Icon design etymology?

Question

Is anyone aware of any resources for Icon design etymology, or the history of icon design? I'm talking about icons like Wi-Fi/Ethernet/Bluetooth status indicators, add, save, and similar simple images explaining actions or status. Like you might find in the Glyphicon set, for example.

We're working on a project and trying to come up with useful or novel illustrations for some non-standard actions, and in some cases there aren't any decent examples to use as inspiration. The idea came up that if there's a good anthology or even articles on icon history, it would be useful as a reference for the design process. As an example, the Wikipedia page for Bluetooth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth) explains the history and design of that icon well and clearly.

Answer 1

I'm afraid I cannot help for recent icons but for the historical part of your question, I have given a brief presentation about the history of pictograms before. Obviously, starting at the Egyptians may be a bit of a long shot depending on what you are trying to accomplish. I'd advise looking at the work of Gerd Arntz as a starting point.

Gerd Arntz was working on Isotype. Isotype was founded by Otto Neurath and from what I recall was used in a museum in order to communicate information to people who were illiterate.

Other leads include Blissymbols, a pictogram language still used nowadays for children with disabilities and the Olympic pictograms.

EDIT: Here are the references I had used to build a presentation in 2011, hopefully everything still works :-)

• Fletcher, Alan. The Art of Looking Sideways. Phaidon, 2001. 1064p.
• Hollis, Richard. Le graphisme au XXe siècle. Thames & Hudson, 1997. 224p.
• Lupton, Ellen. Miller, Abbott. Design Writing Research : Writing on Graphic Design. Phaidon, 1999. 211p.
• Icons for the People. Eye Magazine. No. 78, Winter 2010. p. 62-67.
• Dreyfuss, Henry. Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Graphic Symbols. McGraw-Hill, 1984. 288 p.
• Wikipedia. Hiéroglype égyptien. [Online]. URL : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiéroglyphe_égyptien (retrieved September 7th 2011)
• Rosa, Carlos. 40 years of pictograms in universal contexts : what’s next? [Online]. URL: http://www.scribd.com/doc/36297922/40-years-of-Pictograms-in-Universal-Contexts-What-s-next (retrieved August 22nd 2011)
• Under Consideration. Otl Aicher: An Expanded, Abridged Story, [Online]. URL: http://www.underconsideration.com/speakup/archives/004931.html (retrieved August 22nd 2011)
• History of Graphic Design. Symbols : The Alphabet of Human Thought. [Online]. URL: http://designhistory.org/symbols.html (retrieved August 22nd 2011)
• Gerd Arntz Web Archive. Gerd Arntz (1900-1988), [Online]. URL: http://gerdarntz.org/content/gerd-arntz (retrieved August 22nd 2011)
• Form Fifty Five. Glasgow 2014 Pictograms. [Online]. URL: http://www.formfiftyfive.com/2011/07/glasgow-2014-pictograms/ (retrieved August 22nd 2011)
• PATTON, Phil. Neurath, Bliss and the Language of the Pictogram, [Online]. URL: http://www.aiga.org/neurath-bliss-and-the-language-of-the-pictogram/ (retrieved August 24th 2011)
• Burke, Christopher. Isotype : Representing Social Facts Pictorially. [Online]. URL: http://www.isotyperevisited.org/Isotype_representing_social_facts_pictorially.pdf (retrieved August 24th 2011)
• Idsgn. The Helvetica Man, [Online]. URL: http://idsgn.org/posts/the-helvetica-man/ (retrieved August 24th 2011)