Sources of Symbols

Classrooms and Clip Art

Elementary schools and clip art have reduced the drawing of some tangible objects to a few simple conventions. As long as you follow those conventions, the image will be recognized. See also Cartoons and Corporate Logotypes

Simplified or Standardized Drawing:

Two things to notice:

Standardized drawings often include characteristics that do not necessarily appear on every specimen of this object.
Some of these drawings highlight the one or two most distinctive characteristics of the object at the expense of more commonplace characteristics.

	Angel (OK, technically, an angel isn't a "tangible object", but that proves my point. Even though no one has seen one, we all know how to draw one -- with wings and a halo.)
	Apple (An apple is generically round when viewed from the outside, so we draw the shape of its cross-section instead. And include a stem.)
	Bee (stripes, stinger)
	Ball (a baseball rather than a basketball, soccer ball, football, golf ball, etc.)
	Boat (sails)
	Book (has to be open)
	Camera
	Cat (pointy ears, whiskers)
	Chair
	Cherry
	Chicken
	Clock (analog face)
	Crown
	Devil (Again, no one's ever seen him, but we all know what he looks like.)
	Droplet (Actually, when a drop is in free fall, it's spherical, not drop-shaped.)
	Elephant (ears, tusks, trunk)
	Factory (smokestack, skylights)
	Flower (A generic flower is drawn as a daisy, not as a rose or tulip.)
	Gift (ribbon, bow)
	Grave
	Heart (It doesn't really look like this you know.)
	House (pointed roof, chimney)
	Ice Cream (on a pointy cone)
	Jewel
	Lion (mane)
	Moon (crescent, not full)
	Owl (horns, big eyes)
	Rocket (Always include the fins for aerodynamic stabilization, even in the vacuum of space.)
	Shield (not round, oval or square)
	Snowflake
	Sound
	Star (five points)
	Street
	Suitcase
	Television (Even if you have cable, you need antennae.)
	Tooth (molar -- not incisor or canine)
	Tractor
	Tree
	Voice