Why can’t icon’s
last forever?

Abstract:

This thesis examines “Why can’t icons last forever?” as a leading question in attempt to uncover the tension between iconicity and ephemerality. Icons of today reflect the current cultural standards and ideas of communication. I argue that ‘icons’, in terms of graphics and artifacts can’t last for an extended period of time because they become susceptible to change over time. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) case study investigated how the present will communicate with the future, and provided the initial context from where I extrapolated points of investigation.