OX

Phoenecian Alef

A

Representation

Design

Knowledge

Sign

Transfer

Transfrom

Transcend

Object

Signal

Ferdinand De Saussure theorized that systems of communication and language were deeper than the objective labeling of reality. He believed that cultural and social context created a meaning beyond certain objects. The mechanism that this meaning presents itself in comes in three parts, the sign, the signifier and the signified. A sign is something that contains meaning. The signified is its physical manifestation or vessel of communication, and the signified is the concept that, through our own cultural context, we assign to the object.

Signs are all around us, and their significance is largely correlated to their relationship to us. Charles Sanders Peirce made a distinction of signs between an icon, index, and symbol. An icon is a more literal connection to what is being depicted and its depiction. A realistic painting of a river is an iconic representation of a river because it visually depicts one. An index relies on a causal correlation between the signified and the signifier, like steam representing something warm because steam is caused by water getting hot enough to turn into vapor. A symbol requires a specific learned cultural connotation between a signifier and what is being signified. Shared cultural connections are what make symbols readable, if our shared cultural understandings deteriorate, so do our ability to transmit signs and symbols.

On Signs & Symbols

Designers As Sign Creaters

The Apple

Becomes Mythologized, imbuing a shared cultural connotation

The apple now exists in more than just its objective state, but as a symbol of progress, technology, and discovery.

OX

Phoenecian Alef

A

Representation

Design

Knowledge

Sign

Transfer

Transfrom

Transcend

Object

Signal

Ferdinand De Saussure theorized that systems of communication and language were deeper than the objective labeling of reality. He believed that cultural and social context created a meaning beyond certain objects. The mechanism that this meaning presents itself in comes in three parts, the sign, the signifier and the signified. A sign is something that contains meaning. The signified is its physical manifestation or vessel of communication, and the signified is the concept that, through our own cultural context, we assign to the object.

Signs are all around us, and their significance is largely correlated to their relationship to us. Charles Sanders Peirce made a distinction of signs between an icon, index, and symbol. An icon is a more literal connection to what is being depicted and its depiction. A realistic painting of a river is an iconic representation of a river because it visually depicts one. An index relies on a causal correlation between the signified and the signifier, like steam representing something warm because steam is caused by water getting hot enough to turn into vapor. A symbol requires a specific learned cultural connotation between a signifier and what is being signified. Shared cultural connections are what make symbols readable, if our shared cultural understandings deteriorate, so do our ability to transmit signs and symbols.

On Signs & Symbols

Designers As Sign Creaters

The Apple

Becomes Mythologized, imbuing a shared cultural connotation

The apple now exists in more than just its objective state, but as a symbol of progress, technology, and discovery.

Ferdinand De Saussure theorized that systems of communication and language were deeper than the objective labeling of reality. He believed that cultural and social context created a meaning beyond certain objects. The mechanism that this meaning presents itself in comes in three parts, the sign, the signifier and the signified. A sign is something that contains meaning. The signified is its physical manifestation or vessel of communication, and the signified is the concept that, through our own cultural context, we assign to the object.

Signs are all around us, and their significance is largely correlated to their relationship to us. Charles Sanders Peirce made a distinction of signs between an icon, index, and symbol. An icon is a more literal connection to what is being depicted and its depiction. A realistic painting of a river is an iconic representation of a river because it visually depicts one. An index relies on a causal correlation between the signified and the signifier, like steam representing something warm because steam is caused by water getting hot enough to turn into vapor. A symbol requires a specific learned cultural connotation between a signifier and what is being signified. Shared cultural connections are what make symbols readable, if our shared cultural understandings deteriorate, so do our ability to transmit signs and symbols.

On Signs & Symbols

Designers As Sign Creaters

The Apple

Becomes Mythologized, imbuing a shared cultural connotation

The apple now exists in more than just its objective state, but as a symbol of progress, technology, and discovery.

Representation

Design

Knowledge

Sign

Transfer

Transfrom

Transcend

Object

Signal

OX

Phoenecian Alef

A