Effective icons should be easy to interpret and should give your Web site a global look. There are several universal signs that can be interpreted similarly across language and cultural barriers. Don t use abbreviations, letters or punctuation marks in icons. For example, the letter B for boldface would need to be translated and explained in different languages in order to capture the meaning of boldface. A solution would be to show various color shading differences of the same color to convey the same meaning of boldface.
Hand gestures can be a delicate topic when translated to visual symbols.
Displaying the human hand and fingers in any manner can be construed as rude or impolite in some parts of the world. For example, the thumbs up symbol in the United States means OK . However in Sicily, Italy, this symbol is obscene. However, in France this symbol means worthlessness of the number zero. Avoid using the icon of two feet walking in a forward fashion.