Symbol of security

December 1, 2016 4:33 AM

I'm tasked to collect the different (academic) research topics on security and privacy of our group and commission someone from communications to help with making some graphical representation for a website. What should that look like? What symbolizes computer security/privacy/safety? I'd like to avoid clichés like padlocks or keyboards with the return key re-labeled, while retaining a mental association.
posted by meijusa to Computers & Internet (11 answers total)

I'm not sure what the question is here, and maybe others will have better answers, but you haven't given us much to go on - you say "retaining a mental association", does that mean your organisation deals with matters of mental health, or something similar? It's very hard to think of ideas for a graphic identity without knowing more about the organisation itself.

Also, is this not what the person you commission will be doing? It might be wise to leave them some leeway to come up with their own ideas.
posted by greenish at 5:26 AM on December 1, 2016

If you want to try to get both of those things, you could try a single house with a fence around it. Secure. Private. (example, example) I often toss words at The Noun Project to find things like this. Their iconography for privacy might give you some ideas.
posted by jessamyn at 5:27 AM on December 1, 2016

I work in exactly this field and I'm sorry it is not the answer you want, but padlocks and shields are what conveys the information we use symbols to convey.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:45 AM on December 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: To answer the question by greenish: it's a research group at a university and we are looking for a symbol that people can associate with computer security but that is maybe not the first symbol everyone thinks of. I realize that there's a tradeoff and one can't have immediate invocation of the representation while avoiding cliches altogether, but maybe there are symbols we haven't thought of but that would fit the topic nevertheless.
posted by meijusa at 7:33 AM on December 1, 2016

Bank Vault Door?
posted by radwolf76 at 7:55 AM on December 1, 2016

My sense is that any symbols you haven't thought of wouldn't resonate with the audience either. Yeah, like DarlingBri says — it's usually padlocks, shields and stuff. Sometimes I do an Google image search — with as many search terms, no matter how wacky — to get initial ideas.

An idea: you could do an photo instead of a graphic — think about something like this — a server and a person looking like they are doing something security-ish.

Also, if you are going to commission someone from communications to help — ask them for ideas. (I work in a university communications office. We love helping with this stuff and do just this type of thing all the time.)
posted by Lescha at 8:02 AM on December 1, 2016

Response by poster: I will of course ask the communications people for suggestions, just thought I'd ask here first. Photo suggestions are welcome, thanks, it doesn't have to be icons.
posted by meijusa at 8:15 AM on December 1, 2016

A motorcycle rider in full safety gear, fastening their helmet? Or maybe an animal with armour, such as an armadillo.
These are just 'security' though, they don't convey 'privacy'.
posted by Too-Ticky at 8:27 AM on December 1, 2016

Well, FWIW, I didn't notice any mention of security cameras which would be about privacy and security (mixed "blessing").

I also think people overlook the fact that 1 second after an invasion of your privacy or breach of your security you're pretty much hosed, what with WWW. So ideally there would be some graphic/photo showing that there's no putting the horse back in the barn, ever. I couldn't find the horse idea, but there's also Pandora's Box.

Edited to add drones (unless you think that's cliche already).
posted by forthright at 8:38 AM on December 1, 2016

Since I can find these on Google images, does that make them clichés, too? Security makes me think key if I can't use padlock. Privacy, eyeball. Safety, warning exclamation marks.
posted by juliplease at 9:53 AM on December 1, 2016

A castle? It captures the idea of defense in depth used in information security. A castle has multiple layers of defense; moat, walls, gates, etc. You would guard valuable stuff in a castle.
posted by Joe Chip at 9:20 PM on December 1, 2016 [1 favorite]