Language emerges from the symbols, sounds, and movements that we came up with thousands of years ago. The basic building blocks of language are called phonemes, sounds that create the various languages in existence. Recently there has even been a concept of “love” languages. All of this to say that language is a tool to communicate with. Saussure breaks language down even further by discussing the signs, signifiers, and the signified. These three ideas show that we communicate through the interchange of concepts and sound images and how this connection between the two create a psychological impression on our senses. This is what makes language unique amongst other forms of communication, our minds will take this and we’ll know exactly what the other person is talking about. 

I think that in graphic design, these signs might be more culturally tied to a language. There are many languages and lots of cultures that use them. There is so much overlap with the languages today thanks to the internet, where we can learn about another culture. Designers know this and make use of it by creating for a broader audience. There are problems sometimes where the language barrier leads to some confusion, like engrish. But design is still able to convey the concepts cross-culturally. Bowing to someone else is a sign of deep respect across all nations, and so a designer can use that to create something for an ad campaign for example. This ties design as a universal language, separate from the local cultures and how they use it.