combating icon overload
Do graphic symbols connect with consumers
or just get in the way?
Icons are everywhere. From packaging to advertising,
marketers make extensive use of graphic symbols
to communicate brand and product attributes. But
like any other design element, they must be used
well to communicate effectively. Heres a primer on
how to evaluate the role of graphic symbols in your
marketing communications.
satellite design
april 2007
Satellite Design is an award winning graphic design firm that helps clients
like Sony, Hitachi and The North Face connect with consumers. To learn more,
visit our website at www.satellite-design.com.
satellite design 2
Baffled by the complexities of shopping for a
bathtub? Well, me neither. Nevertheless, people
need baths (some more than others) and bath-
tub makers are working hard to sell them. Heres
a handy list of features provided by one bathtub
brand. See if you can figure them out. Im not
sure it holds water.
Over the past few decades, the use of graphic
symbols has exploded. From consumer elec-
tronics to health food, product marketing mes-
sages have been augmented or replaced by
icons and secondary brand marks, some simple
and stylized, others cryptic and complex.
These little images, used alone or combined with
text, are supposed to communicate. Whether
marketers intend them to highlight product fea-
tures or convey a sense of fun, the expectation is
that they will facilitate transmission of a market-
ing message. But like any design element, such
symbols are a double-edged sword. Used well,
they can connect with consumers. Used poorly,
they can get in the way of the very job they were
intended to do.
As a marketing manager, you may be an icon
advocate, firmly believing that such devices
catch the eye and break up otherwise grey fields
of type. Or you may hate the little buggers, think-
ing of them as part of the visual litter that pollutes
our world. But no matter what your icon ideology,
you should have a process for deciding whether
or not theyre appropriate for a given application.
Heres how to evaluate those cute little marks
that crop up in your communications.
get your marks straight
The little images that pepper everything from
packaging to websites come in two varieties:
icons and logos. The two are not interchange-
able. Icons are not logos and logos are not
icons. Each plays a very different role in commu-
nicating, so we better get the difference straight
from the get-go.
Logos are an identity element. They exist to help
represent a brand visually. While they are prima-
rily a brand communication vehicle, they can
also be used to represent special product collec-
tions (Sony Bravia) or special components or
technologies (Gore-Tex).
Icons are a communication element. They exist
to help convey specific discrete messages usu-
ally at the product marketing level. They may be
generic, like the outlet, car and airplane symbols
on the packaging for a laptop adaptor.
Logos are an identity element.
Icons are a communication element.
Or they may be specific to a single feature on a
single product, like these matching icons indicat-
ing a products locking function.
Its important to think about the role a given sym-
bol is playing in your communications. If youre
not sure whether its a logo or an icon, chances
are youre confusing your audience and weaken-
ing the effectiveness of both your brand and
your product marketing.
Well leave the subtleties of logo design and use
for another day and concentrate here on icons:
when are they good how can they go bad.
a mark against you
There are three primary ways in which icons can
get in the way of good communication:
1. Logo/Icon Hybridization
A common problem that crops up with the
increased use of icons is a blurring of the line
between icons and logos. Sometimes an
icon, like the one below, is introduced to
make a single feature or benefit easier to
communicate. But as its use becomes wide-
spread, it becomes associated with the
brand, confusing consumers, muddying the
waters and weakening the effectiveness of
the primary brand mark.
2. Icon Overload
Another pitfall is simply using too many icons.
There are many cases in which a few icons
can help communicate but using too many
creates confusion.
Excessive use of icons usually results in one
of the following barriers to communication:
visual clutter
Too many marks make for messy messages.
Readers have a limited ability to take in
information on a printed page, package panel
or sign. Icons often make messages easier
to understand in these situations. But what
works for you can also work against you.
Using too many icons or icons in combination
with text and other images can tip the balance
the wrong way, creating a cluttered mess
that communicates poorly and taxes a read-
ers patience.
flattening
In a communication system where all data is
represented by icons, too many icons can
flatten out the information hierarchy. Lets say
you know that you need ten features to posi-
tion a product and that three of the ten are
clear leaders. Communicating all ten features
with icons can make it more difficult to stress
the importance of the top three.
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too much homework
An icon system is a language. Just as with
a new language, a reader must first master
a vocabulary before he or she can understand
your message. If you don't take care in defin-
ing your symbols or if you thrust too many
symbols in front of a reader too quickly,
youll exceed their ability to master the vocab-
ulary. Then you might as well be speaking
a foreign language.
3. Icon Misuse
Regardless of the number of icons, if youre
using them in the wrong situations, youre
also creating communication problems.
alienation
Certain audiences are put off by marks. You
dont have to dumb down your designs but
you do have to know your audience. An
advertisement in the AARP magazine is prob-
ably not the best place to introduce a host of
tiny icons.
style-skew
Depending on the look and feel of a given
design, the use of icons may appear awkward
or out of place. While this depends greatly on
the design of the icons themselves, the mere
use of an icon system can often make materi-
als appear more technical and the messages
more fact based and rigid.
stumbling
Poorly used icons interrupt a readers appre-
hension of information. Because icon systems
often impose multiple start and stop points,
they can often break up a design into smaller
segments. While this sort of staggered pacing
can be intentional, it also happens as an unin-
tended consequence of a poorly used icon
system. At its worst, icon misuse can con-
tribute to cluttered, hard-to-read design.
and then theres bad design
Up till now, weve been assuming these icons
are well designed, effective communicators
when used sparingly but a problem when over-
done. Unfortunately, the problem often starts
with the icon itself. Some are just poorly
designed, unclear and unlikely to communicate.
