Swiss psychotherapist Carl G. Jung coined the word “to refer to the recurring patterns found in our universal stories. He then identified the themes, symbols and imagery as part of the human psyche.”
While there are as many as 60 archetypal manifestations, most psychologists have narrowed them down to a dozen types:
The INNOCENT
The EVERY PERSON
The HERO
The CAREGIVER
The EXPLORER
The LOVER
The REVOLUTIONARY
The CREATOR
The RULER
The MAGICIAN
The SAGE
The JESTER
Archetypes are used to differentiate and unite the human unconscious across cultures and continents, industries as well as markets. As designers, we can use archetypes to analyze our audiences, our selves as designers, as well as the archetypal point of view of our the design process itself - personally and iconically.
Good sources for more information on Archetypes may be found at:
http://www.culturetalk.com/12-archetypes/
http://www.archetypes.com
