@article{2019,title={THE PLACE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SYMBOLS IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AS A VISUAL COMMUNICATION TOOL },abstractNode={Symbol can be defined as a tangible sign or figure that represents a concept, an idea. Symbol, which first appeared in the abstract signs that the primitive societies drew and painted on the walls of the caves, has communicative properties in terms of the meaning it contains. Later civilizations like Sumerians, Hittites, Egyptians, Mayas symbolized their beliefs, customs and traditions on clay tablets, rocks, and marble by using signs in different forms. Symbols which are the cross-continental nonverbal visual communication language of the ideas that are conveyed through senses and intuition at a universal level, have an important place in cultural communication and in formation of the cultural visual texture of the world. The symbols and signs are required to be analyzed in terms of the location, the sociopolitical, economic, environmental events of the era, the religious beliefs, customs, and traditions of the geographical region in order to make sense of them. From cave pictures to wall graffities, from product packaging to wayfinding signs, form computer games to digital platforms, symbols that are used as a visual communication tool within a large spectrum create a new perception in line with the development of technology. Symbols that take a guiding, directing, informing role, also have an undeniable power in guiding the society towards a positive or a negative belief, in intercultural communication and in protecting or concealing. },author={Bilge Kınam},year={2019},journal={Uluslararası Sanat ve Estetik Dergisi}}