The principle of semiotics in graphic design

In the racing field, the designer paints the walls of the corners with a pattern of black and yellow stripes to remind drivers to focus and alert them to accidents. This is because every time people see black and yellow stripes, they will inadvertently produce fear and vigilance. This kind of feeling not only comes from the visual characteristics of the pattern colors, but may also cause people with black and yellow stripes. It is related to the association of animals that may pose dangers such as tigers or bees. People's fear and alertness to such figures are a continuation of the fear and vigilance of tigers or bees in people's common life experience; People feel happy and relaxed, as if they are in the dense jungle and fresh air, and life can grow healthily in the natural environment. Therefore, green is used more in medicine, environmental protection, and other design topics related to the life field.
Such examples are numerous, and there are often similar applications in actual design. What is the reason for this? What rules govern these phenomena? The shadows of semiotic principles are hidden behind many of the techniques that we are using extensively in graphic design. It is precisely because of its existence that the graphic design information is conveyed more scientifically and accurately, and the expression methods are more colorful.
The relationship between a graphic design and the nature of semiotics Regarding symbols and semiotics, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period, Zhuangzi, the famous thinker of our country, pointed out in his book Zhuangzi Outer Chapter: “The speaker is concerned and he forgets to speak words”: that is, between language and things. There is a relationship between tokens and objects being represented. Language is the token of things. Things are tokens of language. The task of language is to convey the information of things. The role of language is the medium to convey information. Symbols are the things that use certain media to represent or refer to something.
The famous Italian semiotic scholar Aike proposes that the symbol is defined as any such thing. According to the established social habits, it can be regarded as something that represents something else. ---- A mark X stands for Y, which is not. The idiom “Yan Ni Hong Claw” vividly and accurately expressed the concept of symbols. The paws and seals that the geese left behind on the mud and snow have made people aware of the fact that once there was a Hongyan passing through, and can infer the size of the geese, etc. information. The paw print is the mark X, and the goose is not Y. Semiotics is the science that studies the laws of symbols.
2. Where does the symbol come from?
Due to human-specific social labor and language, people's consciousness activities have reached a high level of development. People's thinking starts from the cognition of appearances, then records the images in the brain to form concepts, and then these are derived from actual life experience. The concept of generalization is fixed, so that the various objects and processes in the external world and even in the thinking world of their own generate corresponding images in the brain. These influences are separated from the direct external relations and are independent of the mind to maintain and operate. These images are based on a narrow language and are also expressed as generalized languages ​​such as visual graphics, body movements, and music.
3. Graphic design and semiotic principles A. Graphic design is a special thinking process Human consciousness process is actually a process of symbolizing the world. Thinking is nothing more than an operation process of selecting, combining, transforming, and regenerating symbols. Therefore, it can be said that people use symbols to think, and symbols are the main body of thinking. Graphic design is the purpose of information communication. In the two-dimensional space, the position, proportion, and mutual relationship of visual objects are planned. It is no doubt a process of thinking, but at the same time, it is not a common sense. Thinking process. This is a thinking process that starts with the designer and continues to the audience's psychological activities. This continuation depends on the symbol as the subject of thinking. Like the example mentioned at the beginning of this article, the designer signs the dangerous animal tiger or bee into yellow and black stripes and relies on it to convey danger and alertness information to the driver's consciousness.
B. Graphic Design It can be said that symbolic plane design is essentially the use of flat media to convey information, which determines that it must be part of a generalized language. Therefore, the graphic design itself is an expression of the symbol; at the same time, it is based on the symbolic method and the principle of the symbol. It can be seen from this that how reasonable and accurate the use of symbols is is how important it is to achieve the purpose of information delivery. Finding a symbol X can accurately convey Y's information and become the key to the success of a graphic design work.
Two more features of excavation symbols, the more accurate use of symbols in the language plane design itself is the expression of symbols, designers use it to convey their own thinking process and conclusions to the audience, to achieve the purpose of guidance or persuasion; in other words, the audience It is also through the designer's works and their own experience to confirm, ultimately understand the designers want to express the thoughts and feelings. Obviously, the graphic design work as an intermediate media is now the designer's thought and feeling symbol. The information that this symbol needs to express can be accurately, quickly, and effectively accepted and recognized by the audience. It becomes a design. The sign of the success of the work. This is determined by the accuracy and effectiveness of the selection, combination, conversion, and reproduction of symbols in the design process of the designer. It can be said that symbols are tools for expressing thoughts and feelings. The old saying "The workers must do their thing well," must have a new interpretation here.
In order to better understand and use the symbolic tool, three concepts should be understood:
1. In order to make the symbol deepen continuously, the three types and levels of symbols are related to their referents (that is, their orientations to the things or domains involved). Currently, it is widely believed that the symbols can be distinguished from the following three types in the field of symbol theory research. Different types are also three levels of symbols:
â–  Image Symbols (ICON) Image symbols are constructed by simulating or being similar to an object. Like a portrait, it is an image symbol of someone. People have an intuitive perception of it and can be identified by the similarity of the image.
â–  Indicator (INDEX) There is a causal or temporal and spatial association between the indicator and the object to which it refers. Such as road signs, it is the road sign; and the door is the sign of the building's exit.
