Iconic Languages
Icons
Icons are images of objects that represents mainly concepts.
An icon X is seen as a pair (Xm,Xi) where Xm represents the meaning of the icon, or the logical part,
and Xi represents the image, or the physical part.
An icon image contains both global and local features. A global feature of an icon represents the
primary concept expressed by the image, whereas a local feature represents a secondary concept.
Therefore, the meaning part Xm of an icon X is in general a conceptual structure.
Icon Algebra
For semantic combination of icons we exploit the theory of Icon Algebra.
The icon operators are defined below, where X and Y are the
operand icons and Z is the resultant composite icon. In what follows, X.[u]A
means X has an attribute u whose value is A. If A has again an attribute v
whose value is B, we write X.[u]A.[v]B. The primary meaning P of the icon X is
usually denoted by X.[is]P, although any X.[u]P could be made to be the primary
meaning of X. We often use the primary meaning P to refer to the conceptual
structure Xm, and write X = (P, Xi).
Icon Operators
1. Combination COM: COM (X,Y)
The COM operator performs the conceptual merge of the meanings associated with the individual icons X and Y.
For eg. X.[is]EYE that denotes "personal communication" and Y.[is]CROSSED FLAGS denoting "start of race". So COM(X,Y) denotes "greetings".
+ 
= GREETINGS
2. Marking MAR: MAR (X,Y)
The marking operator marks the image of the icon Y with the image of the icon X to emphasize a local feature. Here the first icon plays the role of "marker image".
For eg. X.[is]GLOBE.[quality]space and Y.[is]DRAFTSMAN. Y marks X and the concept derived is "PEOPLE".
+ 
= PEOPLE