To be able to analyze and understand images, graphic forms and another art is Semiotic used. This can be implemented and used everywhere and not only in language or images.
According to Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913), Swiss linguist “Semiotics is a study of signs in the social life.
Semiotic is well used in visual communication due to their main function to construct and simplify an understanding for something.
You can also use semiotic in construction of products.
For example a handle:
Here is one good and one bad example in use of semiotic.
The first picture acutely communicate to the user at their main function is to be rotated for some reason. You can understand that due to the pattern it have on its side, which also makes the function better to handle.
The other handle has a good function for rotate and fulfill that required function. But their design can be misleading; due to its similarities as something you can life with (a grip). My opinion is that the designer have fault with the semiotic aspects with this product.
This type of visual language can you see everywhere in the surrounding, things as you might even think about. How do you know to do something when you never did it before? Thanks to the visual language and the semiotic provides it’s this possible.
How you understand semiotic is connected to previous knowledge and experiences. Due to that is it important to chose right method and strategy when you shall implement semiotic as a visual language.
One principle of semiotic give you an instrument to be enable to talk in a structured way about the process of understanding and the meaning of e.g. an image.
But if you don’t know the target group, when producing visual language you can bet choose the sign that requires the least prior knowledge. So with other words keep it simple and don’t make it to complicated, the target group will be bigger then.
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