SYMBOL There is no inevitability or intrinsic link between the symbolic symbol and the object to which it refers. It is a result of conventional conventions. The object it refers to and the acquisition of the relevant meaning are caused by the feelings of many people for a long time. The resulting associations come together, that is, social conventions. For example, red represents the revolution, and peach is a symbol of longevity in the eyes of Chinese people.
The above three are not only the three types of symbols ---- coexisting and not mutually substitutable, but also the three levels of progressive deepening of symbols, one from the image symbol to the indicator and then to the symbolic symbol, the extent of which is continuously deepening, and the information content is more Extensive process. The image of the hammer appears on the packaging of the product. Undoubtedly, it is only the symbol of the product inside the package. The message conveyed to the consumer is “the product in this package is a hammer”. At this time, it appears as an image symbol; It is an important basic tool for people to produce and has industrial characteristics that are widely recognized. Therefore, when it appears in the signage of a road sign or a place, it appears as an indicator symbol, and the information conveyed is “here is an industrial field”. When this image reappeared, it was a sign of the communist belief that together with the sickle knife, it no longer has the meaning of the above two, but refers to the working class and, together with the sickle knife, symbolizes the political system of the worker-peasant alliance. . The image of the hammer here is displayed in front of people with its symbolic identity. At this time, the meaning of its expression is impeccable and accurate, and this is precisely because it is simply an image symbol that is advanced as an indicator symbol through its internal causality, and then it is given more extensively by many people for a long time. The meaning of leaping into the symbolic symbol of the inevitable result of the process.
In a poster showing the theme of anti-corruption, the author chose a puppet as the main image, and it was manipulated to fall into the darkness of the unknown. Puppets, also known as 傀儡. This is a kind of props or toys that are used to play. It is the way it is performed by the actor's line drawing. At the same time, this has been recognized by everyone as its characteristic. It is also commonly used by people to describe people and things that they do not advocate and are merciful. It has become a symbol of "manipulated." I used it in the poster to symbolize the locusts of countries that were manipulated by desires to go to destruction. It was to use it as a symbol of the "manipulated." The reason why the puppet can be used as such a symbol is because its characteristics have been recognized by people and based on this association. This work is also a little attempt to apply the deepened symbols.
From this we can see that in order for the information of thoughts and feelings to be conveyed more effectively and accurately, a process of deepening symbols is needed. However, it is irresponsible to blindly and objectively intensify the reference to the symbol, and it is contrary to the original intention.
2. Grasping the variable thinking of symbols is a category of time and space as a narrowly defined personal thinking, with the long duration of life and the exploration of different living spaces; as a thinking activity of a broader human society, it has a general meaning. On the eternal nature and applicability to all involved space. As the main body of thinking, symbols are also variable in the transformation of time and space.
â–  Different time and space, so that a specific symbol has different referents;
â–  different time and space, different symbols refer to the same thing;
In the design, for the selection and exploitation of symbols, these variables should be grasped so that the information can be accurately conveyed without ambiguity.
A. Different time and space, so that a specific symbol has a different reference to a large number of tortoise shells unearthed from the Yinshang Ruins of Anyang, Henan Province. A large number of hieroglyphs are engraved, called the Oracle, which is the earliest Chinese text to be tested. These words were used to record the results of divination, that is, the symbols of the recorded events. With the passage of time, thousands of years later, in addition to the characteristics of the symbolic events recorded in the eyes of archeologists, these hard-to-recognize words have become common to most people. Thousand years ago the symbol of that era. In a large number of graphic design works, the image of Oracle has repeatedly appeared. The information it conveys is no longer the result of the ancient people's inquiry of destiny, but has turned into a memorial to people of that era. These words have become thousands of years of Chinese civilization. Glory prompt.
The character “卐”, which is an ancient spell, talisman or religious symbol, is usually regarded as a symbol of fire or sun. It has appeared in many countries and regions. In China and other Asian countries, "Bang" is a Buddhist symbol. In Sanskrit, it means "collection of auspiciousness." It is considered to be the Rui Xiang that appeared in front of Sakyamuni's chest. It is used as a symbol of "Wonderful Love". Wu Zetian lived longevity in the second year (AD 693). His custom-written pronunciation was “wan, wan yin” and was also written in the Buddhist scriptures. However, the same character has a completely different meaning in modern Europe. In 1920, Hitler, the German Nazi leader at that time, used the “Skull” as the emblem of the Nazi party. He believed that this symbolized “the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryans” and that “卐” became the rule of fascism, violence and Bloody symbol of terror. 2 The same symbol, but in the different space has the opposite reference object, "卐" is a typical example. The awkward meaning of the auspicious meaning that appears in design works in China or Asia is extremely difficult to be accepted by the people of Western countries. They cannot understand that this symbol is different from their customary reference.
In the case of relatively consistent time and space, social factors are also the main factors that sign refers to change. The condom was a very common kind of birth control tool, but in just a few decades, it has undergone tremendous changes in the sign as a symbol in the corner of the world. Because of its use, in the early design work, its appearance merely reflected its behavior itself. However, when the 20th century, the discovery and rapid spread of AIDS in the 1950s and 1960s, the image of the condom in the design works. Appearance of