Iconic design

Wikipedia defines and icon as: icon is also used, particularly in modern culture, in the general sense of symbol — i.e. a name, face, picture, edifice or even a person readily recognized as having some well-known significance or embodying certain qualities: one thing, an image or depiction, that represents something else of greater significance through literal or figurative meaning, usually associated with religious, cultural, political, or economic standing. Iconic design would then be defined by the design process that generates these icon's. There are many examples of 3-D icons. The first ones that come to mind for me are most attached to historical religious culture such as Michelangelo's David or even the cross symbol many people wear as a pendant. There are cultural symbols today that can be three dimensional or two dimensional a lot of time relating to business icons such as the golden arches of McDonalds or the apple of IBM. People can also be icons such as the way Andy Warhol used Marylin Monroe in his work. We definitely have icon's all around us, we just don't really see them because we are so used to them.