Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols examines the fascinating histories behind many of the symbols that instruct, protect, entertain, empower, and connect people. As important communication tools in our daily lives, symbols are constantly evolving based on new needs and users. They formed some of the first written human expressions and today animate our digital chats.

This exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of Henry Dreyfuss’s Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Graphic Symbols (1972), a manual that compiled and categorized thousands of symbols in use internationally and helped to elevate the importance of symbols and increase their number in our world. The origin story of the Symbol Sourcebook—told in the exhibition for the first time through primary materials from Cooper Hewitt’s Henry Dreyfuss Archive—has inspired us to look at symbols now and explore their evolution and future.

EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

A hand-drawn poster showing the differences between four symbols that are all in the shape of a triangle. — Poster, Triangle Comparisons, 1971; Designed by Paul Clifton for the Office of Henry Dreyfuss (South Pasadena, California); Ink and graphite on paper; 65.4 x 49.5 cm (25 ¾ x 19 ½ in.); Henry Dreyfuss Archive, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 1972-88-1-12; Photo by Matt Flynn; Image © Smithsonian Institution

A horizontal poster titled [Henry Dreyfuss Symbol Sourcebook 1972] featuring a black and white checkered grid of symbols with red accents. — Poster, Henry Dreyfuss Symbol Sourcebook 1972, 1971; Print on metallic-coated paper; 45.7 x 61.3 (18 x 24 1/8 in.); Designed by Henry Dreyfuss (American, 1904-1972); Published by McGraw Hill Book Company (New York, NY, USA); Henry Dreyfuss Archive, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 1972-88-1-28; Photo by Matt Flynn; Image © Smithsonian Institution

A medium-dark skin tone emoji depicting a smiling woman from the shoulders up wearing a black shirt and a tan headscarf. — Guidance Image, Person with Headscarf Emoji, 2016; Concept by Rayouf Alhumedhi (Saudi, born 2001) and graphic design by Aphelandra Messer (American, born 1993) with collaborators Jennifer 8. Lee (American, born 1976) and Alexis Ohanian (American, born 1883) for Emojination (San Francisco, California, USA); SVG and PNG files; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Gift of Emojination, 2020-1-1; Image: © Emojination

A black and white photo of a white woman looking down at a desk scattered with papers depicting various symbols. — Pamela Holaday Designing Symbols, ca. 1971; Henry Dreyfuss Archive, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Image © Smithsonian Institution

A gridded poster depicting symbols representing various Olympic sports. — Poster, Sports Symbols for Munich Olympics, 1972; Designed by Otl Aicher (German, 1922-1991); Collected and redrawn by the Office of Henry Dreyfuss (South Pasadena, California); Photomechanical print on paper; 29.8 x 43.2 cm (11 ¾ x 17 in.); Henry Dreyfuss Archive, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Photo by Matt Flynn; Image © Smithsonian Institution

A black and white photo of Henry Dreyfuss, a white man with salt and pepper hair, sketching a large symbol on a poster in front of him. — Henry Dreyfuss Drawing a Symbol for the “Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Graphic Symbols,” ca. 1971; Henry Dreyfuss Archive, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Image © Smithsonian Institution

A digital print depicting three fists with different skin tones and red painted nails rising up against a pink background above the caption [For All Womankind]. — Poster, Femme Fists, 2016; Designed by Deva Pardue (American/Irish, born Ireland, 1988); Digital print; 45.7 × 30.5 cm (18 × 12 in.); Image: Courtesy of Deva Pardue

A cartoonish emoji of a dead fish with a blue plastic water bottle inside its body. — Climoji, Plastic Pollution, 2018; Illustrated by Manuja Waldia (Indian, born 1992) and Anna Lin (Taiwanese, born 1990); Concept and Production by Marina Zurkow (American, born 1962) and Viniyata Pany (Indian, born 1989); PNG file; Courtesy of Climoji

Brendon Hildreth at Accessible Icon Event, North Carolina, 2018; Photo by Bill Hand, New Bern Sun Journal; Courtesy of The Accessible Icon Project

Five colorful traffic symbols pasted onto gray paper. — Poster, Traffic Symbols, circa 1969; Designed by the Office of Henry Dreyfuss (South Pasadena, California); Collage on grey wove paper; H x W: 27.9 × 35.6 cm (11 × 14 in.); Henry Dreyfuss Archive, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 1972-88-1-10; Photo by Matt Flynn; Image © Smithsonian Institution

Symbol Sourcebook 2024

In the collaborative spirit of the Symbol Sourcebook, which Dreyfuss intended to expand with the creation of new symbols, visitors are invited to design symbols and participate in creative activities in-gallery and online to co-create a Symbol Sourcebook of 2024. Share your symbol designs with us by posting them on social media and tagging @cooperhewitt with #SymbolSourcebook2024.

Verbal Description Audio Tour

Experience an audio-only version of Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols. This audio tour is designed to be an independent experience for blind and low vision visitors. Listeners will be able to hear all of the information presented in the exhibition, along with in-depth verbal descriptions of the images and objects on display. The tour also provides directional information to help listeners find their way through the galleries.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The exhibition was curated by Emily M. Orr, Associate Curator and Acting Head of Product Design and Decorative Arts at Cooper Hewitt, with Adriana Burkins, STEAM Program Manager, Bronx Children’s Museum, and with support from Cooper Hewitt Curatorial Fellows Arpie Gennetian and Uttara Nanavati, and former Interaction Lab Director, Rachel Ginsberg.

Exhibition and graphic design by Studio Matthews.

SUPPORT

Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols is made possible with generous support from the Marks Family Foundation Endowment Fund.