Certain symbols have become as universally recognizable in society, like the Christian fish that adorns many a bumper sticker, or the rainbow flag displayed in support gay rights.
Durham LED lighting maker Cree is hosting an event this month to create new icons to represent energy efficiency and LED lighting, which happen to be the company's line of business.
The best images created during the Feb. 25 brainstorming session on the Cree campus will be added to a visual library of icons available for general use.
The new icons will join the dozens of symbols that communicate ideas wordlessly in the form of corporate logos, road signs, political sentiments and declarations of self-identity.
The Iconathon event will be facilitated by The Noun Project, a Los Angeles group dedicated to the creation and archiving of icons. The organization had held similar events throughout the country to build up its online archive of icons.
There are no specific technical requirements to participate in the icon-generating workshop, although people with artistic talents are encouraged to attend.
The event is free but requires registration to get in.
John Murawski has been a full-time newspaper reporter since 1991, with stints at Legal Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy (both in Washington, DC), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Palm Beach Post (in South Florida) before arriving at the N&O in December 2004. At the N&O he covers energy (nuclear, coal, renewable, efficiency), utilities (electric, natural gas, telephone) and telecommunications. His beat includes such publicly traded companies as Progress Energy, Duke Energy, PSNC Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, PowerSecure International, Tekelec, Cisco Systems, AT&T, among others. You can reach him at 919-829-8932 or 
