Piggy Piggy Piggy, Can't You See...
Take the following image of a pig. What do you see?
If you're in the United States, you know that this image represents more than just a pig. Culturally, it's much more than that. It's an icon that we associate with financial prudence, of socking away money for retirement or a rainy day. They're used as teaching devices to solidify the concept of saving to children. Banks and financial institutions use them to promote products or services that are designed to help consumers manage their money.
Original receptacles for coins and money were made out of a type of clay called "pygg". Over time, they came to be called "pygg jars". Eventually (and probably inevitably) someone got the idea to start producing pygg jars that actually looked like pigs. And thus the symbol was born.
The real lesson of the piggy bank is that it's value lies in its pedagogy; that is, if you want to educate children about the importance of being wise with money, you can introduce them to the piggy bank. It's communicative and cool in a way that lecturing a child would never be. It's an action, a lifestyle choice, all rolled into a single image. Simple, therefore comprehensible.
I'm not saying we need more Smokey the Bears or Woodsie the Owls running around teaching our kids lessons, because I think those are quite different than what I'm talking about. For your own cause, can you think of a symbol you could create that would speak as simply as the piggy bank?
If you're in the United States, you know that this image represents more than just a pig. Culturally, it's much more than that. It's an icon that we associate with financial prudence, of socking away money for retirement or a rainy day. They're used as teaching devices to solidify the concept of saving to children. Banks and financial institutions use them to promote products or services that are designed to help consumers manage their money.
Original receptacles for coins and money were made out of a type of clay called "pygg". Over time, they came to be called "pygg jars". Eventually (and probably inevitably) someone got the idea to start producing pygg jars that actually looked like pigs. And thus the symbol was born.
The real lesson of the piggy bank is that it's value lies in its pedagogy; that is, if you want to educate children about the importance of being wise with money, you can introduce them to the piggy bank. It's communicative and cool in a way that lecturing a child would never be. It's an action, a lifestyle choice, all rolled into a single image. Simple, therefore comprehensible.
I'm not saying we need more Smokey the Bears or Woodsie the Owls running around teaching our kids lessons, because I think those are quite different than what I'm talking about. For your own cause, can you think of a symbol you could create that would speak as simply as the piggy bank?