Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News
Magazine
PMPN Article Index
Originally Published May 1999
LANGUAGE
The Language of Icons
Icons are intended to be used as shorthand; unfortunately, their meanings aren't always intuitive.
by Robert Sprung
The boom in international trade has introduced a new language to packaging engineers: the graphical language of icons and symbols.
The purpose of an icon or symbol is to simplify communication--to eliminate the need for text by providing a shorthand that is easily recognized and understood. Europe's Medical Device Directive (MDD), in an effort to eliminate some of the text on packages, has harmonized the use of certain icons and symbols throughout Europe. The problem is that these symbols are not well understood in the United States. Consider the following image required under the MDD:
This symbol stands for "date of manufacture."
As the world grows smaller, and as different regional authorities adopt their own symbology, some disturbing truths emerge. The first is that there is nothing inherently intuitive about these icons. Since few people in the United States are familiar with these symbols, many manufacturers, either for regulatory or other reasons, feel that these symbols require explanations in English. If English is included with a symbol, the languages of all other EU countries where the product is sold must also be included, according to the typical interpretation of the MDD.
Companies not affected by the MDD are encountering similar issues related to symbols and icons, as Europe implements and contemplates other directives such as the new legislation on in vitro diagnostic devices (98/79/EC).
The solution would be simpler if companies used regional labeling--one set of packaging for Europe, for example, and another for the United States. In this case, the European label simply displays an icon of a smokestack with no need for accompanying text, while the American label remains uncluttered by the image and the verbose translations. But this regional approach flies in the face of the U.S. trend toward global packaging. Why create separate inventory problems when a single label will do the job around the world?
The irony is that the symbol, which was meant to minimize the need for verbiage on the label, actually ends up multiplying it.
Just as the introduction of symbols has created unintended complications for regulatory, marketing, and linguistic resources, it has also made life difficult for graphic designers and engineers. In an effort to use as little space as possible, designers are testing the limits of minimum point sizes on both outer and inner packaging. Seven-point type seems to be the smallest size consumers can read comfortably.
After packaging engineers have spent years trying to minimize the paper used in packaging and product inserts, the additional languages and symbols are creating a massive counter-revolution. Now, larger packages are needed to accommodate the voluminous product inserts and outer labels crammed full of information. Having once favored paper with optimal recycled content for inserts, engineers are now looking for the thinnest varieties.
One stopgap measure that some companies are adopting is to move as much verbiage as possible from the outer label into the instructions for use. Packaging engineers are relying on the "See instructions for use" icon (an exclamation point in a triangle) to meet regulations. An instruction-for-use insert, or similar explanatory text on a larger package, might then contain a concordance explaining the icons, with translations in each language. This might solve the problem of limited real estate on the outer packaging, but the same problem will reestablish itself inside the box.
A longer-term approach may be regional labeling. Consider that many labels today contain as many as 12 languages. Clearly, there's a limit to how much packaging size and weight can be increased to accommodate numerous languages. Some companies are already grouping languages by area—for example, Pacific Rim, Scandinavia, Middle East—and producing correspondingly smaller inserts with less-cluttered labeling. For these companies, the convenience of less-cumbersome packaging makes up for any problems created by maintaining separate inventories.
A simple solution would be for everyone to use the same graphic language of icons and symbols. But it seems that for the time being, regional directives such as the MDD will only serve to complicate the matter.
Robert Sprung is the chairman and founder of Harvard Translations (Boston), a firm he started 10 years ago. Two years ago he also began serving as editor of Language International. To contact Sprung, send an e-mail to robert_sprung@htrans.com or visit http://www.htrans.com.
