Through its evolution, language has developed 5 phases that are used in order to storing and disseminating information. The fist phase is the Oral phase, and it is governed by the qualities of sound. Human species developed the preference of communicating through sound because of its exposure to the dangers of the environment. Sound travels quickly and goes beyond the barriers of visibility and in a situation of danger the sound is the most rapid and effective mean of communication.

The second phase of the evolution of language is the Written phase. As our vocabulary grew wider and more complex, our capacity to memorize and retain information became limited. In order to store data to inform the further generations the written mode of language came into action. Its main characteristic is that it transcends time, and that is also a skill that requires specialization. There are two major forms of written language being one the logographic form, where a graph stands for an image, and the other one the phonetic alphabet where the image stands for a particular sound.

The third phase of language is Mathematics. Mathematics is a form of language that enables human beings to measure things and calculate results in a precise and detailed way. It is a precise language deprived of characteristics of a natural language, and allows humanity to get to know the world. But knowing the world is not sufficient information for the human being. There is also a necessity of understanding the environment that surrounds us. In order to accomplish this, the language evolved into a fourth phase: Science. The scientific mode of language is one of experimentation. Is a learning process that uses statements and facts (mathematics) in order to create possible explanations of how the world functions.

The fifth and last phase of langue evolution is the Computational phase. Its purpose is to store everything that is in our mind, analyze it and come up with a result or conclusion. Perform by calculators (people) the calculator (machine) appeared within the realm of analysis and it is the first intake of a machine replacing a person. We have created computers as an extension of our brain in order to facilitate the process of storage, understanding, analysis and result in language. Machines can process and retain complex information that our brain would not be able to do at the same time.

Language requires reasoning, and reasoning requires that we exude several contradictions within language. These contradictions are not logical. Within this notion emerges the concept of Metaphor. A metaphor is not logical; it does not follow logical reasoning and is an analogy between that may be contradictory. The metaphor works with analogies. An analogy, being the comparison of elements in order to comprehend the world, understands an object or idea in light of another one. An example of an analogy is the famous Shakespeare’s phrase: “Life is like a stage”. After analyzing how a metaphor works, we may clearly conclude that everything we do in graphic design is a metaphor. As designers we intent to communicate a concept in light of an image or a graph, and that is the major mean of communication within the realm of graphic design and visual communications.