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Photo Credits: Unsplash
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By Lilian H. Hill
In addition to visual and graphic literacy, a necessary skill today is
the ability to decipher pictographs. A pictograph is a symbol used to
communicate a word, phrase, or idea. You have seen them in road signs, icons on
your smart devices, and many other situations. They can be used to illustrate
numerical information and statistical data. They may stand alone or be
incorporated into charts and graphs. Reading either text or pictograms requires
that the brain abstracts information that represents spoken language. Pictogram
and pictograph tend to be used as interchangeable terms.
Pictographs in History
Pictographs are nothing
new. Stone age rock paintings can be complex murals revealing stories about the
makers’ spiritual beliefs (Kratz, 2019). Cave paintings made by ancient
cultures also incorporate visual symbols. Pictographs were made by painting
surfaces, while petroglyphs were made by incising markings into stone (Kratz,
2019). An interesting side note is that the visual form may be influenced by
the substances used. Making marks in soft clay allows for curvilinear marks
while incising symbols into stone forces the maker to use straighter lines. The
colors of the marking were influenced by the available substances like
minerals, gemstones, and dyes.
Some cultures used symbols, or pictographs, as
their alphabet. Egyptian hieroglyphics used pictographs. Several
modern alphabets are logographic, meaning that a symbol represents a word or
morpheme, instead of alphabetic where letters represent individual speech
sounds that make up a word. Those logographic symbols may be read either as pictures, as symbols for
objects, or as symbols for sounds.
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Importance of Understanding Pictographs
Pictographs have
permeated our daily lives because they are used to convey instructions on
medications, product labeling, transportation, safety labels, advertising, and as
icons and emojis on computer screens. They communicate information in a visual mode
that humans can quickly interpret. They are often used to convey written instructions,
especially regulatory, mandatory, warning, and prohibitory information. They
are useful when:
- The
information must be processed quickly, for example in road signs.
- Multiple
languages are in use.
- People
have low literacy abilities.
- Individuals
have visual restrictions. They may be able to read a symbol more easily than
print.
- A
legal obligation exists to inform people for safety purposes.
A
situation that requires informing people is the danger of mixing bleach with
ammonia. I remember when our custodian mixed the two substances and the toxic
cloud that formed. It can be deadly, and fortunately, the custodian survived.
It happened because he was an immigrant who could not read the warning label
written in English. The skull and crossbones symbol used to mean toxicity might
have helped him to avoid the problem. This incident happened 40 years ago. Due
to Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements, it is
doubtful that a person unable to read English would be allowed to work with
chemicals today.
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Photo Credits: USP Pictogram Indicating Toxicity
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Common Examples of
Pictographs
A good example of
a pictograph is the Wong-Baker Pain Scale that you have probably seen in a
medical office. Originally designed for young children who would have a difficulty
rating their pain on a scale of 1 to 10, the Wong-Baker Pain Scale incorporates
faces with different expressions from happy (meaning no pain) to very unhappy
(meaning extreme pain). Sometimes the scale is color-coded like stoplights,
with green for calm and red for agitation. Health professionals quickly
discovered that this tool was also useful for patients speaking multiple
languages or those with low numeracy or numeracy.
You have also
seen pictographs on prescription labels. The symbols are used to indicate ideas
like “shake well,” “take with food,” “refrigerate,” or “take 4 times a day.” The U.S.
Pharmacopeia (USP) Pictogram Library enables medical professionals to use
standardized images to convey medication instructions, precautions, and/or
warnings to patients and consumers. Pictograms are particularly helpful in
passing on important information to patients with lower-level reading ability
and patients who use English as a second language. Pictograms are available free
of charge to professionals and patient information providers to reinforce
printed or oral instructions. They are not meant to be used without verbal
patient counseling.
