by Robert McNally
Version 2.1, June 2002
Copyright © 2000-2002
Most of the action on my site is now in my blog. I invite you to visit!
This page is for gylphiles, i.e., lovers of glyphs and systems of thought integrated with glyphs. Not intended to be exhaustive or authoritative, it's a showcase of some of the more interesting glyph-oriented sites I've come across, with emphasis on sites that have interesting visual content. So if you find other interesting books, web sites, or resources on this subject, please let me know!
We use glyphs every day, and most people rarely think about them. The letters of our alphabet are glyphs, as are the numerals we use for arithmetic. The icons we use on everything from public restrooms to computer desktops are glyphs. Corporate logos are glyphs. In general, any graphic symbol used to convey information at a glance is a glyph. The design of glyphs is a unique graphic art form in its own right, but beyond that is the design of glyphic systems-- sets of glyphs used to represent a particular philosophy or worldview, where complex or subtle meaning is explored or expressed through the juxtaposition of various glyphs.
These definitions are from Webster's Dictionary.
 |
Symbols.com An exhaustive encyclopedic reference. |
 |
ASCII The American Standard Code for Information Interchange defines 128 numerical codes that correspond to defined glyphs. Every computer made these days uses ASCII. |
|
 |
Unicode The successor standard to ASCII has room for over 65,000 glyphs, including glyphs from most or all world languages and tons of other miscellaneous stuff. The Klingon language has even been proposed for inclusion. Many computers and programs now support Unicode, and most or all will in the future. |
|
 |
Rational Software, home of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and a Quick Reference to the UML. |
 |
Kanji and English KANJIDIC A Kanji-English dictionary in HTML. |
|
 |
Kanji Characters From a lover of Kanji letterforms. |
|
 |
Chinese Characters From a lover of Chinese ideographs. |
|
 |
Ancient Scripts A comprehensive resource on everything from Avestan to Zapotec. |
|
 |
Hieroglyphs The ancient writing system revealed in clear tutorials, and a good list of resources for further study. |
 |
SignWriting "With SignWriting you can read Sign Language, write Sign Language, learn Sign Language, research Sign Language, read stories in Sign Language, preserve Sign Language theater, and bring Deaf & hearing people together." |
|
 |
Blissymbols The original Esperanto of the ideographic world. |
|
 |
The Elephant's Memory A visually appealing ideographic language aimed at children. |
|
 |
Instant English Learning language through iconic immersion. |
|
 |
Earth Language "Proposal for a new common multi-methods auxiliary language based on visual symbols to support true democracy among the earth people." Includes a dictionary. |
|
 |
Phonetic Picture-Writing A very interesting concept-- ideograms whose shape also carries their phonetic information. |
|
 |
Signology "The real test for a pictogram is whether it can be picted and remembered easily. Other considerations are irrelevant." |
 |
Set Theoretic Notation A short but useful exposition. |
 |
MG Taylor Corp. and their Modeling Language for the 21st Century (a form of business process re-engineering,) including a complete catalog of glyphs used in their system. |
 |
Apollo Space Program Mission Patches | |
 |
United States Armed Forces Uniform Reference Uniform insignia, cross-referenced by paygrade between branches. |
|
 |
International Maritime Signals Flags used to communicate visually between ships. |
 |
 |
Star Trek Insignia Identifying and classifying the various uniform insignia used in Star Fleet is a popular trekkie pastime. |
 |
Anti-Math "An alphabet of emotions." |
|
 |
Entoptic Imagery Close your eyes and press on your eyeballs. What do you see after a few seconds? Perhaps the ground of all art... |
|
 |
The CircleMakers Crop circles: Deeply meaningful alien artifacts, or just cool art? |
|
 |
The Bionic Codes "...In the midst of such a vast turbulence our only recourse may be to ride our feral culture into small rivulets of illusory coherence. And may we ride in a variety of ways, with no dominant method. May we merge with these fleeting illusions and form a sea of media organisms, mongrel codes, flexible semi-structures, and little gleams of symbiotic cheer." |
|
 |
The Schwa Corporation Their web site appears to have been abducted for now. If you hear of a new one, let me know. Also check out Schwa: World Operations Manual. |
|
 |
Website being sued by "Prince" fights back Was The Purple One inspired by the alchemical symbol for soapstone? |
 |
The Dingbat Pages Cool fonts with nothing to say-- well, at least not verbally. |
|
 |
Fonts & Things Fonts are nice, but what're those "things?" |
|
 |
The SubGenius Font Download yours now, while you still can!! |
|
 |
Hobo Signs During the Great Depression, hoboes developed several sophisticated systems of signs they would leave to convey information and warnings to other hoboes. |
|
 |
Warchalking is based on the same idea as hobo signs. These days there are many open wireless Internet connections broadcasting from homes and offices. Passersby with laptops might want to let each other know how to find them... |
 |
Atheist Flag Coming soon to a flagpole near you. Or not. |
|
 |
Atheist Symbol Suggestion So where do I get one for my car? |
|
 |
Freethought Lightning Bolt "A proposed symbol for freethinkers everywhere." |
|
 |
Index of Boy Scout Merit Badges Everything from American Business to Woodworking. |
|
 |
Index of Girl Scout Brownie Try-Its Everything from Animals to Water Everywhere. |
|
 |
Flags of the World Massive site with everything you could want to know about vexillology. |
|
 |
The Rainbow Icon Archive Icons for the gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender community. |
|
 |
Hate On Display From the Anti-Defamation League: "A Visual Database of Extremist Symbols, Logos and Tattoos" |
 |
Thirteen-Moons (Dreamspell) Calendar A calendar based on the idea that true world peace will be catalyzed by the introduction of a lunar calendar based on the ancient Mayan calendar. Cycles of glyphs in various combinations represent the energies permeating each day. |
|
 |
Current Thirteen-Moons Calendar More expository material on the Thirteen-Moons calendar, including a quick reference card and year at a glance. |
|
 |
Jay's Dreamspell Page Another in-depth site on the Thirteen-Moons calendar. |
|
 |
Demonic Sigils Well, I suppose if you're going to summon a demon, you'll want to be on a first-name basis. |
|
 |
Occult Signs and Symbols These Christians want you to know about the symbols those naughty Satanists leave laying about. |
|
 |
Occult Symbols and Their Meanings More symbols Christians want you to study, learn, and then not think about. |
|
 |
More Satanic Symbols Finally, the truth about those pesky symbols you see everywhere. |
|
 |
Sacred Geometry Coloring Book Ever wonder what "Self-Aware Consciousness At Its Lowest Level" looks like? |
|
 |
Alien Star Chart Shown Abductee Can you help decrypt this message from the stars? |
|
 |
Magick Squares, Sigils and Planetary Seals Gives your ceremonial magick that extra boost. |
|
 |
Runes of the Elder Futhark A guide to the meaning of the ancient runes. |
Most of the action on my site is now in my blog. I invite you to visit!
![[Blue Ribbon Campaign icon]](http://br.eff.org/br.gif) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||