Recognition builds belonging.
Visual supports feel more welcoming when people can recognize identities, ages, appearances, and experiences that reflect the world around them.
Our commitment to representation and belonging
Smarty Symbols creates inclusive visual language that helps people communicate, learn, participate, and belong—from classroom resources to communication access in public spaces.
A world of visual representation
Why representation matters
When visual supports reflect real people and real communities, they can strengthen recognition, encourage authentic choice, and help more individuals participate with confidence.
Visual supports feel more welcoming when people can recognize identities, ages, appearances, and experiences that reflect the world around them.
Different character options give people more meaningful ways to select visuals that align with themselves, their message, and their preferences.
Inclusive visual language should support participation across classrooms, therapy spaces, homes, playgrounds, parks, and everyday community life.
Inclusion is not one image added to a collection. It is an ongoing commitment to offering meaningful choices and designing visual communication around the people who use it.
The characters behind the commitment
Representation became part of Smarty Symbols one character at a time. Each addition challenged another default and expanded who could feel recognized in visual communication.
Meet Violet
Violet became the first female character in the Smarty Symbols family, challenging visual systems that treated male or featureless figures as the default.
Meet Will
Inspired by Barbara’s childhood friend from Brazil, Will became the first Black character in the library—bringing his own appearance, style, and identity.
Meet Maria
Maria was named after one of Barbara’s earliest friends after arriving in the United States. Her story honors friendship, cultural heritage, and individuality.
Meet Lia
Named after a Brazilian speech-language pathologist and friend, Lia continued the commitment to characters with distinct features, backgrounds, and personal style.
Meet Hannah
Hannah was named after a member of Barbara’s Vietnamese family. Her character brings a meaningful family connection into the growing Smarty Symbols community.
Meet Kenji
Kenji is one of the newest members of the Smarty Symbols family, expanding the people learners can choose across everyday actions, celebrations, and learning moments.
Adding a character means more than creating one illustration. Each new member of the family requires thoughtful work across thousands of visual concepts so that representation becomes useful in everyday communication.
Character of Choice
Character of Choice gives people options. Instead of treating one character as the universal default, Smarty Symbols makes it possible to represent the same idea through different people, appearances, ages, and identities.
Same idea. More ways to be seen.
Learners can engage with visual supports that feel more personal, familiar, and connected to who they are.
Educators, therapists, families, and communicators can select the character that best fits the person and context.
That choice carries into learning materials, therapy resources, AAC supports, schedules, and communication boards.
Introduced in 2015, Character of Choice remains an ongoing commitment. The work continues as the character family grows and more concepts become available across the library.
Visual access is inclusion
Inclusion is also about how a symbol is perceived. Smarty Symbols began adding high-contrast versions to support people with low vision and others who benefit from stronger visual distinction.
Familiar full-color illustrations from the Smarty Symbols library.
A simplified alternative with strong black-and-white boundaries.
Vivid, high-contrast colors designed to make important visual features more distinct.
Inclusion in practice
Inclusive symbols are not meant to sit in a library. They become meaningful when they help someone understand, participate, communicate, or feel recognized in everyday life.
From individual support to shared participation
More representative visuals can make personalized communication supports feel relevant to the person using them.
Schedules, lessons, directions, and learning materials can reflect more of the students they are designed to support.
Professionals and families can create visuals around individual routines, goals, interests, and lived experiences.
Communication access can extend into parks, playgrounds, libraries, clinics, and other places people gather.
That belief led Smarty Symbols beyond digital resources. The next chapter brought inclusive visual communication into the physical spaces where communities come together.
The mission moved beyond the screen
Inclusion should not stop at the classroom door or tablet screen. Smarty Symbols expanded its work into Communication Boards that make visual communication part of shared public environments.
Communication access built into a public playground
A NEW CHAPTER · 2022
Smarty Symbols began applying its symbol library and speech-language expertise to permanent boards for playgrounds, schools, parks, libraries, waterparks, healthcare settings, and other community spaces.
These boards give people a visible way to point to needs, join play, connect with others, and participate more independently—without requiring communication support to remain hidden inside a device or backpack.
Visuals can reflect the people, ages, and identities within the community using the space.
Words and symbols are selected around the activities, needs, and interactions of each setting.
Communication support becomes part of the environment and available to everyone who may benefit.
Durable formats bring visual communication into active indoor and outdoor shared spaces.
Representation across the lifespan
Visual supports are not only for children. Adults and older adults may also use AAC, visual schedules, healthcare supports, and other communication tools—and they deserve imagery that respects their stage of life.
Older adults
Adults
Adding Alcides, Bela, Diana, and other adult characters helped expand the library toward a broader truth: communication needs can exist throughout a person’s life.
Inclusive visual communication should grow with the people who use it. Expanding age representation is one more way Smarty Symbols works to make choice, dignity, and belonging visible.
Founder of Smarty Symbols
The person behind the purpose
As a speech-language pathologist and software developer, Barbara saw how limited representation in educational image libraries could shape the materials available to learners and the choices offered to professionals.
Her experience as an immigrant from Brazil also shaped a belief that inclusion must be connected to real people, cultures, relationships, and communities. Many Smarty Symbols characters carry the names and stories of family members, friends, and colleagues who influenced that journey.
The result is more than a collection of images. It is an evolving visual language built to help more people feel recognized, communicate meaningfully, and participate with dignity.
Looking ahead
There is no finish line for representation or access. Smarty Symbols will continue listening, learning, and expanding how visual communication supports people across identities, abilities, ages, and environments.
Continue growing the character family and visual library across cultures, ages, abilities, backgrounds, and lived experiences.
Develop more inclusive symbol choices, high-contrast options, AAC supports, and public communication environments.
Help visual supports reach special education, general education, homes, healthcare settings, campuses, and communities.
Keep moving forward
The next step is participation. The remaining sections connect this mission to the tools individuals and organizations can use to create more inclusive visual supports.
Put inclusion into practice
Access Smarty Symbols Studio’s growing symbol library, design tools, and templates to build personalized communication and learning materials.
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Personal pricing verified against the Smarty Symbols signup page in September 2026. Subscription pricing and terms may change.