Paul Mijksenaar

“Too many symbols? Limitations, misunderstandings and challenges”

In 1895, the Touring Club Italiano introduced the first road signs, marking the beginning of using visual symbols to aid faster vehicle navigation. Otto Neurath furthered this concept in 1934 by developing Isotype, a visual language of pictograms designed to break language barriers and disseminate economic knowledge without the need for literacy. Neurath’s collaboration with illustrator Gerd Arntz significantly influenced modern symbol design, maintained in archives like the University of Reading.

Following the initial success of road signs, various international organizations and corporations recognized the value of symbols for universal communication. The International Olympic Committee, since 1948, and corporations like Philips and Siemens have adopted symbols to facilitate global operations, despite users facing challenges with complex manuals. Symbols proved especially useful in product design, fitting neatly into small spaces like mobile phone screens and car dashboards, aiding international usability.

However, symbols aren't inherently intuitive and must be learned, often leading to confusion in places like airports or hospitals where immediate comprehension is crucial. Despite this, the proliferation of symbols across digital platforms has led to a broad recognition of many icons, from weather symbols to emoticons, demonstrating their potential for conveying concepts rapidly and universally. As electronic devices become more capable of delivering personalized language instructions, the role of symbols is narrowing but remains significant in specific contexts like wayfinding and compact displays.

Biography
Amsterdammer, born and bred (1944).
Trained as an industrial designer but changed to information design. Inspired by the work of Jock Kinneir (British road signs, 1963) he lost his heart on wayfinding. Taught at Delft University for over thirty years, which he combined for a short period as designer at Total Design. Started his own office Bureau Mijksenaar (Amsterdam, New York) in 1986 and retired in 2014 but remains active as designer, publicist and consultant. One of his best known publications is Visual Function, a scholarly introduction to information design.