Trends and Environments: Lighting Up the Message, Symbolism and Semiotics of the New – Part 1

Symbolism and Semiotics

Symbolism has always been used by humans to represent and communicate what otherwise is abstract. It has played an important role in communicating complex messages in a compact format. In a nutshell, communication can be described as the act of send and receiving messages. However, we are all aware that communication my not be easy and successful straightaway. Even though the very meaning of the term ‘message’ is indeed ‘to send away’ where it emphasises the sender, there are other elements at play. These include context, medium, transmission, and recipient.

We are living in a world that is overflowing with all sorts of information. As global communication technologies advanced, brands have come increasing competitive in the way they present themselves and their products. Consumers are now looking beyond what the brands are providing. They are now looking at what the brand stands for, how does it compare to its competitors, and at which point in the hierarchy are they standing as consumers in the eyes of their chosen brand. In addition, brands now must keep in mind that cultures vary greatly in each continent, hence they have to cater for multiple target markets. Advertisers and marketers are also now taking into consideration the intention, the audience, the purpose and the understanding notions of the advertisements, to ensure that they are effective and the correct message is delivered.

With all this mind, we should also look at situations where communication did not work, meaning the message was not delivered, or interpreted in a different way. In one of his essays, George Orwell writes about how misuse of certain English terms can result in a misinterpretation of the message, and how in some cases this is done on purpose, with a focus on the English language in politics. The essay titled Politics and the English Language, Orwell criticises the “ugly and inaccurate” written English and examines the connection between political orthodoxies and the debasement of language. He states that insincerity has the biggest negative effect on a language. ‘When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink’. Orwell’s words may have been written in 1946 however, they still resonate till this very day. The world has got to a point where there is an overflow of information, therefore it is up to us to recognise what is fiction and what is factual. Moreover, as designers, we should make sure that we are delivering the correct message to the correct audience whilst respecting the consumers’ ethics.

Moving on, Hoskin continues on by talking about semiotics. Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols, their use and interpretation. In semiotics, anything that conveys a direct message is a sign. A sign is then made up of a signifier and the signified. Hoskin explains this by using the example of a traffic light. In this case, the signifier would be the red light, the element in the traffic light that its role is to deliver a message. The signifier would be the command ‘stop’ – what is the message behind the red light.

In semiotics, signs are split into 3 major categories, namely:

• Icons – signs that show exactly what is the meaning behind them
• Indices – a sign that shows parts of the object and/or implies what the object is.
• Symbols – signs that only show a representation of it, yet the message is delivered with the same as verbal clarity.

Very often, the meaning behind symbols are learned culturally in the lecture, Hoskin uses the Swastika symbol and how it was being used in companies outside Germany in order to boost their businesses. Originally, it is a religious symbol in Eurasion countries, however in various parts of the Western world it is associated with Nazisim. In spite of this, back in the 30s, many brands adopted this symbol to boost the prosperity of their businesses. Case in point is the Carlsberg Group. They adopted the swastika as their logo till the mid-30s. With this said, it is clear that symbols rely heavily on the interpretation of the masses. It is all about timing and cultural mentality.

As this world continues to throw all sorts of information at us, it has become a case where us, the consumers, have to decode what is being presented to us and identify the information that is backed up and it is relevant to us whilst discard frivolities. Understanding the meaning of a symbol may not always be easy to comprehend, and even for difficult to make the public understand the meaning behind the symbol. As we get on with our day-to-day lives, we have developed a set of codes that help us decode the symbols and signs we come across every day and hep us communicate effectively. Symbols will always be part of our lives, whether we choose it or not. The abstract mind can be difficult to understand, and communicating certain messages verbally may pose a challenge.