Our society is surrounded by a whirlwind of signs and symbols that meet this definition. Think of road signs, particularly those found in Europe. It's noteworthy that the meaning of many of these signs is not intuitively obvious, but must be learned. Many professions have built up their own systems of symbols or signs. Mapmakers use small circles to represent towns, stars for capitals.
Chemists have a whole shorthand notation for representing the structure of chemical compounds.
The same goes for engineers and religions. Most of us have chosen our evening meal by peering down a busy street and looking for familiar neon logos of our favorite restaurants. Logos are so important to businesses that their use is protected by law. Signs, seals, symbols and logos can represent families, clans, tribes, teams, nations, military units and corporations. Members of these organizations often invest considerable emotion in their signs.