Semiotic and Semantic Information - Essay Example

Semiotic and Semantic Information There is remarkable confusion about the exact definition and meaning of information. Information plays a vital role in our life as our knowledge about the objects around us depends solely on the kind of information we have about it. Thus, in the information about the things is misleading, our knowledge would be flawed and lead us to further misconceptions and ambiguities. In this paper, I explore the common understanding of information and analyze how the semantic information can improve our communication in an organization. Introduction As human beings it is our natural tendency try to understand correctly both the direct communication and the underlying meaning of what is told or written to us without misunderstanding or miscommunication. This curiosity makes it possible for us to achieve such knowledge and understanding through which the form of communication would no longer be misinterpreted. In the absence of any solid and objective criteria to analyze a communicative effort, we can only ask the sender what the meaning is. This is where the study of communication rests on theories and embraces the theories and ideas of philosophy and psychology. I wish to quote Murungi (2003) who expresses the similar view on the importance of studying communication in the words as follows: In semiotics we have [a lot] of work which examines the processes of communication by way of determining, at least theoretically, how and why symbols convey meaning. On the other hand, in visual communication we have a professional and academic area which develops and puts into use the media of visual communication, i.e., the products, in the form of icons, signs, graphical symbols, illustrations, pictorial sequences and other interfaces by which information is represented and communicated visually (Murungi 2003, p. 15). But, this communication cannot be efficient and reliable unless we understand exactly what is the true information and how this information can be passed to its receivers in order to make a systematic communication. Stamper (1987) highlights this very problem in the following words: If you want to communicate then you must stand on a technical platform with the appropriate physical, empiric and syntactic properties (roughly speaking, the right hardware, communications, and software in the most general sense). Improving them can have profound effects on society. For example, science as we know it today could not be practiced on the platform of a script technology; monks copying manuscripts in penny numbers multiplied the errors because in most cases they did not really understand the text, and even less so the accompanying diagrams; so the critical examination of theories and methods, on which scientific progress depends, had no chance to proceed until printing made possible the rapid dissemination of exact multiple copies under the control of the author, for discussion and constructive criticism. Technology reduced the costs and so improved aspects of quality from which the pay-off appeared on the social level in the form of modern science. (Stamper, 1995, p. 273) Semantic and Semiotic Information Information is an important factor of gaining knowledge abuts things and objects in our daily life. According to Luciand Floridi (2005) “[t]he concept of information has become central in most contemporary philosophy. However, recent surveys have shown no consensus on a single, unified definition of semantic information.” Information is understood and interpreted differently by every branch of knowledge. Semantics is the branch of linguistics that deals with the study of meaning. Semantics is the study of the relationships between signs and symbols and the meaning that they represent Semantics is used differently in different fields of knowledge like psychology, philosophy and more recently, in information systems. However, the main concern of semantic studies is to understand the exact meaning of an information being conveyed or received. Likewise, semiotics can be simply defined as how meaning is produced visually, where conducting a semiotic analysis on a visual reveals meaning. Most visuals have a function, whether it is to inform, identify, or etc. That function is its meaning. For example, if the function of a photo is to capture the moment, then a semiotic analysis of a photo reveals the moment. If the function of a magazine advertisement is to inform, then a semiotic analysis of a magazine advertisement reveals information. Finally, if the function of a sign is to identify, then conducting a semiotic analysis on a sign reveals identification of its company or product. How identification is achieved through a semiotic analysis of successful graphic sign is of interest in this study. Semiotics, which is a term coined by the American philosopher Charles Peirce, is the study of signs and symbols, especially the relationship between written or spoken signs and their referents in the physical world or the world of ideas. Semiotics is the core strategic method by which graphic marks, texts, and images can be deconstructed and interpreted to determine their underlying meanings. Stamper emphasizes on the norms and signs of the semiotic information and says that: Norms exist in a community and will govern how members behave, think, make judgements and perceive the world. The shared norms are what defined a culture or subculture. A subculture may be a team who know how to work effectively together, and their norms include a solution to their organisational problems. Norms can be represented in all kinds of signs, whether in documents, oral communication or behaviour, in order to preserve, to spread and to follow them. However, one cannot always put hands conveniently on a norm, as one might grasp a document that carries information through an organisation. A norm is more like a field of force that makes the members of the community tend to behave or think in a certain way.