We all know the significance of the 50 stars and 13 stripes because we were taught them. Put together in this fashion, the symbol is uniquely distinctive, memorable, highly emotive and recognisable even when severely distorted. Any successful symbol or icon should have the same attributes The third main type of symbol is the Mnemonic Symbol , one that has no obvious visual or ideological connection but triggers a recollection of some previously learned information. Examples of mnemonic symbols are Roman alphanumeric characters, Egyptian numerals and just about any company logo that you can think of. A hypertext link is a mnemonic symbol too, we know that because it has been explained to us at some stage.
Companies spend a lot of money promoting their logo or symbol.
The connection has to be 'drummed' into the public through constant exposure and association. We have all, as children, had the alphabet taught to us in the same fashion. The interesting thing about a mnemonic symbol is that, once established, it can work out of context. Some of the World's most successful icons, the Coca Cola swirl and Mickey Mouse's head are so universally known that they can be distorted, sawn in half and recoloured and they are still recognisable. Not all symbols fall into one of these three categories directly but can borrow from all three.