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Icon, Index, and Symbol — Three Categories of Signs

An icon is a sign that physically resembles what it represents, like a drawing of a heart for love or a picture of a man for a public restroom. An index is a sign that has a direct, causal, or factual connection to what it represents, such as smoke indicating fire or a footprint indicating someone has been there. 

• Definition: A sign that has a physical resemblance to its object.
• How it works: There is a direct visual similarity between the sign and what it represents.
• Examples:
  • A photograph of a person.
  • A map.
  • A traffic sign for falling rocks. 

• Definition: A sign that is connected to its object through a factual, causal, or direct relationship.
• How it works: The sign points to or indicates the presence of the object, but it doesn’t necessarily look like it.
• Examples:
  • Smoke indicates fire.
  • A footprint in the sand indicates a person was there.
  • Dark clouds in the west can indicate impending rain.