“Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols” Exhibition

From the STOP sign to the laugh-cry emoji, symbols play a critical and ubiquitous role in everyday life. As communication tools designed to break language barriers, symbols instruct, protect, entertain, connect, and communicate beliefs. The “Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols” exhibition demonstrates how symbol design is a dynamic and collaborative effort through which individuals and communities have created, adopted, and redesigned symbols over time. Marking the 50th anniversary of Henry Dreyfuss’ Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Graphic Symbols, this exhibition will feature never-before-seen material from Cooper Hewitt’s Henry Dreyfuss Archive. Visitors will be invited to discover the history behind many symbols and participate in creative activities in-gallery and online to co-create a Symbol Sourcebook of 2024.

Learn more at https://www.cooperhewitt.org/events/current-exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions/.