What is the difference between symbology and iconology? Is an icon a symbol? Is a symbol an icon? Is iconography made from symbols? This blog post takes a look at representative images in symbols and icons and discusses the differences between them, as well as how we interpret them in visual communication.
Both symbols and icons represent other things. In design and in visual communications, the purpose of both is to communicate information without words. In many cases, we’re doing so across languages. They are often so universal and are interpreted the same, regardless of the native language of the person seeing them. But they are not technically the same.
Both symbols and icons represent other things, but an icon is a pictorial representation of the product it stands for, whereas a symbol is more representative of an idea.
Symbol
Symbols represent products or ideas; you have to learn what a symbol stands for. A symbol has no logical meaning between it and the object, such as a house symbol for the homepage concept on a computer. Another example of a symbol is a flag. Flags are symbols which represent countries. Until you learn what country the flag represents, its meaning is unclear.
Icon
Icons represent visible objects. Icons are restricted to graphical representation of objects and one can easily understand what they stand for. An icon sign often closely resembles something, such as photographs of people. An icon can also be illustrative or diagrammatic, for example a ‘no-smoking’ sign.
When designing signage, we often use these two terms interchangeably. For example, while an icon is representative of an object or function, the symbol known as a pictograph represents an object or place. These become one in the same when using an airport symbol, for example:
can be described as an icon representing the function of an airport, or as a pictograph representing that the place of an airport is located there. In either case, in design we recognize the symbology of the image to represent an airport.
Ideograms are yet another type of symbol that we think of as icons in design. Ideograms convey ideas. Some of the most common ideograms include 
In this same vein, a logo is another type of symbol. It represents a company. It’s purpose is to identify that company and to convey values, feelings, and ideas about that company. Iconic examples of pictorial logos, without words include:
The symbology created in a brand is not just a logo, but the logo is important. It gives a subtle image to the brand. McDonald's golden arches are an example. They form the M for McDonald's, reinforcing the name. They are yellow in color but are called "the golden arches" giving them a value, evoking the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow -- the arches being shaped similar to a rainbow.
Iconography is an essential component within visual communication in today’s society. We see it everywhere, and it guides us to our destination or helps us make decisions. Graphic designers understand that often less is better. This is certainly true in designing an icon or corporate identity image. The viewer must understand the message without much clutter surrounding its meaning. (For more on this, review the blog post, “Stop Making us Read”.) Symbols surround us so that audiences can understand literal and emotional meanings within seconds.
Iconography, technically, is as old as man. Cave painting pictograms in the dawn of time depict scenes of the hunt and of the lives of our ancestors without words. But today in our globalized world, icons and symbols become ever-more important as communities and businesses become more multinational, multi-ethnic, multicultural, etc. Symbology supersedes language. If your marketing or branding is dependent upon someone knowing English, or a common colloquialism, or a western cultural concept, you may be falling short of the widest audience you can reach.
Symbology in design is the use of icons, pictures, and symbols to underscore meaning, provide information, and to pictoralize information in order to make it more visually appealing and engaging, while underscoring meaning.
Consider these elevator signs:
Sign #1, has no symbology. It requires the person looking at it to know and understand English in order to understand the information it’s conveying. Sign #2 is combining the use of iconography with words. The remaining signs have eliminated words altogether. In signs 2-5, there are fundamental themes - all of them illustrate the appearance of an elevator, some showing the buttons, and all four show the up and down arrows to convey that the elevator moves up and down. The elevator icon is universal and it exists, with slight variations, all over the world regardless of spoken language.
Partnering with a graphic designer can help you incorporate iconography into your branding in your signs and digital media. Additionally, if your logo needs to come up to speed with more graphical interpretation, a graphic designer can help with this as well. Iconography and symbology cast the biggest net in your marketing efforts in today’s competitive landscape. Contact us today to talk about how your brand is landing and how it could be better viewed through a global lens.