Japan's role in progressing this type of visual language is undeniable, from the standards set for sporting pictograms in 1964, to the Japanese term 'emoji' being used to describe digital pictograms.

Pictogram is a compound word combining picture and telegram. It was created to deliver information quickly through pictures without text. One of the most notable pictograms is the person running ...

From Yang Liu’s East Meets West, published this month in English by Taschen. Pictogram by Yang Liu. Courtesy of Taschen.

The History of the Olympic Pictograms: How Designers Hurdled the Language Barrier Infographic design first appeared at the Olympics in 1948, when the games were last in London ...

But the changes have not gone down well with designers, many of whom are annoyed at the way the signs dispense with internationally-recognised pictograms for letters.