#signified

[andrieyan]

WOII | Week 3 - Semiotics

"The linguistic sign unites not a thing and a name, but a concept and a sound-image...I call the combination of a concept and a sound-image a sign, but in current usage the term generally designates only a sound-image". (Saussure 120). From my research, I began to realize that meaning is not inherent in objects themselves but constructed through contrast and relational systems.

In one of my Craft Workshop sessions, Expanded Publication, I realised how Semiotics operates through clarity between signifier and signified. My initial poster used more of an illustrative direction by showing rain falling down with balloons rising upwards to suggest "falling". However, this relied on a metaphorical interpretation that felt ambiguous.

After receiving feedback, I became more aware of the importance of selecting signifiers that directly shows the intended signified. I realized that a successful design functions much like a language.

Through studying semiotics and Saussure's theory, I learned that meaning is constructed rather than inherent. This understanding will help me design more intentionally, treating every visual element as a purposeful signifier.

(265 Words)

Sassure, Ferdiand de. Course in General Linguistic. Translated by Wade Baskin McGraw-Hill, 1966.

KFC apology advertisement, United Kingdom (2018)

[leechaeeun03]

WOII: Week 4 - Semiotics

‘It’s like a silent dialogue between the design and the viewer, communicating complex messages in an instant.’(Dyess) Semiotics in design helps us instantly understand visual cues, like the STOP sign’s shape and color, which signal urgency and demand attention.

As a personal activity, I compared two beer advertisements. One depicts a man in an expensive suit leaning against a luxurious bar (signifier), evoking a sense of smoothness and sophistication (signified). Its clean, well-organized layout reinforces this elegance.

In contrast, the Cass beer advertisement conveys a refreshing and exhilarating feeling (signified) through the lively expressions of young people and splashing water (signifier). The diagonal arrangement of text and design elements adds rhythm and energy. Though both ads promote beer, the choice of symbols and visual elements creates entirely different impressions, which I found fascinating.

Using symbols has a powerful impact, helping deliver messages more effectively. Rather than simply presenting information, designs should evoke emotions and leave a lasting impression, especially in advertising. Symbols not only enhance meaning but also help simplify designs. Good design conveys messages clearly and concisely. the more unnecessary elements it has, the less effective it becomes. This is why symbols are crucial. I believe they make designs both impactful and easy to understand.

In a photography class, I worked on a project that visually interpreted a news article warning about rising temperatures. To represent the idea of temperature rise and warning (signified), I used upward arrows and caution signs (signifiers). Through this activity, I realized how much our subconscious associations with shapes and symbols influence design. Applying this understanding to my own work has deepened my appreciation for semiotics and its role in visual communication.

.(278  words)

Reference

Dyess, Chase. "Semiotics: The Unspoken Language of Graphic Design." Medium, 25 July 2023, https://dyessdesign.medium.com/semiotics-the-unspoken-language-of-graphic-design-592db4f6c226. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.

Nordquist, Richard. "Semiotics Definition and Examples." ThoughtCo., Dotdash Meredith, 23 Sept. 2024, https://www.thoughtco.com/semiotics-definition-1692082. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.

Malik, Usman. "25 Important Safety Signs, Symbol, and Their Meanings." HSE Blog, 30 May 2024, https://www.hseblog.com/safety-signs-symbol/. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.

[marinasblogg]

WOII: Week 4 – Semiotics

Topic: Reflection on today's session and class activities on 'Semiotics'

...

Imagine yourself in New York City, surrounded by billboards and storefront logos. Every open space is for communicating their service; most of which is instantly recognizable. How is this possible? The answer to that is semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, without it, navigating the world would be far more challenging. To better understand semiotics, this reflection shall examine in a design context, followed by a critical analysis of NESCAFE’s “Fuel your day” campaign.

...

Beyond its basic definition, semiotics includes structures of languages, code, gestures, and icons. While aesthetics decides the motif – the building – semiotics are the building blocks. For David Crow, designers can communicate intent through art and evoke emotions from consumers by using these elements (Crow 2.9b). Furthermore, semiotics builds culture and identity, opening doors for various interpretations. For example, hand-gesturing an ‘OK’, where the hand forms a circle with the tips of the thumb and index finger, means differently in Brazil, where locals consider it offensive rather than heartfelt.

