Just thinking that it might be nice to see these pictogram headlines concepts I did adopted into a functioning platform for use in public spaces, and perhaps even incorporated into a news website.
The idea would be that a simple application would pull headlines from the BBC News website, or any website, and seperate the headline into individual words. It would then check a database to see if there is a pictogram associated with that word and display it. This would loop for all words until the headline is complete. If there is no pictogram for the word available, then it will just display the word and update an online list that symbols for word ‘X’ are needed.
Here’s a couple of examples mocked up with stock photos to see what I’m talking about.
Pictogram Headlines
A quick concept idea for using headlines displayed as a series of pictograms. This proposal could be installed in a number of public spaces, train stations, bus depots, airports, etc. on large screen visual displays. The headlines in pictograms would cross multiple language barriers, and carry the English alternative underneath. When people are used to seeing them then they will eventually be able to quickly see the news just by using the pictures.
Anyone have any thoughts? I know I’d find it more interesting when at a train/bus station to have rotating headlines.
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Jeff,
The plunger and the other symbols up there were just quick sketches that I outlined in Illustrator as an experiment. Some are more immediately recognisable than others I admit, but hopefully having a more thought out symbol, and then using the adjacent symbols to help decipher the headline, users will be able to read/see it.
Some symbols work better than others. Animals for example should be a perfect subject for a pictogram. A cow is a cow no matter what country you’re from. Same for a lion, a tiger, or a rhino. So I think it has some potential.
Plus I think there’s a benefit to having a tricky pictogram in the middle of the headline. For one if there’s a few people standing around trying to work it out then it becomes a common talking point, and forces users to interact to solve it. Two heads, as it were.
Your pictogram headline is a very interesting idea I enjoyed it.
How about instead of illustrating every words to describe the news, illustrate one that the most important key word in the sentence to get people’s attention.
For example, [Pig farmer jailed for six murders] create “6 murders” pictogram. Audiences might be interested in and want to know more “who did it”, “then what happened” … etc,. Well, it might not call “pictogram headline” any more?! This is just my thought.
Cara,
Nice take on it. What I found out though while trying to do this was that as headlines are already heavily condensed fragments, sometimes it can be very difficult to shrink it down even more. Alot of the time nearly all words are needed to make any sense of it. Thanks for your input.
Jeff,
Wondering if the Chinese can just write headlines like we would write them, but they look like pictures anyway?
Rami,
Nice find. Just wondering how the icons would scale for use on projection areas and large screen displays. Looks a little to rich I think for that. I could be wrong?
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It is a very interesting concept and it looks really cool.
The question is: how many of the drawings intended meaning would be correctly understood in other countries?
If the idea of having the pictogram headlines is to allow people who do not speak the language to understand what the news are talking about, pictograms may not be the answer as they may be misinterpreted by other cultures.
Just a thought…
Good point, and one I thought about early on.
I understand that the same images may not mean exactly the same things to everyone everywhere, but I think the majority of the western world (for which this is intended) will be able to work out what each symbol means, helped along by the other symbols in the headline.
Also, these symbols are quick mockups of what I thought best represented the words. If these went into production for say the BBC, there would probably be a long line of testing and refining of styles and images before they were final.
Not until everyone is implanted with RFID chips will video boards be able to serve an individual experience to an individual user, a la Minority Report.
Thanks for your comment Ana.
Not a compelling idea, if it’s intended to bridge cultures. The plunger is a bit of a joke, intended or unintended, and native speakers may get that — but what will a foreigner infer if she recognizes this as the object that helps her clear drains?
Do you suppose the noun for “plunger” in other languages correlates in any way with the verb that describes “plunging” sales? Not likely. It’s idiomatic.
Not that this idea has no merit at all. People love rebus puzzles (and I’m one of those people), but I can’t imagine that such puzzles will ever be a good way to deliver information effectively. Think of it this way: It’s one thing to illustrate a concept with one or more pictures, but to illustrate the actual _words_ that describe the concept removes the audience one more level from the reality being described. Languages have evolved their own kind of precision that will be very hard to replicate reliably in a rebus format, and I seriously doubt that the kind of effort you’re proposing is worthwhile.
But it _is_ fun!
here is a company that trying to make money from the same idea:
http://www.zlango.com
“Some symbols work better than others. … So I think it has some potential.”
Absolutely, Dave. Plenty of potential, and I think Cara’s comment above points in the right direction. I hope you didn’t get the idea that I’m completely dismissing what you’re doing. I think it’s very worthwhile, and I may not have indicated that clearly enough.
Some time ago, I commented here about the pictographic nature of the Chinese language. Maybe we should learn Chinese! It’s really almost exactly what you’re talking about, plus what Cara is saying, plus about a thousand years of functional evolution. So if we subtracted that thousand years and put it in a modern global context …
I think it would be great to get input from someone who is fluent in Chinese, a student of Chinese calligraphy, and understands where you’re going with this. Is any such person reading this?
If you’re not already aware of Blissymbols, suggest that you look at the entry of that name in Wikipedia. It is a system invented by Charles K. Bliss in the 1940’s / 50’s which was intended to provide an international sign language. No one was interested in using it that way but it has since been adopted for enabling the physically handicapped to communicate.
I just stumbled upon this and realized the discussion is now three years old. But anyway, this seems like an interesting idea, a starting point for news for the illiterate perhaps.
I’m a native Chinese speaker. The Chinese characters have evolved immensely since its pictorial beginning. So writing the headlines in modern Chinese characters wouldn’t look like pictures. But the wonderful thing about it is, even if one has never seen a particular character before, one can probably figure the rough meaning of it from the way the character is being formed, thanks to its pictorial origins. It’s a very beautiful language and I agree we should all learn it.
I’m not sure what happened with the pictogram headlines after three years since it was launched, but it sure made me smile today.
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