What is language? And how is it different from communication in general?

According to Ferdinand De Saussure, “language is the most complex and universal of all systems of expression”. There are a lot of reasons why this is different from any other form of communication. First of all, it was inherited to us from past generations. Language is something that evolves and is constantly changing with the passage of time. And lastly, language cannot exist apart from the social fact.

What role does language play in design?

Language plays a huge role in the design industry. For us, designers, is impossible to design without language. We use it to communicate our ideas to the world… The client will send us a brief, we have to read that in order to understand what the project is about, after that we will start sketching our ideas and depending on the project we will create the final design. Language and design cannot be separated.

How are symbols or iconography related to language?  

Symbols and icons are forms of writing communication, they help us to communicate ideas with our peers. Over the years they have developed a meaning that most of us understand. For that reason I would say that symbols and icons are closely related to language. 

How are signs, signifiers, and the signified employed in general communication? Or in graphic communication? 

 According to the reading, the linguistic sign is the psychological entity formed by concept and sound-image. Signs, signifiers, and signified are the most complex and universal systems of expressions. These are constantly employed in general and graphic communication, a sign is something that cannot be changed because it was inherited from past generations, for that reason we have to adapt ourselves to this rules of communication. 

What facts or details from these texts provoke ideas for developing new design strategies?

The thing that stood out to me the most was the fact that not everyone will understand certain things the same way as us, therefore we have to be very careful when selecting symbols, icons, or words. I would say that a good strategy should include researching the meaning of our words properly so that people don’t get confuse.

What can archaic numbering systems or rudimentary signage show us about language or the design process?

Archaic numbering systems and rudimentary signage is something that has been with us for decades. All of them took the form of a word, we can say that the visual imagery is attached associated with a word, therefore it is very important to consider that as part of the design process. We can say that in some cases, there is no need to write; we can just use imagery to depict our ideas. The design speaks for itself.