A practical solution to many of the communication obstacles found in international markets can be found in the development and widespread adoption of a standardized system of international graphic symbols. Any plan to develop and implement a truly acceptable and universal system of graphic symbols will have to overcome many obstacles that past efforts in this direction have not overcome. A symbol system should be developed and introduced within the following guidelines: first, each symbol or combination of symbols and colors must satisfy basic structural criteria (each component as well as the overall system must be unique, clear in meaning, independent of language and culture, and visually direct); second, introduction of the system into practical use will have to be achieved without the benefit of preparation of often illiterate publics--herefore, initial applications should be as simple and straightforward as possible; and finally, the system's design should be flexible enough to allow for its gradual expansion from relatively simple early applications to increasingly more complex uses requiring the introduction of new symbols, colors, and eventually a symbol grammar. (MKM)