Communication Design Theory

From the reading named Course in General Linguistics by Ferdinand de Saussure. I learned two new words, one is Linguistics and the other one Semiology, which have many different functions in the human’s life and communication. Linguistics is the scientific way to study the human language by observing an interplay between sound and meaning. Semiology corresponds to the sign process and the communication of it. Linguistics deals with speaking in which one person communicates with another. Linguistics is part of semiology and it is considered a tool of design which helps to describe and therefore understand what the reading is trying to say. These two terms show an extension that goes deeper into words or visuals and both shows its importance in the communication field.  

We use signs and symbols in everyday language such as the ways to go to the right or the left. Signs these days have become major communication in human lives that guaranteed directions and a correct way to go which communicates a specific idea. Society is capable of understanding signs that are easy to catch at the present moment. I have seen many signs such as the signs for the bathroom, the traffic signs, hand signs or even the traffic lights which portrays a message. 

Semiology can be broken into parts such as signifiers, signified, and signs which are able to put together communication. Signifier and signified is a combination that portrays a particular idea. Signifier (sound, printed word, or image) is the form which the sign takes and signified is the meaning that the sign gives.  The sign contains the combination of the signifier and signified which form an important unity in communication. 

Language and graphic communication and visual arts are related because language is like a storehouse of sound or images and writing them produces an illustration of them which conduct to graphic. Language gives a way to communicate with others via concepts. Graphic communication projects an image or forms of what the language is trying to say and visual arts helps to convey the message that the graphic is trying to make in society that can be easily understandable. For example a sign must be good and understandable so the viewers will be pleased but if it doesn’t work, society will not comprehend what the sign is trying to say and therefore the sign will not have communication. 

 

What distinguishes semiology from linguistics? Semiology is the study of sign process. Meanwhile, linguistics is the study of the language. In the excerpt by Ferdinand de Saussure’s Course in General Linguistics, he states that “Linguistics is very closely related to other sciences that sometimes borrow from its data” and he provides an example that linguistics is related to social psychology. I agree that linguistics­­­­­ is related to social psychology because in every day language people speak differently. However, they understand one another despite their pronunciation. ­­

Saussure stated in the excerpt that Language is a system of signs that express ideas. This is why we use signs in everyday language because when using signs, it states and ideas or gives a meaning. Like for example, when texting we use emojis and every emoji implies a deferent feeling or meaning. Signs, signifiers and signified are employed automatically because signs are a language that conveys a message that is basically put into a symbol. A sign consists of a signifier which is the word like for example “justice” and the signified is the object.

I think that language and graphic communication are really related because graphic is the visual part of the design and the verbal part is the word and without both the design wouldn’t be balanced.

linguistics the scientific study of language and its structure, including the study of morphology, syntax, phonetics, and semantics, according to definition.com . The excerpt, “Ferdinand de Sausurre’s Course in General Linguistics”, teaches the reader different aspects of language. How humans communicate with each in everyday living.

The excerpt also shows the reader different scopes of linguistics. 1. to describe and trace the history of all observable languages, which amounts to tracing the history of families of languages and reconstructing as far as possible the mother language of each family, which means different generations has different kinds of speaking language but still has a relatable past of language. For example a kid might talk different to his parents than to his friends.  2. to determine the forces that are permanently and universally at work in all languages, and to deduce the general laws to which all specific historical phenomena can be reduced; arid. Different parts of world may speak differently but it’s similar to another. Lastly, 3. to delimit and define itself. Im guessing language defines itself from words that’s being spoken of.

Being a graphic designer relates to language because when doing a project you want to convey a message by showing your visions through an art piece. An designer want their work to speak and let people communicate through the piece. Communicating as a graphic designer is 2 things, verbally and visually.

The readings by Helen Armstrong, “Introduction: Revisiting the Avant-Garde” from Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field let designers think instead of just going straight to design. Thinking could lead to a better design and sometimes asking yourself why. The history of graphic design is important to young designers. Different design movements inspire graphic designers to go to the next step.

Rudimentary communication methods are relevant for contemporary information systems because technology is expanding. New technology made design to become more easy to access and easier to design a piece. Nowadays there’s a lot of freelancer than a person working for a company. Working for a company can limit your design but expand your social surroundings which means meet new people thats big. Designing is about getting your recognize and be known for you are through your design. Many people can say their work speak for themselves but can’t be box in a room all day. Meeting new people can help a designer reach their goals which is getting your work recognize from parts of the world. Social Responsibility is relate to a lot of designers because most designers design their works by giving messages or reaching a specific audience.

Ellen Lupton & J. Abbott Miller, Counting Sheep, Period Styles, Language of Dreams and Language of Vision from Design Writing Research: Writing on Graphic Design: Lupton Miller Design Writing Research, shows readers and designers that are are different ways to count and write down numbers.  This book kinda reminds me of emojs, maybe this inspired emojs to be event. A faster way to express yourself. This excerpt explain the writings and communication methods to communicate with others in a design perspective.  According to the readings, “Many historians view phonetic scripts as the most advanced stage in the development of writing”.  phonemic alphabet  can help designers approximate pronunciation models, and use dictionaries. What facts or details from these texts provoke ideas for developing new design strategies? Armstrong explains about how this statements can improve advanced designs and have people thinking. Studying each other can improve each design.

Semiology is distinguished from linguistics because linguistics is a sub-category of semiology that is able to be studied in itself due to the fact that it is not connected to any other sciences. It is only compared to general sciences when related to semiology. Semiology, on the other hand, is a science that studies life of signs within society in conceivable. Semiology is the task of the psychologist to determine its exact place.

