Lecture 5 Semiotics

Semiotics is the study of sign systems and the theory of the meaning behind the signs. A sign is something that points to a meaning and is understood by the viewer. Signs can include gestures, facial expressions, mark making, speech, slogans and letter forms.

There are different types of signs  these are iconic, symbolic and indexical.

Iconic signs look like what they represent so this image off the roundabout sign most commonly found on British roads is an example of that.

The fire exit sign is another example of Iconic sign due to it looking like the door that its representing.

Symbolic signs are something that have to be taught and understood by more than 1 person. The English alphabet is an example of this as we are taught words and letter forms from a young and and eventually understand it. So if the Symbolic sign is only known by 1 person so somebody makes up their own language it isn't symbolic until another person can speak and understands it.

Indexical signs are signs that point to an object, for example a doctor would look for idexical sign to find the meaning of an illness.