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by: rachel summer-majors
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PICTOGRAPH
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pictograph is an ideogram that depicts its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. So, in other words, a pictograph resembles what it signifies. The following examples include various signage that you will see in public places. The first is a sign for a restroom. The figure to the left is an elementary form of a woman and the figure on the right is an elementary form of a man. Both represent what they are. The next example is a sign indicating wheelchair access. The form is a very basic representation of a person in a wheelchair. It resembles what it is. Finally, the last example is of no smoking sign. While the circle with a dash through it is a learned symbol, the cigarette image closely resembles what it signifies.
Top to Bottom: Restroom sign, wheelchair accessible sign, no smoking sign.
IDEOGRAPH
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n ideograph is a pictograph meant to convey a thought or idea. For example, the image to the right uses pictographs of two people walking which represents pedestrians walking, please use caution.
PETROGLYPH
Petroglyphs are pictogram images created by carving or removing the surface from a rock. We see a lot of these from prehistoric times. This example shows pictographs of what might be rams or deer.
HIERATIC SCALE
Hieratic scale is used to represent importance by size. For example, in some Egyptian pieces the ruler is depicted as being bigger than the other figures to emphasize his importance. This example is a modern representation of the use of hieratic scale. In this example hieratic scale is used to emphasize the age differences and order of this household.
TRADEMARK
A trademark is often used to distinguish a business or organization. This example is a trademark for an architectural firm.
LIGATURE
Ligature occurs when two or more letters or characters are joined to represent one. In this example, the letters “f” and “l” are joined to create one character.
LOGOGRAM &
AMPERSAND
A logogram is a character that represents and entire word and an ampersand is a logogram representing the word and. The top object is a logogram representing the word percent.
DROP CAP & INITIAL CAP
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rop caps are used when a large capital letter is dropped inline with the text, and the top of the capital letter is in line with the first line of text. An initial cap is a capital letter in which the top of the capital letter raises above the first line of text.
Initial Cap
Drop Cap
REBUS
A rebus uses pictures to represent words or part of words. For example, the following is a rebus using the pictograph of a heart to represent the word love.
Tenebrism
Tenebrism is a style of painting using very pronounced chiaroscuro. Darkness becomes the dominating feature of the image.
ROSE WINDOW
Rose windows were popular architectural features of the gothic style. They are made up of many parts that as a whole resemble flower petals.
GOTHIC
This photo was taken from inside St. Stephen’s Episcopal church in Sherman, TX. The cathedral was built over 100 years ago and utilizes a lot of gothic style including pointed arches and stained glass windows.
RIBBED VAULT & POINTED ARCH
The images to the right are popular elements of gothic architecture. At the top a pointed arch and the bottom image, ribbed vaulting.
IONIC
This table from Restoration Hardware is inspired by the ionic order.
GREEK ORDERS
This illustration shows the three Greek orders – Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.
PERSPECTIVE
Perspective in a graphic sense is the correct representation of a 3D image onto a 2D surface.
FORESHORTENING FORESHORTENING
Foreshortening refers to the visual effect that an object or distance appears shorter than it really is. Here the subject’s foot appears to be closer than the rest of his body.
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