Semiotics in design

-- Huang Min

[Abstract] Using semiotic principles, the relationship between symbolic design work is discussed. And pointed out that the symbols in the design are cognitive, universal, restrictive and unique. The use of symbols in design has direct and indirect distinctions, expounding that the study of semiotics will help designers better deal with the relationship between people-product-environment-society-nature.
[Key words] semiotics; symbols, design; green design.


1. Semiotics and design

Semiotics is the study of the symbol system. It was first proposed by Sauaaure, a Swiss linguist, and Pierce, a founder of American philosopher and pragmatism, at the beginning of this century. The former focuses on the meaning of symbols in social life and links with psychology; the latter focuses on the logical meaning of symbols, and links with logic [1]. Since about the 1960s, semiotics has been studied as a science. Now semiotics has become a scientific research, and its theoretical results have also penetrated into many other disciplines.

Design is closely related to semiotics. The word design was derived from the Latin Designare, which means drawing a mark [2]. The English Design, which is now widely adopted, is also the meaning of marking. Studying and applying some principles of semiotics to help designers “mark” is not an important way to engage designers.

The origin of the symbol is labor. As early as in the primitive society, people had both practical and aesthetic needs, and had begun to engage in primitive design activities, enriching their lives with conscious or unconscious symbolic behavior. From our ancestors' knot-knots to song and dance totems, it is an information symbol that preserves the traditional order of society.

Symbols are the intermediary of load and transfer information, and a simplified means of understanding things, manifesting as meaningful code and code systems [3]. Of course, the extension of the concept of symbol is quite extensive. The symbol in the design as a non-language symbol has many common features with the language symbol, which makes the semantics have practical guidance for the design. In general, the elements of design and basic means can be regarded as symbols, and through the processing and integration of these elements, the purpose of conveying emotions can be achieved.

2. The characteristics of the symbols in the design

2.1 In cognitive design, cognition is the life of symbolic language. For example, the signs of several major banks in China all use ancient Chinese coins as the basic type. This is precisely because ancient coins can accurately convey this information of financial institutions and have a strong sense of cognition. If a design work can not be recognized by people, it makes people completely lose their meaning.

2.2 Universality Modern design is for large industrial production. Design works will be widely disseminated among the general public. The design of a symbolic language can only be accepted by the general public if it is universal. Designers often encounter this situation, and they spend a lot of time making things that are not accepted by customers. At this time, designers may complain that the level of customer appreciation is not enough. In fact, customers sometimes understand the audience better than the designers. Designers can only accomplish design tasks better by identifying design languages ​​that can be understood by themselves, customers, and consumers. The universality of symbols is particularly reflected in the sign design of many public places. Such as public toilets men and women logo, I believe that regardless of the age of men and women, cultural depth, can clearly distinguish.

2.3 Constraint Any language is only understood within a certain range. Only persons with relevant cultural backgrounds can receive the information conveyed by the symbol. Only symbols that meet a specific background can be accepted within this range. For example, the German poster art guru Gunter Ranbow often has potatoes in his works. For those who do not understand Germany, they may not understand the meaning of the works, only knowing the special significance of potatoes for Germans. Can understand why the designer loves potatoes so much.

2.4 The uniqueness symbol generally emphasizes "seeking common ground" so that it can be easily understood. However, "seeking differences" in the design is often the key. Because of the comparison of form and content, the former is definitely more worth studying. Also for a theme, we must find out as many forms of expression as we can to create unique works.

3 Symbols in the use of design

There are direct and indirect points in the use of symbols in design. In some works, symbolic elements can be found directly, but in other works it seems difficult to find the existence of symbols, but this does not mean that these designs and symbols are not involved. In fact, the symbols are ubiquitous, but they are different depending on the way they are needed. Here are three situations to consider this issue:

First, the direct use of symbols. The work itself is in the form of symbols. Such as logo design, because this type of design is based on graphics, meaning to life, emphasizing small and refined, so it is concentrated almost equal to the symbol itself. The Beijing 2008 Olympic bid marks the use of five rings of Olympian rings to form a five-star ring, symbolizing the harmony and development of the five continents. The graphic is like a human figure playing Taijiquan. It uses the “Chinese Festival” of Chinese traditional auspicious designs to convey the Beijing Olympics message. The Chinese Telecom logo is based on the Chinese “Chinese” character and the Chinese traditional pattern “Echo”. The three-dimensional space pattern vividly expresses the characteristics of technology, modernity, transmission, and development; the brand of the well-known electrical appliance brand Konka is even simpler to win, "KONKA" prefix "K", picture tube and telephone, in two geometries The combination of color blocks was realized, showing distinct industry characteristics and unique corporate culture. In this kind of design work, it is often a combination of several elements skillfully, and then simplified to get a similar symbol of the graphics, which is to symbolize the graphics, forming a unique visual language.

Second, the design of the symbol as a basic element. The symbol here can be understood as a graphic or physical object with a given meaning. This technique is used more often in poster design. Figure 4 shows two poster designs with the theme of “Work is a joyful book”, which uses punctuation marks to make smiley faces. This sign is very popular on the Internet, and the viewers are naturally psychedelic. Figure 5 uses light bulbs, black and white, and a cross symbol to make people feel better and wake up. The skillful use of symbols by designers in these works is amazing.

Third, there are symbolic factors in the work. Not all symbols in the design are obvious. On the contrary, most designs convey information in a more subtle way, and the symbols themselves are hidden behind the scenes. In other words, the symbol can be an attitude, a behavior, a cultural position, etc., expressed through a tangible and effective carrier, and the process of finding such a carrier is design. The design of Wuhan Jianghan Road Pedestrian Street, where four life-size sculptures embody local characteristics, is quite ingenious. Although the design community is mixed, it should be said that the people are generally accepted. As a Wuhan native, who did not eagerly look forward to a bowl of dried noodles and served on the table, he also forgot to tell the story of multiple tasting sesame sauce? The modern urban life is increasingly diversified, and the history of urban life is arranged in urban sculpture. The familiar factors will give people a sense of balance and sense of belonging. The well-preserved old wells on the Wangfujing Pedestrian Street in Beijing are similar to this one. Compared with historical cities such as Beijing and Wuhan, Shenzhen is an emerging city that is dominated by foreign residents. In order to convey its unique urban atmosphere, the sidewalk in front of the Window of the World in Shenzhen uses scurry pedestrians, photographed tourists and other modern sculptures. Different cities and different styles of sculpture bring people different urban feelings. This is a successful example for designers to incorporate symbolic language into their works.

Design is a comprehensive cross-discipline. It is the intermediary of communication and contact—products—environment—society—naturally affecting people’s lifestyle directly. It is worth mentioning that green and environmental protection have become common themes of today's design. Green design is a design idea and method for the purpose of saving resources and protecting the environment. And many other aspects, such as popular style, ethnic characteristics, traditional features and other cultural factors have also become a major trend in the future design. Designers should start from the above-mentioned aspects, explore the potential of the symbol, integrate humanity, science and technology, environmental protection and other themes into the design symbols, and more convey the designer's attention to society and the pursuit of beauty.