Many problems begin when designers misun-
derstand what an icon can and cant do. To get
a better handle on the role of icons, it helps to
understand that they come in two flavors.
Symbolic and Ornamental Icons
Icons can be used in two ways in marketing
communications. We can call them symbolic
icons and ornamental icons. A symbolic icon is a
stand-in for the thing it signifies. The image
needs no additional explanation. These are true
icons and what the formal definition of the word
satellite design 4
At its worst, icon misuse can
contribute to cluttered, hard-to-
read design.
implies. Sometimes these symbolic icons func-
tion because weve seen them so often that
weve internalized their meaning. Think of the
handicapped parking symbol. Sometimes the
design of the icon itself makes it immediately
clear what it represents.
Ornamental icons are not visual synonyms for
the ideas they reference. They may reference
something associated with the idea theyre
trying to communicate (the water droplet on a
waterproof fabric icon), but they require addi-
tional information to communicate effectively.
In many cases, they carry very little meaning at
all in and of themselves and function as a purely
graphic element to add visual spice to the
design. And while thats not badornamental
icons can be a lot of funits important to
understand that these are, in the exact sense of
the word, not icons at all. Theyre simply graphic
elements. They may add value but they dont
communicate by themselves.
Failure to understand this distinction leads to
trouble. Often, designers create something they
think is a symbolic icon. And though its design
doesnt inherently communicate on its own, its
used in place of a better explanation. Without
accompanying text or images to complete the
message, symbols like these fail to communi-
cate their message and readers are left to guess
at meaning.
weighing your options
OK. Enough theory. Requests for logos and
icons for use on products and in communica-
tions often come from outside the marketing
department. A good creative manager should
have a way to filter these requests. When
someone proposes the use of a new logo or
icon, its helpful to ask: will this mark be used for
a) brand, or b) product marketing?
Identity Crisis
If the answer is a, youre about to make a major
decision. The addition of a new logo to a brand
identity system is a change that should be con-
sidered carefully. Consult your agency. This is
serious stuff. In general, sub-brand logos work
best when:
1) You have a special group of products you
need to differentiate, usually for market seg-
mentation purposes. This group should be
special, carefully targeted and intended to live
for multiple seasons.
2) You have a single product that is so unique it
merits its own identity. The product had better
be damn special.
3) You have a proprietary component that is
used on multiple products. This is sometimes
appropriate when you need to compete with
third-party components or competitors with
proprietary components.
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Iconward and Upward
If the answer is b, the mark will be used in the
service of a product, youre better off with an
iconthat is, if the design requires one.
Every communication vehicle presents a specific
set of design challenges. Good designers under-
stand these challenges and develop solutions by
researching the characteristics of the audience,
the limitations of the communication medium
and the positioning strategies for the product
and the brand. Based on a thorough under-
standing of all this and more, a good designer
will decide whether product information is best
communicated through text, images or a combi-
nation of both.
There are many situations in which an icon sys-
tem can help consumers better understand the
benefits of your product. But there are many sit-
uations in which other design solutions will be
more effective. Only a good designer can make
this call.
Its the role of the marketing manager or creative
director to make sure designers have clear
strategic goals and a thorough briefing on which
data points will best sell the product. In general,
icon systems are appropriate when:
Meaning is Intrinsic
This includes situations in which people already
know the icon and situations like those of
the gender icons on this glove packaging, in
which an immediately understandable icon can
be designed.
Function Requires It
This may includes situations in which complex
product data must be evaluated by the reader in
such a way that would make long text descrip-
tions confusing or impractical, some multi-lingual
applications, and space allocation or information
hierarchy considerations.
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Temperature Rating:
15F / -9C
Weight:
TOTAL: Reg 2 lbs 12.6 oz (1264 g)
Lng 2 lbs 15 oz (1333 g)
FILL: Reg 1 lb 5.7 oz (616 g)
Lng 1 lb 6.6 oz (641 g)
Stuff Sack Size:
7.5" x 15" (19 cm x 38 cm)
Sizes:
RR/LR, LR/LL
Specications
Temperature Rating:
15F / -9C
Weight:
TOTAL: Reg 2 lbs 12.6 oz (1264 g)
Lng 2 lbs 15 oz (1333 g)
FILL: Reg 1 lb 5.7 oz (616 g)
Lng 1 lb 6.6 oz (641 g)
Stuff Sack Size:
7.5" x 15" (19 cm x 38 cm)
Sizes:
RR/LR, LR/LL
Specications
satellite design 7
Aesthetic Considerations
There are situations where icons serve both a
functional and aesthetic purpose, helping to
create a look and feel that can communicate with
readers on a non-rational level. Like any design
element, a icon system adds a creative flavor to
a piece.
The most important thing to keep in mind as you
consider the use of icons to communicate prod-
uct features is that icons are neither intrinsically
good nor bad. Cute icons wont make up for a
bad package design. And a few too many icons
wont scuttle a catalog that otherwise works well.
Too often, they are requested by outsiders with
little understanding of design who worry that text
alone may be boring or hard to read. If your
materials really have these problems, slapping a
few icons on isnt likely to improve them. Instead,
theyll make a bad design worse and drive a con-
sumer to a competitor who does a better job
communicating its products worth.
There are situations where icons serve both a
functional and aesthetic purpose, helping to create
a look and feel that can communicate with readers
on a non-rational level.
