the sign of signs : modern crosses

the cross has been described as the sign of signs .............................................................................................................................................................................................

modern crosses

the cross symbol represents different things to different
people during different periods in history.
modern crosses are arbitrary signs that have acquired a
conventional significance.

TARGET CROSS
a mark to shoot at, as for practice, or to test the accuracy
of a firearm, or the force of a projectile.
optical device that helps a gun user to find the target
of interest.

CROSS SYMBOL IN FLAGS
the cross symbol is used as emblem in the flags of
several countries or associations

THE RED CROSS
in the case of the modern humanitarian and
environmental organizations, it is most commonly
associated with aid and protection that transcends
national borders and religious differences.

a red greek cross is the logotype adopted by the
‘red cross’, established as an international organization
in 1863 at the geneva convention.
according to the red cross, there is no record
of intent to confer religious significance to itself,
and it is interesting to note that there is no record of
why the cross was chosen as an emblem.
the copyright of this symbol has been protected
as a registered mark.

THE MEDICAL CROSS
the cross is also used in the medical field to identify
medical staff, ambulances and emergency areas.

THE HAMMER AND SICKLE SIGN
the sign of a hammer and a sickle laid across each
other, was used as the emblem of the soviet union
and is a symbol of communism.
the two tools were chosen as symbols of the working
class, symbolising the unity between agricultural and
industrial workers.
the intersection of the two tools forms a coordinate !
its origin is ca. 1920., but the hammer and sickle were
added to the ukrainian flag only in 1937.

THE ARROW CROSS
the root meaning of the arrow cross is expansion in all
directions, thus it is a symbol denoting expansion.
in this it is synonymous with all the christian crosses
used to represent world evangelization, the effort to
spread the doctrines of the christian faith in all directions.
(the arrow cross was a symbol of the hungarian fascist
‘arrow cross party’, which originated in the 1940s).
the sign is also used in cartography. on some maps it
signifies monuments or towers.

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page 3 of 3
see :

page 1

the cross symbol

page 2

the many permutations of the cross

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acknowledgements
many thanks to the participants of the seventh design-aerobics course,
a special thanks goes to the following people for their contributions:
andrea bandoni
sirampuch eamumpai
camille reyes
lizz eldridge
carine imhof
gloria geng
benjamín eduardo valencia rodríguez
ting-chun huang
caroline trudeau
paco levine