Icons and pictograms have the goal of unifying communication. However, they are subjectively understood and oftentimes have multiple meanings. A symbol meaning "peace" in Buddhism has the opposite meaning in western society.

Words can be charged with multiple meanings as well. A search for "palm" within Pictooptic will return a composition of trees, hands and religious icons. Icons strive to communicate directly to the subconscious but are ultimately subjective.

Pictooptic presents icons in a Rorschach-esque reflection. By abstracting icons through reflection we activate free-association within our creative mind. Within a search for "green" we may see the face of a boar emerge from the abstracted pattern. The icons for "green" will include frogs and leaves. It will also include conceptually related icons such as cars and lightbulbs.

These layers of abstraction stimulate passive creativity. It's subtly addictive like humming along to your favorite song.

All Icons and data in Pictooptic are sourced from The Noun Project. All icon designers are credited within the information page of each search result. All graphics and code of Pictooptic are in the Creative Commons.