Although
thought to be universal, a study by Dowse (2000) found that the meaning people
derive from symbols is influenced by culture. For example, some populations in
South Africa interpreted the symbol for shake well on a medication label (lines
going up on one side of a bottle and going down on the other side) as preparing
to throw an object. The image of a prescription bottle was understood as a
trash can. Another issue is that pharmacy pictographs incorporate assumptions
about a lifestyle that can be problematic. Not everyone is able to consume
three meals a day or is able to refrigerate their medication. What is someone
who is homeless or skipping meals to make ends meet supposed to do?
Another example
of a situation where pictographs are used is an airline patient safety card.
Containing very few words, symbols are used to depict the steps involved in using
exits in emergency situations, buckling seatbelts, using air vents, donning
lifejackets, and protecting young children in times of emergency. This makes sense because people of many
nationalities fly together.
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Photo Credit: Unsplash
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Company logos
are another form of pictogram. Marketing companies use them to create brand
recognition. For example, the double circles of the Mastercard logo are
instantly recognizable, most of us recognize the Nike Swoosh and Target's red
and white bullseye is well known.
Advantages of Pictograph Use
Five advantages
of pictograph use are described below:
- Rapid
interpretation. The
human brain responds to and interprets visual information rapidly.
- Makes
Information More Noticeable. People
can scan and make meaning from visual images quickly and will recognize
familiar warning symbols.
- Promotes
Retention. Reading and
interpreting pictographs use similar brain pathways. The brain also prioritizes
visual information and links visuals with emotions, making pictographs easy to
remember. People tend to retain 10 – 20% of written information and 65% of
visual information.
- Helpful
for People with Low Literacy. In
public settings, people will vary from one another considerably. Given that a
large number of people struggle with literacy, pictographs are used to convey
critical information for health, safety, and information purposes.
- Cross-Cultural
Communication. In
settings where people of multiple cultures who speak different languages
mingle, pictographs communicate essential information. For example, a traveler
can recognize the symbol for the restroom in airports worldwide.
Disadvantages of Pictograph Use
There are 6
disadvantages discussed here, and there are probably more.
1. No
Standard Interpretation. While
many pictographs are commonly used and understood, there are many variations
and interpretations can vary.
2. Pictographs
Incorporate Assumptions. The
pharmacy examples discussed above are one example of assumptions in
pictographs.
3. Culture
Influences Interpretation. Pictographs
may be understood in ways that vary from their intended meanings by people of
different cultures. In dangerous situations where the correct interpretation is
vital, this can lead to confusion, injury, and even death.
4. Pictographs
Lack Detail and Contextual Clues. Pictographs
are simplified visual images and provide little detail and context. Even when
accompanied by limited text, their meaning may not be clear.
5. Poor
Quality Pictographs. Images
that are fuzzy, pixelated, and disproportionally resized are difficult to
understand. Overuse of common stock images for multiple purposes can cause
confusion.
6. Proliferation
of Pictographs. Many
organizations and people are using pictographs. Software such as Visme allows
the creation of pictographs for many purposes. The more pictograph images
become available, the more opportunity for misinterpretation and confusion
exists.
Are we too reliant on pictographs?
Some purists
may argue that the proliferation of pictographs degrades language and literacy
skills. Others would say that pictographs allow rapid communication in
emergency situations, foster communication across cultures, support product
branding, and assist people with low literacy skills.
References
Dowse, R. (2004). Using visuals to
communicate medicine information to patients with low literacy. Adult
Learning, 15(1/2), 22-26. https://doi.org/10.1177/104515950401500106
Kratz, J. (2019, October 24).
Pictographs, etroglyphs, “Rock Art,” What is the difference? A blog of the US
National Archives. Retrieved https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2019/10/14/pictographs-petroglyphs-rock-art-what-is-the-difference/
Tijus, C, Barcenilla, J. de Lavalette, B.
C., & Meunier, J. (2007). The design, understanding and usage of pictograms.
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004253254_003
U.K. Department of Trade and Industry
(2000). The role of pictograms in the conveying of consumer safety information.
Retrieved http://www.ergo-eg.com/uploads/digi_lib/362.pdf
USP
Pictograms. Retrieved https://www.usp.org/health-quality-safety/usp-pictograms
