Pictogramas na Comunicação de Espaços Públicos: reflexões sobre o processo do design

Abstract

This article is intended to provoke a reflection about the use of pictograms in visual communication in public spaces. Based on the assumptions of the social use of graphic design, creation centered on user’s needs and the interference of positive emotions in the reception and interpretation of regulatory messages, we used a practical exercise to translate a graphic verbal message - the development of pictograms for appropriate use of sanitary equipment - to review the methodological process of creation in communication design and the role of pragmatics in the design choices and social messages relevant to a community. We emphasize also the role of emotions in the communicative process of design, both in the production of visual stimuli in their environment and potential to cause, in the users, responses to these stimuli.