Written Language as Information Design

Communication is defined as the process of transferring data from a source to a receiver as efficiently and effectively as possible. There are many forms of communication such as sign language, speaking, writing, gestures, and broadcasting (such as smoke-signals and drumming). As we have explored in the History and Symbolism sections any system of symbols could be considered a language.

In this section, we will explore the written systems of communication. Writing systems are different from other symbolic communication systems because the receiver must understand the associated language in order to successfully comprehend the message.

Other possible symbolic systems such as information signs, painting, maps, and diagrams, may not depend upon prior knowledge of a given language in order to be interpreted. Effective Information Design often concentrates on the underlying principles of these types of symbolic communication systems.

The invention of the first writing systems is thought to have been Sumerian cuniform. Egyptian hieroglyphs were also developed about the same time, and were later developed into the first pure alphabet around 2000 BC.

There are three main types of writing systems - logographic, syllabic and alphabetic:

Logographic: The oldest-known forms of writing - like the Sumerian cuniform - were primarily logographic in nature, based on pictographic and ideographic elements. A logogram is a single written character symbolizing a complete grammatical word. Most Chinese characters are logograms.

• Pictographic/ideographic: A pictogram or pictograph is a symbol representing an object or concept. Pictography is a form of writing using drawing. It is the basis of cuneiform and hieroglyphs. Early written symbols were based on pictograms, drawings which resemble what they signify, and ideograms, pictures which represent ideas. It is believed that pictograms appeared before ideograms. These forms were used by various ancient cultures all over the world since around 9000 BC and began to develop into logographic writing systems around 5000 BC. Pictograms are still used as the main type of written communication in some non-literate cultures in Africa, the Americas, and Oceania, and are often used as simple symbols by most contemporary cultures. An examples of this would be the universal symbols used for public facilities - telephones, restrooms, parking, etc.
  

Syllabic: A syllabary is a collection of written symbols that represent syllables which are the building blocks of words. A symbol in a syllabary represents a consonant sound followed by a vowel sound, or just a vowel alone. Syllabaries work best in languages with simple syllable structure, such as Japanese. Other languages that use syllabic writing include Mycenaean Greek and many Native American languages such as Cherokee.

Alphabetic: An alphabet is a small collection of letters - basic written symbols - each of which represents a phoneme of a spoken language. The English language is an example of an alphabetic system. •