Bliss’ system combined the logic of science, pictographs and graphical symbols such as arrows and hearts in a logical way to form complex meanings. Arbitrary elements such as numbers indicated positioning. For example, a week would be represented by the combination of sun, horizon and 7 to symbolize seven days. Red would be the number 1 with the symbol for color (eye and earth) as red is the first in the sequence of a color spectrum. Other simple ideographic compounds include son, which would be the combination of the symbol for male under a roof, meaning a male protected within a family. Bliss commissioned a commercial draftsman to redraw his symbols so that they were standardized and matched the characters of a typewriter. The symbols were designed to be simple to draw and use.