"Any
product and any design can be analyzed from a semiotic point of
view. In other words: design language exists. Languages have a lexicon,
a grammar and a semantics and design language is no exception, the
big difference though is that each product, or group of similar
products, seems to have its own language. All languages use signs
to realize actual, pragmatic, communication and the analysis of
these signs, or semiotics, becomes more and more the focus of the
philosophy of language." geocities.com/msslkc/theory.html
"The
present article examines some aspects of the relationship between
form and meaning in artefacts. Exactly how do objects of art and
design express ideas through their appearance, shape and use? The
category of object fetishism is defined and analysed as a key to
understanding such processes of signification. This category is
subsequently applied to existing debates on product semantics, suggesting
that many usual assumptions about form and meaning need to be re-examined
in light of new conceptions of product life cycle and post-use".
Rafael Cardoso, waspress.co.uk/journals/artontheline/journal_20041/articles/pdf/20041_02.pdf
An excerpt
from “Nice Work: A Novel” by David Hodge:
"A typical
instance of this was the furious argument they had about the Silk
Cut advertisement... Every few miles, it seemed, they passed the
same huge poster on roadside hoardings, a photographic depiction
of a rippling expanse of purple silk in which there was a single
slit, as if the material had been slashed with a razor. There were
no words in the advertisement, except for the Government Health
Warning about smoking. This ubiquitous image, flashing past at regular
intervals, both irritated and intrigued Robyn, and she began to
do her semiotic stuff on the deep structure hidden beneath its bland
surface". Download
longer excerpt as Word Doc (75kb)

"Relationships
form the basis of almost all semiotic communication. These can be:
-
Relationships
to external objects (i.e., The texturing on a grip might reference
the hand thereby indicating how the product should be held),
-
Relationships to cultural precedents (i.e., The shape resembles
a handle thereby expressing a place for the hand). Here the cultural
precedent becomes a symbol (i.e., a sign referring to something
other than itself)
-
A relationship to the surrounding environment (e.g., the chair-legs
express their relationship to the floor, thereby making the chair
more chair-like, communicating stability, cueing orientation)
-
Relationships between different parts of the product (i.e. A clear
mating relationship between a device and its charging stand obviates
their functional connection) These relationships could also be
hierarchical (e.g., buttons on a blender)
-
Relationships to actions of its use – How the form illustrates
the dynamic aspects of the product, how it moves (i.e. Apple PowerBook).
This type of relationship expresses more than just about mechanical
logic, the form must also express and inspire the gesture of its
use
-
Relationship between the button and the result. Showing how the
user’s physical manipulations affect the product’s
internal state (on/off switches, volume control, etc.)
-
Relationships to other objects (these can be metaphoric, symbolic,
or iconographic), or
-
Relationships
to periods or styles.
The user’s mental model of a product is a dynamically binding
and associative set of relationships. These relationships are:
-
to
the product’s environment,
-
amongst the product’s internal elements, and
-
to the user themselves.
Definitions:
from dictionary.com
semiotics
also se·mei·ot·ics ( P ) Pronunciation Key (sm-tks,
sm-, sm-) n. (used with a sing. verb)
- The
theory and study of signs and symbols, especially as elements
of language or other systems of communication, and comprising semantics,
syntactics, and pragmatics.
semantics
( P ) Pronunciation Key (s-mntks) n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
-
Linguistics. The study or science of meaning in language.
-
Linguistics.
The study of relationships between signs and symbols and
what they represent. Also called semasiology.
-
The meaning or the interpretation of a word, sentence, or other
language form: We're basically agreed; let's not quibble over semantics.
Note: I'm not going
to be too fussed if you confuse the two terms. Let's not quibble over
semantics - or semiotics either ;) |