Artwork: Nadia Sanmartin
Visual Communication
CMNS 3401
Topic: Semiotics
Key concepts: Sign, icon, index and symbol, denotation and connotation,
metonymy and synecdoche
Recap
How do we
objectively How do we study the
describe and Analysis of symbols viewer’s interpretation SEMIOTICS
study visuals? and VISUAL of visuals?
Studying the
ELEMENTS GESTALT THEORIES interpretation
and Laws of Grouping and meaning of
SIGNS found in
METHODS from art visual images
history DESIGN
ELEMENTS ROLAND BARTHES
Iconography
Semiotics
Iconology
Panofsky Method
Formal Analysis
Panofsky Method: Reading Art on Different Levels
Primary level - Analysis of forms
Secondary level - Analysis of conventional symbols
Tertiary level - Analysis of sociocultural context
Panofsky’s method is useful for studying the history of a
society through art.
Roland Barthes used semiotic analysis and a deconstructive
framework to study how a society expresses itself
using signs. Erwin Panofsky, 1955
According to Barthes, anything in culture can be a sign.
What does the architecture of a church How does this car ad suggest ideas
tell us about the medieval mind? about individual freedom and progress?
From composition to communication
From symbols to signs
A symbol is a representation of something.
A sign represents something and suggests an idea that can be read on more than one level.
The use of this sign can be decoded in a system of communication.
PRECURSORS: Saussure and Pierce
Saussurean Semiology: “A science that studies the life of signs within society”
● Swiss linguist Ferdinand Saussure, Course in Early Linguistics (1916)
● developed a structured approach to study dynamic sign systems in languages
● Saussure believed that all linguistic systems have an actual (spoken) dimension and an abstract (interpreted) dimension
SAUSSURE: PROCESS OF SIGNIFICATION
Signification refers to the meaning of a sign.
The signified has two dimensions.
• the idea or concept of something
• the sound used to represent this idea
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914): Categories of signs
1. Icon: When the sign resembles what is symbolized
2. Index: When the sign points to or indicates what is symbolized
3. Symbol: When the sign does not resemble what is symbolized
What lifestyle, social roles are indicated by these bags?
Roland Barthes (1915-1980)
● French cultural theorist, literary and art critic, philosopher
● critic of petit bourgeois culture, French imperialism, American hyper-consumerism
● applied semiotics to visuals found in popular culture to study the politics and social tensions in a culture
Barthes analyzed the meanings of signs found in
popular culture to study the myths they suggest.
For Barthes, myth is a type of speech.
● mythical speech is man-made
(socially constructed)
● objects take on mythic qualities because of
“human history” (actions over time)
● Barthes analyzed mythic speech in
popular culture and mass media
Myth is a system of
communication (p.108). Wine consumption has many associations.
What ideas are linked when we see a famous
actress drinking wine from a glass?
Naturalization
Signs in mass media help to naturalize ideas
that align with a particular view of the world.
[A] myth does not deny things, on the
contrary, its function is to talk about them;
simply, it purifies them, it makes them
innocent, it gives them a natural and eternal
justification, it gives them a clarity which is
not that of explanation but that of a
statement of fact (p.108).
Barthes Semiology
Signification can take place on different levels:
first-order signification is denotative:
surface-level or literal readings of visual signs
second-order signification is connotative:
additional meanings from cultural associations
Barthes thought that objects with second-order signification expressed the
ideologies and values of a society.
denotative:
girls, white dresses, house
connotative:
innocence, purity, prosperity
Message:
To run a happy home and raise
angelic children, you need this
product.
What are some values being
expressed?
What do you see?
What are first-order significations of the
visual signs?
What are the second-order significations?
What social values are being expressed?
Explicit Messages vs Implicit (Visual) Messaging
Choose one ad. Identify signs and discuss their use in the construction of a message. (Message should be specific.)
Semiotics and media analysis
Before Barthes, traditional methods to study visual works
included iconography and iconology. The Panofsky method
was useful for understanding the context of a work.
Instead of focusing on what was being represented in a work,
Barthes focused on the why and how – the technique of
myth-making.
The work not only reflects society; it helps to shape the views
of society.
“Omo uses two of these, which are rather novel in the category of
detergents: the deep and the foamy...As for foam, it is well known that it
signifies luxury. To begin with, it appears to lack any usefulness; then, its
abundant, easy, almost infinite proliferation allows one to suppose there
is in the substance from which it issues a vigorous germ, a healthy and
powerful essence, a great wealth of active elements in a small original
volume.” (Mythologies, 1957)
Barthes semiotic approach reminds us that
images consist of the things we see and
ideas that are suggested. In advertising, it is
not just the product that is presented; it is
the myths, values and aspirations.
We don’t just buy a shampoo, we buy the
idea of beauty.
We don’t just buy laundry soap. We are
buying the idea of being a perfect
housewife.
Note the use of semiotics to identify associations with “bottle.” By associating the Coke brand
with a glass bottle, what is NOT being said?
Figurative uses of visuals
To describe how visual signs can suggest additional meanings, Barthes
turned to literary theory.
In literature, figurative language includes words/phrases with a meaning different from
their literal (explicit) meaning.
“Can you lend me a hand?”
I don’t want your physical hand. I want your help.
Visuals can also be figurative, suggesting ideas different from what is explicitly shown.
tropes, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche
Visual tropes are commonplace signs that are “universally-known.”
What tropes do you see here?
Tropes have to be recognizable and the
recognizable parts can be transposed.
In visual metaphors, two related ideas can be visually linked and usually one object replaces another.
In visual metonymy, one
idea is continued/developed
to suggest a new idea.
Far Left: Barilla makes pasta.
Pasta arranged like fireworks
suggests the idea of a
celebration.
Left: French fries are not
explicitly shown but the
arrangement of the mobile
phones suggest the idea of
french fries.
With visual synecdoches, we show part of something to suggest a larger idea.
Using metonymy, metaphor or a synecdoche, compose a photo to make a
statement about contemporary student life.
Next:
One-hour, synchronous, open-book quiz. Class continues after quiz.
● Multiple question formats
● Question types: multiple choice (choose the best answer),
short answer (point form is ok), short essay (focus on clarity and examples)
Tips for studying:
● If you’re confused about gestalt principles, you can watch this overview but it’s
also helpful to refer to the chart last week.
Think about your short photo essay.