With identity-building, a note-worthy instance of semiotics is the “Fuel your day” campaign by NESCAFE, featuring coffee pods in batteries. Aesthetically, the design is dominantly warm-toned, contrasting the dark coloring on the battery pack, creating a sense of vibrancy. Semiotically, batteries and coffee represent energy, therefore, combining them shows how similarly their coffee is to batteries powering electronics. As MacroHype explains on video, with eye-catching visuals, these batteries reenforces NESCAFE’s core message and effectively sells their energy-sufficient coffee products (MacroHype).

...

In conclusion, semiotics enhances recognition of social cues and symbols. Through brilliant designs, semiotics proves to be an essential resource, curating messages that are not only visually effective, but also socially meaningful.

Total word count: 275 words

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Works/Links cited and referenced:

Crow, David. Visible Signs: An Introduction to Semiotics in the Visual Arts. Bloomsbury Publishing. 2003

[penhive]

Meta-signifier and signified

The sign in semiotics consists of the signifier and the signified. A signifier is a tangible thing and the signifier an idea. For example if I say the dove is peace, dove is the signifier and peace the signified.

A meta-signifier consists of two signifiers and an example is: The bird is resting in the nest where bird and nest are meta-signifiers.

A meta-signified consists of two signifieds. An example from Keats is Truth is beauty: beauty truth. Truth and beauty become signifieds.

[dmcreativestudio]

Joseph Kosuth - One and Three Chairs

A chair sits alongside a photograph of a chair and a dictionary definition of the word chair. Perhaps all three are chairs, or codes for one: a visual code, a verbal code, and a code in the language of objects, that is, a chair of wood. 

[penhive]

Rhetoric Sign and Beyond

It was the French linguist Saussure who propounded the theory of the sign and for him the sign consisted of the signifier and the signified. The signifier is a visual pictorial image and the signified an idea. For example if I say: the dove is peace, the dove is the signifier and peace the signified.

Then it was the French Philosopher Derrida who deconstructed the sign by undoing the signifier and the signified. For him all signs are a privilege for some and marginalize for the others. For him texts privilege meaning for some while becoming connoted as marginal for others.

For me, I examine what it means to go beyond the rhetoric of the sign. For me the sign is an appropriation of meaning resulting in an experiential state and these experiential states are possession, belief, catharsis, negation and so on. The sign beyond the rhetorical structure of meaning creates experientiality of meaning. Individuation of the sign captures reality into experiential states.

[penhive]

Beyond the Sign (Signtasy)

It was the French literary theorist and Philosopher Saussure who propounded the concept of the sign. A sign is made up of a signifier a pictorial element and a signified a verbal one. Thus the sign is composed of a graphic signifier and an audible signified. If I say: Rose is passion, the rose is the signifier and passion the signified. From the concept of the sign, I have developed a concept called as Signtasy from sign and ecstasy. A sign embodies the presence of meaning and that is merely a linguistic phenomenon. What happens to the sign when we go beyond the linguistic conception of meaning? If we transcend the linguistic conception of meaning, we come across experience states. And these experience states are appropriation, possession, belief, celebration, angst, hope, love, faith, and emotions and all these states of experience elevate the sign from a linguistic concept as mere words to a presence as experience. And therefore, Signtasy is an experience of presence by transcending the sign of the signifier and the signified and to a one of actualizing experience.

[ferdinand-saussure]

All that discussion on langue and parole had me remembering the days of signifier and signified, and now isn’t that quite the treat! One of the contributing aspects of Semiotics, distinguishing a sign’s signifier and it’s respective signified helps one understand the context of the ideas and constructs! 

As seen above, we assign the “signifier” role to a word, whereas the “signified” is the target of that word’s intent. This creates a sign that is in turn used in Semiotics! Truly Fascinating!

Now this doesn’t just pertain to objects in which we can see or touch! Take colors for example! We see different colors and in turn we attribute different emotions to these colors! Red is angry or infatuation, blue is melancholy, yellow is happy, the list goes on and on! 

We smell gasoline or smoke and attribute it to danger, we see a skull and crossbones and we assume death, we see a traffic light (that is what they are called, is it not? The rectangles of green, red, and yellow flame?) and we assume different actions to the flame that is alight. 

Even more fascinating is that this construct can be seen as early as youths! You teach a mere child the word for “kitty” with a picture of a small feline friend, and suddenly all members of the feline family are referred to as “kitty” until learned otherwise! Even felines as big and ferocious as lions are cast as “kitty”! 

Remarkable!