Original scientific paper
Genesis, visual attributes and contemporary communication features of the alphabet
Filip Cvitić
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Graphic Arts, Zagreb, Croatia
Mirna Leko Šimić
; Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Economics in Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
Jasna Horvat
; Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Economics in Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
Abstract
Throughout 5,000 years of human literacy, the alphabet system has developed from pictograms and ideograms
to the contemporary system of Latin letters. The simplification of primary pictograms and their transformation to ideograms followed the major goal of written communication – to transmit thoughts and ideas. Besides, written communication has enabled preservation of knowledge, and that has generated the expansion of information and its availability today. The high speed of gathering written information, as well as its superabundance, calls for rethinking of semiotic features of Latin letters as the basic units of written communication in the Western world, especially in terms of marketing communication and its effectiveness. The written expression is the major tool of branding and getting closer to target market segments. Social development influences the development of communication, which is visible through numerous brands and signs, i.e. symbols that make products and companies recognizable in the market. The distinct sign forms of the alphabet are used to suggest the story of a brand, product or service. A constituent element of its comprehension is conscious or unconscious knowledge drawn from different sources in the environment. The history of human literacy, the development of each particular letter, the communication rules of the contemporary marketplace, the impact of brands and information superabundance make up the basis for further research into communication features of the alphabet, semantics of written forms and their redefinition in the context of effective marketing communication.
Keywords
alphabet; genesis of script; visual designation; marketing communication; brand
Hrčak ID:
127778
URI
Publication date:
3.10.2014.
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