Semiotics

Semiotics

Semiotics is the study of signs. It was created by Roland Barthes. He talks about meaning being constructed through signs.

Written language in it's self is a collection of signs.

We have always known that meaning is created through pictures, words, etc but Barthes and others brought terminology to it so that people could debate about in an intellectual and standard way that stood up to scrutiny.

Above is an example of how semiotics works.

We associate the symbols for toilets with males and females. Symbols are used because they are simple and more easily recognisable. In the middle symbols are used to create the word Pig but it does not represent a pig as much as a picture or a symbol of a pig would. Showing that our minds have been trained to react to symbols more. On the right we see a romantic date, this is a image rather than a symbol but it is so generic that our minds know what it is at first sight.