LANGUAGE (Visual)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1854 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Human sciences |
A language made of images whose meaning does not depend of any specific linguistic or cultural context .
Such a language of universal acceptance and understanding is mainly a result of the swift growth of a worldwide communication network based on technology .
It includes ideograms indicating for example telephones, restaurants, rest rooms, baggage rooms or booths, information stands, medical help, etc… in airports and railways stations. Roads signs indicating crossroads, curves, railways crossings, entries and exits, one-way traffic, parking lots, etc… are other ideograms. In many cases, arrows or flashing signs are used.
Other conventional signs representing for example some currencies (dollars, yens, pounds, euros), many times completed by small flags, are now widely used and recognized.
Still other signs are widely used in electrical artifacts and networks and in storage and transportation of dangerous products.
Moreover, a growing number of private concerns are slowly imposing their own brand images or logotypes: Special foods, or credit cards, for instance.
Another domain wherein this visual language is growing apace is the representation of systems or their parts by, for example, graphs , figures, drawings, orflow charts .
The appearance of such a universal language is doubtless part of the construction of a world system at a higher complexity level .