Cooper Hewitt Publication

give me a sign:

The Language of Symbols

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Reproduction, Henry Dreyfuss with Triangle Comparisons 1971 Photograph Henry Dreyfuss Archive

About the exhibit Symbols are important communication tools in our daily lives, constantly evolving based on new needs and users.

Symbols have the power to instruct, protect, entertain, connect, and even divide us.

They formed some of the first written human expressions and today animate our digital chats.

From 1969 to 1972, the visionary designer Henry Dreyfuss (American, 1904– 1972) oversaw the making of the Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Graphic Symbols, a manual that compiled and categorized thousands of symbols in use internationally.

The publication was celebrated as an “event with worldwide ramifications, very much in keeping with the man who created it — a man who not only sees change coming, but helps to usher it in.”

This exhibition was on display from May 13, 2023 to August 11, 2024.

Dreyfuss understood how symbols functioned for people. He and his industrial design team placed symbols on products and services where we now take them for granted—on airplanes, cameras, telephones, tractors, and more.

Anticipating the everyday use of symbols in our current digital era, the Symbol Sourcebook helped to elevate the importance of symbols and increase their number in our world. Though it was published over 50 years ago, the Symbol Sourcebook is still used by designers today. The origin story of the Symbol Sourcebook — told for the first time here through primary materials from Cooper Hewitt’s Henry Dreyfuss Archive — has inspired us to look at symbols now and explore their evolution and future.

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Reproduction, Henry Dreyfuss Drawing Signature Symbol for the Symbol Sourcebook 1971 Photograph Henry Dreyfuss Archive

Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Graphic Symbols 1972 Bound volume with color illustrations Gift of Henry Dreyfuss

03 Reproduction, Laying Out the Symbol Sourcebook 1971 Photograph

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Reproduction, Pamela Holaday Redrawing Symbols for the Symbol Sourcebook 1971 Photograph

Reproduction, Redrawing Symbols and Creating Symbol Sourcebook Mockups 1971 Photograph

Reproduction, George Ball with Push and Pull Symbols 1971 Photograph

05 Reproduction, Smokey the Bear, Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Graphic Symbols 1972 Print on paper Henry Dreyfuss Archive

Reproduction, Deer Area Symbol, Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Symbols 1972 Print on paper Henry Dreyfuss Archive

Reproduction, Thin Ice Symbol, Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Graphic Symbols 1972 Print on paper Henry Dreyfuss Archive

Reproduction, Fictitious Road Sign Industrial Design June 1969 Print on paper Henry Dreyfuss Archive

Poster, Traffic Symbols 1969 Collage on grey wove paper Gift of Henry Dreyfuss

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Reproduction, User Testing Operator Controls in Prototype John Deere Agricultural Vehicle 1969 35 mm Slide Henry Dreyfuss Archive

Reproduction, Dashboard with Operator Controls in John Deere Agricultural Vehicle 1969 35 mm Slide Henry Dreyfuss Archive

Poster, John Deere Symbols 1969 Diazoprint with printed card Gift of Henry Dreyfuss

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Reproduction, Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes 1971 Photograph Dan Wynn Archive and Farmani Group, Co LTD

Power of Symbol

Symbol of Power

Pinback Button, War Against Repression, Guerra Contra Repression, April 5, Wall Street 1971 Ink on paper, metal, plastic Exhibition purchase

Pinback Button, Unite Aainst War, Racism & Repression, YWLL 1970 Ink on paper, metal, plastic Exhibition purchase

Pinback Button, Women Against Nukes 1978 Ink on paper, metal, plastic Exhibition purchase

Reproduction, Black Lives Matter Protest, Minneapolis June 4, 2020 Photograph Courtesy of Lorie Shaull, licensed under CC by 2.0

Poster, Capital 1968 Screenprint on paper Life Magazine, Confrontation in Harvard Yard April 25, 1969 Offset lithograph Exhibition purchase

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COOPERHEWITT.ORG

Cooper Hewitt is the only museum in the U.S. devoted exclusively to historical and contemporary design, and is the steward of one of the most diverse and comprehensive design collections in existence — more than 215,000 design objects spanning 30 centuries.

From ancient textiles and works on paper to icons of modern design and cutting-edge technologies, Cooper Hewitt’s collection serves as inspiration for creative work of all kinds and tells the story of design’s paramount importance in improving our world.

Cooper Hewitt educates, inspires, and empowers people through design.

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. dailly Closed Thanksgiving and December 25 TICKETS Adults $22 | Seniors $16 | Visitors with disabilities $10 | Members and 18 & under Free Pay what you wish 5 - 6 p.m. daily.

2 East 91st Street New York NY 10128 212.849.8400