Signs are used in everyday life once you leave the house. The control of society like the red hand that appears red but then switches to a walking person to indicate you have the right of way. In mathematics, we have signs that tell us when something must be added, subtracted, divided, multiplied, and so on. We use signs to communicate a meaning that is not the sign itself to people.

Sign designates the whole. The signified would replace the concept within the diagram of communication. Signifier replaces sound-image respectively within the diagram of communication.

Language, as we read in the reading Course in General Linguistics, “It is both a social product of the faculty of speech and a collection of necessary conventions that have been adopted by a social body to permit individuals to exercise that faculty” which means it is a speaking and writing ability inherited to be able to communicate with others. This is related to graphic communication because it communicates ideas to others with hopes that the people will engage and communicate what they learned with others. Graphic communication is composed of synergy, which is the combination of text and image working together to convey an idea. Visual art is a general topic meaning any art work composed of any medium. The visual within graphic communication or the image in your head when you speak could be visual art.

In the reading by Ferdinand de Sausurre’s Course in General Linguistics. Saussure states that  “Launguage is a system of sign language that express ideas, and is therefore comparable to a system of writing, the alphabet of deaf- mutes, symbolic rites, polite formulas, military signals, etc.” that mean the semiolgy is the study of signs and symbols where as liguistic is a study of language where language has meaning and sound and sound image.

We use signs in everyday language by the expression As in the reading Saussure explained the Chinese gesture of bowing down to the ground 9 times and expressing the value to others and following the rule. In the reading, he also states that  “Language and this consideration surpasses all the others is at every moment every- body’s concern; spread throughout society and manipulated by it, language is something used daily by all”. This quote means that Language is very important for everyone and each person use to communicate with others by language and it is spread throughout the community that sometimes language can be use negatively to manipulate others.

The sign is a thing that unites the signified that is concept or idea and the signifier that is sound that is linked with the image. In the reading, by Saussure says that “I call the combination of a concept and a sound image a sign, but in current usage the term generally designates only a sound image, a word, for example (arbor, etc).” In this quote explained that adding signified and signifier is called called sign Saussure uses the example of tree. He said the word tree is the concept or idea and the tree image is the sound image that appeare in mind to say that the object that is sign. 

The language, graphic communication and visual arts are related to one another by the signifier, signified and the sign. Each of them needs concept or the idea to work on and each of them has image for example language has the sound image of a tree and artists has to create image or work.

 

Ferdinand de Saussure course in General Linguistics gave me a whole new view point on language. It is something that we use in our everyday life to communicate with one another, but according to Saussure there is much more to language. One concept that I found the most interesting was the process between psychological and physiological. It requires at least two or more people and the whole process starts with “A given concept unlocks a corresponding sound-image in the brain; this purely psychological phenomenon is followed in turn by a physiological process: the brain transmits an impulse corresponding to the image to the organs used in producing sounds (Saussure).” What I learned from this process is that language is much more than just words that come out our mouths but that it is also just as much a physical process as it is a mental one. I can see this relating to design in the way that when we come up with ideas we are doing the psychological part. When we communicate the idea we do it through a design which is the physical part. 

“Language is not a function of the speaker it is a product that is passively assimilated by the individual (Saussure).” This specific quote stood out to me the most while I was reading. It made me think about how each individual person communicates based on their own opinions. For example, Someone’s reaction to a specific painting might be different than someone who knows more about it. How a person responds in language is possibly just not based on what they are responding to but how. This makes me wonder how this fits into design. Since it is called communication design, language does play a big role since it relates to how an individual will respond to a specific design based on the information shown. As Saussure states, “ It is the social side of speech, outside the individual who can never create nor modify it by himself it exists only by virtue of a sort of contract signed by the members of a community.” The social side of language plays a role in communication because most of it is based on what we socially know, especially in one country a specific word might mean something else in a different country. 

Reading Linguistics was definitely confusing at first, especially when it came to describing how language works. After reading some sections a few times I think I came to understanding it a little more especially when the topic of words came up. Words aren’t exactly just a meaning or a name, but a reference to two terms. As Saussure describes it, “The linguistic sign unites, not a thing and a name, but a concept and a sound-image.” In the reading the example used with arbor and the image of the tree reminded me of last week’s reading, because it brought me back to the idea of symbols and how a symbol can sometimes be an exact representation of the meaning just like how arbor means tree.

Reading “COURSE IN GENERAL LINGUISTICS” by Ferdinand De Saussure was very puzzling for me. I don’t even know where to start. I’ve heard the word linguistics before but never knew what it means until now. This article has different definitions of linguistics but I think the main explanation of linguistics is to determine and trace the history of all languages universally.

 

How are language, graphic communication and visual arts related to or distinct from one another? The three of them are related to each other because they involve symbols, expression and creativity for everyone globally. How the three are distinct from one another is visual arts is more solely on having to get messages by yourself without any words involved.

 

Up to the part where the article talks about languages and speeches I was kind of able to understand it. One part says, “no one has proved that speech, as it manifests itself when we speak, is entirely natural, i.e. that our vocal apparatus was designed for speaking just as our legs were designed for walking.” I don’t think our vocal apparatus was designed for speaking only. It was designed for singing, making music, doing voice overs and etc. Plus, our legs where designed to not only walk but run, tap dance, climb and etc. Overall, this article had me confused but some parts were understandable.