Hall, Sean. This Means This, This Means That : A User’s Guide to Semiotics, Laurence King Publishing, 2012 (Chapters 1 & 2) pgs 21-67.
In this reading we learn the meanings of signs,signifiers and signified with various examples of how they are used in paintings, symbols, photographs etc. They can be icons, symbols, and the index. An icon is something that is meant to resemble or signified something else .For example the sound of rain drops represents the rain outside. This was a little bit confusing to understand but understanding what makes a sign makes things more clear which signfier and signified .The sign from my understanding of the reading is the full element that the signifiers and signified make. An example of a symbol is this signs that are used in Russia in order to protest war. To understand what their message is, you need to understand what the asterisks represent. Asterisks are a place to replace the words stop war. Each asterisks is to represent a letter from the Russian alphabet that spells the words. This is done to protest without displaying the message directly.
One way that non-literal devices are used to convey meanings in advertising is through using metaphors, one example is this Nivea advertisement. In this advertisement they use the image of a toast that is burned to represent getting sunburned. The image does not directly show someone being sunburned but by having the writing in the center say Nivea sun the audience is able to tell what they are trying to represent. By having the imagery of the toast instead of someone with burn skin, it shows the audience something that they might not have expected and brings their attention to the product.
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