This paper introduces the use of pictogram design concept in ancient China for the development of a set of today's "graphic icons" or "infographics" in modern social network visualization systems. These graphic icons should be close to sensory symbols that derive their expressive power from their ability to use the perceptual processing power of the brain without learning. Therefore, with the use of such a set of "sensory symbols" we aim to achieve the identification of corresponding physical objects (or their attributes) to be performed close to the pre-attentive time.