First Steps in Semiotics

by stuartMar 28, 2022First Steps in Semiotics

Tip of the day: Where have I seen this before?

My name is Joe and I’m a research executive with Lawes Consulting where I’m learning to do semiotics! It’s a great learning experience, in which I am always discovering something new and compelling that makes me want to investigate further.

This blog post shares with you what I am learning currently. It is based on one particular technique but it is also a hint of the kind of work I have been doing over the last year – with reference to, topics that have cropped up along my journey at working for Lawes Consulting.

The technique I have in mind for this blog, is one I picked out from page 7 of the book “Using Semiotics in Retail” (2022) by Dr. Rachel Lawes. This technique is called: “Where have I seen this before?”. As an example of this technique being used in semiotics, there is also a corresponding activity in the book which I have completed myself. Let me show you what I did.

TECHNIQUE 1: WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS BEFORE?

CONCEPT

This idea is a very helpful tool for thinking with a semiotic mind-frame, especially if you don’t already have your own set perspective on the subject matter. The concept of “Where have I seen this before?” is very useful in its own right, it is also a catalyst for other follow up questions such as;

Where has it come from?
Why is it here?
What was in the persons mind at the time when they came up with it?
- Did they get the reaction that they wanted?
What does this remind me of?
- How could I describe perfectly what it was like to another person using a metaphor?
What is this going to remind your target customer of, given what we know about their lives and culture?

I use this thought process a lot in semiotics but when I found it in the book it was great to see it explained in print and it wasn’t just me going mad. Let’s have a quick look now at the activity I have completed and analysis thereafter.

METHOD

A way to get started with semiotics is to pick a topic or object, give it a name and ask yourself “where have I seen this before?”. To begin with, there were a few items that I had been working on recently which I thought would fit perfectly here because, they require a deeper analysis. So I have simply given the item a name and just listed next to it – all the places where I recognise the item from;

Item 1 = Flowers – Bunches of flowers / Gardens of flowers / Flower shops / Weddings / Birthdays / Parties / Funerals / Marlon Brando wears one in the Godfather (1972) film

Item 2 = Rings – Weddings / Expensive places / Special occasions / Holidays / Nights out / Religious Places / Lord of the rings (1954-1955 Books) (2001-2003 Modern Films) – All about golden rings of power

Item 3 = Hawaiian shirt (originally called an aloha shirt) – Hawaii / UK / USA / Australia / Beaches / Holidays / Golf courses / 1980s / Miami Vice (American crime drama series) / GTA Vice City (Game – fast cars etc.) / Al Pacino wears them in Scarface (1983)

ANALYSIS

After having been through the process of the method; I have now reviewed the nature of my key items and the criteria I use for understanding them. I have also advanced my own knowledge about the signs, symbols and cues of my chosen items, looking at the range of scenarios that contrast and differ. The prompt from the book we use at this point is;

“Are all the semiotic indicators pointing in the same direction?”

Item 1: Flowers – noticeably “funerals” contrasts with all the other elements before it which have a celebratory theme.

So we should remember that flowers can portray an entirely different meaning if not used within the right context e.g. The Godfather (Marlon Brando) famously wears one in The Godfather (1972) film, elevating his character to gentlemanly status.

Item 2: Rings – can remind you of exciting new marriages and futures, frivolity, luxury and sometimes it can be seen as quite tacky and showing off a bit. On the other side of the coin you have;
- Signs of power e.g. The Pope’s ring which he still wears today – The Fisherman’s ring, which is it’s real name, was used up until 1842 to seal official documents / Lord of the Rings – a story about how people can become obsessed by the temptation of individual power. So, there is a moral and ethical viewpoint here that needs to be explored when looking at this item.

Item 3: Hawaiian shirts now I think about it, could possibly be related to almost any kind of summer holiday or just taking a break in some way e.g. golf courses, they seem to blend in to these places well. Thinking beyond this, it is also reminiscent of the 1980s era;
- Shows like Miami Vice (American crime drama series) and gangster films like Scarface (1983 – starring Al Pacino), and games like GTA Vice City (2002 – loosely based on Scarface set in the 1980s). GTA Vice City references quite a few films from the 80’s era including The Godfather and Miami Vice. Scarface is the main one however.

So we need to remember in this case Hawaiian shirts may not just mean taking a break they could also be indicators of male decadence, crazy outgoing styles and edgy fashion conscious behaviour of the 1980s. The Godfather (1972), in contrast has a very dark, formal and sombre masculinity, which evolves into films like Scarface (1983) in more modern times.

So I guess the key idea that you need to be aware of when using this technique (and semiotics overall generally), is that everything has another side of the story to it within society and you will find one if you look for it. With possible reaction on both opposite ends of the scale mapped out i.e. Expected / Unexpected, you can then safely go ahead and start thinking creatively about how you could put “your items” to good use in advertising. It’s a lot easier to start off by knowing what powers you have at your disposal to convey different messages.

This is what I am already able to do at the start of my journey with semiotics. There is still a whole world of knowledge out there yet to be uncovered, I am still just learning semiotics and you can to – here are the books you need to get where you want to be in marketing & retail;