What does this mean for communication? It means we are truly more and more visual. Our use of symbols continues to grow.
This just in from the Global Language Monitor: The Emoji ideograph for Heart (and Love) is the Top Word for 2014. The symbol is composed of the “<” character and the number “3.” When the characters are combined they form an abstract heart. The Heart and Love emoji, or emoticon, appears billions of times each day around the world — across languages and cultures. This is the first time an ideograph has captured Word of the Year honors. This is the 15th Annual survey of the English Global Language Monitor, a Texas-based think tank that surveys language usage.
The word “emoji” was added to the Online Oxford English Dictionary (OED) earlier this year. According to the OED, an emoji is, “A small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion in electronic communication: emoji liven up your text messages with tiny smiley faces.”
Global Language Monitor’s president, Paul JJ Payack says,“The English Language is now undergoing a remarkable transformation unlike any in its 1400 year history — its system of writing, the Alphabet, is gaining characters at amazing rate.”
What does this mean for communication? It means we are truly more and more visual. Our use of symbols continues to grow. And perhaps more importantly, our use of empathy in how we connect with our audiences is a critical aspect in successful communication. Jon Kolko, author of Well-Designed: How to Use Empathy to Create Products People Love (HBR Press) writes that the key to connecting to your audience, is empathy. You need to deeply understand customer needs and feelings, and this understanding must be reflected in the product. According to Kolko, here are the four key steps: (1) Determine a product-market fit by seeking signals from communities of users, (2) Identify behavioral insights by conducting ethnographic research, (3) Sketch a product strategy by synthesizing complex research data into simple insights, and (4) Polish the product details using visual representations to simplify complex ideas.
[caption id="attachment_4733" align="alignleft" width="130"]
The artist formerly known as Prince[/caption]
Remember when Prince tried to change his name to a visual symbol. In 1993 he said, “The only acceptable replacement for my name, and my identity, was the Love Symbol, a symbol with no pronunciation, that is a representation of me and what my music is about.” Perhaps he was ahead of the curve, now symbolic empathic names and symbols are all the rage.
Special thanks to Jennifer Shaheen for sharing this topic on her blog.