(Stamper et al. 2000) Significance of Semiotics Signs and norms can effectively be utilized in the field of advertisements in which brand management simply means the ability to create a successful first impression on the customers and maintain positive associations throughout all consumer interactions with the brand. Trademarks are used as the first and sometimes the only impression that the consumers have of a brand when they go out for shopping for a particular product or service. A great trademark is one that communicates something about the company such as the company’s persona, mission, or market approach. The sole purpose of the trademark-design process is to communicate something about the company with a single gesture or emotion. This gesture conveyed through a strong stand-alone image. Thus, every businessperson has to diagnose using an objective eye to determine if the logo projects the desired company or product image, i.e., how effectively it communicates with the consumers by conveying useful information to them through semiotic signs. Every company, every brand needs a logo as no company or product should wander, faceless, in the competitive marketing jungle without one. The Function of Trademarks The function of a trademark is identification. According to Mollerup (1999), “identification often takes place within the framework of a design program.… The term branding has been adopted in modern marketing terminology to mean the marking of products” (p. 45). According to Mollerup (1999), both design programs and branding are methods for controlling corporate identity, which one is applied on the organizational level and the other is applied on the product level. Trademarks, design programs, and branding are tightly linked with the use of one or more trademarks as dominant elements in most corporate design programs, in addition, the use of trademarks are instrumental in branding (p. 45). Semiotics Semiotics can be simply defined as how meaning is produced visually, where conducting a semiotic analysis on a visual reveals meaning. Most visuals have a function, whether it is to inform, identify, or etc. That function is its meaning. For example, if the function of a photo is to capture the moment, then a semiotic analysis of a photo reveals the moment. If the function of a magazine advertisement is to inform, then a semiotic analysis of a magazine advertisement reveals information. Finally, if the function of a trademark is to identify, then conducting a semiotic analysis on a trademark reveals identification of its company or product. How identification is achieved through a semiotic analysis of successful graphic trademarks is of interest in this study. Semiotics, which is a term coined by the American philosopher Charles Peirce, is the study of signs and symbols, especially the relationship between written or spoken signs and their referents in the physical world or the world of ideas. Semiotics is the core strategic method by which graphic marks, texts, and images can be deconstructed and interpreted to determine their underlying meanings. Peirce’s theories related to language, logic and semiotics and stated that there are three principal types of signs: icons, indices (or index), and symbols. Icons are the likenesses that convey the idea of the thing they represent by imitating them—such as a photograph of something. Indices or indications convey information by their physical connection with the thing they represent. Symbols are general signs that have become associated with their meanings by their use and convention. Contemporary semiotics is accredited to the two founding fathers, Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) and Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914). Saussure’s explanations were that a sign was made up of the signifier or material aspect and signified or mental concept dyad, and because of his background in linguistics, Saussure saw the relationship between signifier and signified as arbitrary. The link between the sign, or expression, and what it stands for is understood by convention. This arbitrariness is true in most spoken and written language, however, that may not be so for other types of signs such as visuals that provide stylized cues to stimulate recognition through resemblance. Peirce developed a version of semiotics that revolved around a three-way relationship between, among other things, the sign (or representamen), its object (the thing represented), and the result of the signification process (the interpretant), which Peirce referred to as triadic semiosis. This three-way relationship is used in this study to analyze how a successful graphic trademark identifies its product or company. The sign or representamen was similar to Saussure’s signifier or material aspect half of the dyad, while the interpretant was similar to the signified or mental concept half. The definition of an object in the sign and object relationship appears to be the key difference between Saussure’s dyadic and Peirce’s triadic sign concepts. “Peirce, a