The last thing we want to do therefore, is to make a picture. Symbols are not pictures, they are visual condensations of a concept, an idea, an activity. While pictures tell stories that are part of a timeline, symbols show a single condensed instance - there is no "before" and "after". Symbols therefore give an indirect or abstract reference to what it is that they represent, they do not tell stories. Big big difference from a picture, and you should be aware of this difference so that you don’t end up painting pictures instead of making a logo symbol or an icon.