Signs of the times: graphics for international audiences

The author considers graphic and nonverbal communications cross-culturally, with a view to identifying pitfalls and bridges across them. She concludes that, for symbols to work well internationally, two things are necessary. The symbols must first be sufficiently abstract that the audience does not have a preconception of their meaning. Secondly, the audience must be taught the meaning that has been selected. What is necessary in choosing and using graphics is to recognize that graphic symbols, like verbal symbols, are arbitrary and that there is no inherent connection between the symbol and the meaning