THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF PICTOGRAM DESIGN AND DESIGN PROCESSES IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

NTERNATIONAL MARMARA SCIENCE AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CONGRESS , Kocaeli, Turkey, 28 - 29 November 2025, pp.29, (Summary Text)

Pictograms constitute one of the simplest yet most effective tools of visual communication. Although often

unnoticed in daily life, they directly influence how millions of people navigate spaces, make decisions, and

access essential information. Widely used in large-scale public environments such as airports, hospitals,

transportation systems, festivals, and the Olympic Games, pictograms function not merely as directional

symbols but as core components of visual systems that integrate spatial identity, cultural context, and user

experience. For this reason, pictogram design relies on a carefully constructed balance between universality

and locality. The ability of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate rapid and seemingly consistent

outputs in this field has created the perception that the expertise of human designers may be diminishing in

importance. However, AI-generated pictograms frequently exhibit characteristics that are contextually

detached, culturally insensitive, and formally repetitive, leading to significant issues regarding originality,

coherence, and legibility. In critical applications such as emergency signage, medical warnings, and safety

communication, the misinterpretation of a pictogram can directly influence user behavior and result in safety

risks. Therefore, pictogram design is not merely a formal production activity; it requires expert decision-

making involving the anticipation of user behavior, the interpretation of cultural codes, the consideration of

technical sensitivities such as legibility, and the establishment of a system-wide visual coherence that aligns

with institutional structures. This paper employs a literature review on the historical development and

contextual applications of pictograms, alongside a qualitative comparative analysis of contemporary AI

tools’ pictogram-generation performance. By examining differences between human-designed and AI-

generated pictograms in terms of contextual coherence, originality, and modes of meaning production, the

study discusses the fundamental principles through which pictogram design has been approached in the past

and how these principles remain essential in contemporary design practice.