Help me, lazyweb.

[digitaldiscipline]

What is the formal name of those visual word arrangements that depict a concept or phrase, ie:

Stand
I

is "I understand."

Comments

[mschaos.livejournal.com]

rebus?

[vatine]

Don't knowe about a formal name, but I'd call it a rebus, as it is not far from it, in a generalised sense.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Rebus is replacing parts of how a word sounds with a picture; what I'm looking for is doing this with text and formatting tricks alone, which has a different name, probably ending in -gram, but it's completely stumped me and my google fu.

[vatine]

In the strict sense, yes. In the more extended seince, I's call aTdHvAaNnKcSe a rebus (that's certainly how it's used among engineering students in Sweden; cf. "rebusrally", a team motorsport that is a mix between rally and orienteering, where your wayponts give cryptic clues to further waypoints and you don't ACTUALLY know the track layout before you set out).

[emzebel.livejournal.com]

Pictogram, maybe?

[inyou.livejournal.com]

I would go with pictogram

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Those are representing concepts with non-linguistic items (stick figures, etc) -- like road signs and such.

I'm wondering if there's no formal name for these things - I keep seeing terms like "brain teaser" and "word game" and "visual pun" without any sort of specific term.

Argh.

[deadwinter.livejournal.com]

There is a formal name, and I was reading about it in Bill Bryson's "The mother tongue". If I remember when I get home I'll look it up.

[sloot.livejournal.com]

none of those are right, I can't remember either...

[crimsoncurlz.livejournal.com]

Are you looking for "Frame Games" perhaps?
http://www.terrystickels.com/frame-games/