Entomology Symbol System

A system of distinct symbols representing various branches of Entomology, which is the scientific study of insects.

Ideation
User Testing
System Development

Full Process Book ︎

The Challenge

To create a distinctive, recognizable, and cohesive set of symbols by engaging in an intensive process of research, idea generation, development, selection, refinement, and user testing for comprehensibility.

Approach

The process began with intensive research, including both visual reference and identification of characteristic attributes.

After understanding which attributes were unique to each referent, I created studies by hand to intimately understand each form and attribute.
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I also conducted a Draw-It Survey with eight individuals, where I gave the referent name and description and asked the participant to draw it from memory. I then drew conclusions from the patterns and common features I found.

The next phase was ideation. I focused on a single referent of medium complexity and explored a wide range of graphic translation styles. I then chose six visually distinct styles from my exploration to fine tune and apply to a more complex referent, the wasp, and a simpler referent, the butterfly. I evaluated strengths and weaknesses of the six styles and moved into further refinement.

After establishing the chosen visual system, three methods of user testing were used to measure the recognizability of each individual icon. In between tests the referents were slightly modified and refined.