This Shaker plate, created over 100 years ago, and now on display at the American Folk Art Museum in New York, provides a touching tribute to a time when creative expression and general communication was in the hands of people, not organizations, and provides early clues to the way we communicate today.

Shaker tradition perfectly marries beauty and utility in its everyday objects. I was drawn to this dainty dish both for its tender combination of miniature drawings and fastidious handwriting, as well as its unusual composition. The objects are arranged, not in a setting, but are treated as symbols, representing various ideas, such as growth and food. This is the same way that modern icons and organizational logos provide a shorthand for larger ideas. For an uncanny connection of how modern day icons help tell a story, see Talking in Icons.