Sunday, 2 December 2012

Signs and Cultural Codes

Semiotics - study of sign systems
Meta-language - 'language about language'
Systems of Signification
  • images and objects all have a meaning
  • designers create meanings
  • signifier - the sign itself
  • signified - the concept
  • semiotics define the process of communication
  • signs are automatically understood
  • Systems and Structures
  • often systems can be culturally informed as symbols change in different cultures
  • swastica - hindu "all is well" also recognized as the nazi symbol
  • meaning of sign depends on what context it was read in
What do colours signify?
Blue
  • connotation - Nuetral , calm
  • denotation - Blue
Green
  • connotation - Organic, eco-friendly
  • denotation - Green
Rhetoric
  • rhetorical questions are asked to make points
  • describing documentary photography
  • used in graphic design
Don mcCullin
Shell-shocked US marine, Vietnam, 1968
  • negative side to war
  • solider appears scared
  • fear is communicated
  • emotion of the individual
A homeless man lying by the embers of a fire in Spitalfields market, London, 1969
  • negative image
Roland Barthes
  • wrote about semiotics
  • concise semiotics analysis
Coca Cola Advert
  • signifiers are hearts, cherub, bottle, composition and text
Heart
  • connotes - love and happiness
  • denotes - heart shape
Angel
  • connotes- heaven
Bottle
  • connotes - coca cola's shape of bottle
  • denotes - bottle
Composition
  • connotes - pours out of coca cola
Slogan
  • connotes - original phrase 'live on the bright side of life'
Silk Cut
  • signifiers are silk fabric and the cut
  • silk connotes - luxury, femininity
  • colour also feminine
Marlboro
  • signifier - cowboy - masculinity
  • posture - relaxed
Celtic Pattern
  • pattern connotes the celts
  • cultural knowledge helps us read it
Ai Weiwie - "Finger" - 1999
  • signifiers - white house / finger
  • white house connotes USA/power
  • finger - connotes cursing






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