols
and icons haw been part of the collective subconscious of the human race since earliest times. This part of the book traces their
history from information stored in rock paintings to present-day computers and modern information technology. It is thus meant
to provide a basis for the understanding of the second half of our joint study.
ALBERTINE GAUR

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