The article analyzes the notion of the productive action which, in the context of the cultural historical approach and the psychological theory of activity, is treated as a process of constructing the intention in accordance with ideal forms of culture. The symbol is viewed as a condition for a human being performing a productive action. The symbol is shown to play a dual role in relation to the productive action: its ideal content serves as a standard invariant of a subject's active attitude to the world, while its material form presents itself as a result of a productive action.