This article at Wired offers some interesting insight into the thinking that informed the alien “written language” in Denis Villeneuve’s “Arrival.”

A single logogram can express a simple thought (‘Hi’) or a complex one (‘Hi Louise, I’m an alien but I come in peace’). The difference lies in the complexity of the shape. A logogram’s weight carries meaning, too: A thicker swirl of ink can indicate a sense of urgency; a thinner one suggests a quiet tone. A small hook attached to one symbol makes it a question. The system allows each logogram to express a bundle of ideas without adhering to any traditional rules of syntax or sequence.

Whether this is truly plausible or not, the result is beautiful. Read the full article at wired.com.