cognitive philosopher, defined signs in a broader way than language…and focused on how signs were logically or semiotically linked to their objects,” Peirce suggested that these links to objects were iconic, indexical, or symbolic (p. 16). This implied that the process of signification, which is the relationship between the representamen or sign and the interpretant was iconic, indexical, and/or symbolic Semiotics are the most basic sign systems. The relationship between signs and meaning is one of the most important questions in communication theory and it is the fundamental relationship upon which all theory and research findings must rest. The word semiotics is often used to refer to both traditions, the European and the American, but there are differences. The American approach to semiotics, as developed by philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce, focuses on the logic of meaning and the philosophy of knowledge. The European approach referred to as semiology, as developed by the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, focuses on language as a sign system. Visual communication scholars may also argue that driving on a freeway, watching an MTV program, or playing Nintendo involves a very complex set of interpretive skills, even if they are grounded in observation, rather than language. In other words, visual communication is complex and information processing is sophisticated, even if much of it is hard wired or self taught. The idea that the visual code is complex and different from language, suggests we develop a different model to understand the various aspects of sign interpretation. The interpretation of visual information, and its use of more open communication codes, is highly subjective and puts more demands on a viewer or observer than on a receiver of language-based communication. It also demands an understanding of how perceptual and cognitive processes interact. Semiotic theory is the word, whether written or spoken, that serves as a vehicle for the acts of creating meaning within the exchange of thought. What is expected is the capability of language to convey meaning. In order to formulate theories of communication such as the theory of semiotics or of literature, it is necessary to explore the mechanics of human perception and the affect of language as a referent, whether accurate or inaccurate, throughout the perception process. Man is a meaning-making animal, ordering and comprehending reality through language. The object, sign production, and sign perception (interpreter) constitutes the basic unit of a semiotic communication model which clearly operationalizes the exchange and coding of information transactionally. The concept of interpretant is that it is a sign that stands for something to the idea which produces, or modifies. What it stands for is called its object; what it conveys is called its meaning; and the idea it gives rise to is called its interpretant. The interpretant validates the sign, even in the absence of an interpreter, because it is a construct arising from contact with an object in the external world. Visual communication and achieving visual literacy is required for our growing visual environments and are quickly dominating our every surrounding. Moriarty (1994) suggests that visual communication is as much a primary system as verbal language, and that language-based communication has been inappropriately privileged in contemporary Western culture. Visual communication has several types of codes that help to determine the message, and as an argument, visual communication operates, to some degree, like a language sign system in the basic characteristics of language, which are elements, syntax, and grammar. Conclusion The discussion above in the context of Saussure’s signifier or material aspect and signified/mental concept dyad brings one to theorize the visual and semantic relationship between a symbol or trademark and its referent. Therefore, we can hypothesize that the successful visualization of information would involve a graphical symbol’s or trademark’s material aspect (the signifier half of the dyad, or symbol or trademark design) being informed in a creative design sense by the referent meaning Successful communication of this visualized information would, therefore, involve the symbol producing in the audience’s mind a mental concept or reading (the signified half of the dyad) as close to the referent (what the symbol or trademark stands for) as possible. References Murungi, H. (2003, November). Investigating visual communication in relation to graphical form using symbols for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. De Montfort University. Dr. Minger J., Prof. Stowell F., (1 May 1997) , ‘Information Systems: An Emerging Discipline?’ Stamper R., Liu K., Hafkamp M., Ades Y. ‘Understanding the roles of signs and norms in organizations – a semiotic approach to information systems design’ Source: ‘Behaviour and Information Technology’, Volume 19, Number 1, 1 January 2000 , pp. 15-27 Gazendam H. W. M. (March 23, 2004), Organizational Semiotics : A State of the Art Report, Semiotix, Issue 1 Liu K., Clarke R. J., Andersen P. B., Stamper R. K. (2001), ‘Information, Organisation and Technology: Studies in Organisational Semiotics’ Liu K, Filipe J.,(2001), ‘The EDA model: An Organizational semiotics perspective to norm-based agent design’ Barron T. M., Chiang R. H. L., Storey V. C., (March 1999), ‘A semiotics framework for information systems classification and development’ Read More