Design for the World : Push / Pull Pictogram

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PUSH & PULL PROJECT PROPOSAL
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Letter to the designers:

If interested, send us an e.mail (dw@designfortheworld.org) for receiving the application form.

Dear colleagues,

We are sending this letter to designers world wide to invite them to collaborate on a project which could contribute to to a better communication between peoples who speak different languages.

Nowadays many different cultures share equal or similar codified systems of pictograms, but none of them express the “push-pull” function. In order to illustrate which way a door opens it is necessary to use words, even written in different alphabets, which vary according to the language of a given country.

Our intention as the NGO Design for the World, and in accordance with the aim expressed by our name, is to offer the world a new pictogram which would fill this gap. This is the reason why we ask the Design community for a voluntary contribution of ideas, sketches or formal proposals which would show how designers see the push-pull pictogram.

The proposals, sketches or ideas which are sent to us will be, according to their conceptual or visual affinities, assembled into “families”. All sketches, ideas or proposals of each of these “families” will then be synthesized into one sign which reflects its essence, s o that there will be as many unique signs as there are “families”. These different synthesized signs will then be sent to all designers who have contributed with ideas, sketches or proposals, so that that they can inform us of their preferences by e-mail. In this respect we would appreciate any indication of possible cultural or semiological incompatibilities detected.

If you are interested in participating in this project, please send your ideas or sketches for this pictogram together with the filled-out formular to Design for the World: dw@designfortheworld.org

With our best regards,

André Ricard
Yves Zimmermann