Editing Visual communication (section)

== Study of symbols ==

=== Semiotics ===
[[Semiotics]] is the study of signs and visuals within society that relay meaning. The symbols used in different cultures to convey a meaning also entails the hidden systems and functions that make up the symbols. Logos, gestures, and technological signs such as emoticons, are a few examples of symbols used in culture.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Hawk |first=Byron |date=2001 |title=Semiotics |url=https://search.credoreference.com/articles/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6MjA5MTExNg==?qMindMap=Semiotics&concept=Q29uY2VwdDozMTA4MA%3D%3D. |access-date=Nov 7, 2023}}</ref>

The term [[semiology]] is the study of signs and symbols and their arrangements as a visual language. The characterization of what is considered a language is the existence of an alphabet that can be arranged to create meaning. An example of signs, or an alphabet, that can be arranged to create meaning are the 26 letters that make up the Modern English Alphabet which can then be used to compose written messages that can then be relayed orally. However, in semiology, the signs that create the alphabet of visual communication are more abstract than a written or verbal languages alphabet. In comparison to the English Alphabet, the visual alphabet is still being studied due to the various channels that may be used to relay visuals. Components of a still graphic compared to film, for instance.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chandler |first=Daniel |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003155744 |title=Semiotics |date=2022-04-27 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-003-15574-4 |location=London|doi=10.4324/9781003155744 }}</ref> Another category of study within the field of semiotics is how the interpretation of visual signs depends on the experiences of the person interpreting the visual components of symbols, commonly referred to as the interpretant.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Saint-Martin |first=Fernande |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2979/semioticsofvisuallan |title=Semiotics of Visual Language |date=2021-02-15 |publisher=Indiana University Press |doi=10.2979/semioticsofvisuallan |isbn=978-0-253-05521-7}}</ref>

=== Theory of semiotics ===
Collectively, the study of visual imagery and gestures as a language has two major schools of thought. The contributors who are commonly referred to are; [[Charles Sanders Peirce]] and his descendants and [[Ferdinand de Saussure]]. Peirce's school of thought is the meaning that the interpreter assigns to a particular sign instead of the study of the sign itself. His work focuses on the pragmatics, semantics, and structure of a symbol in visual communication.<ref name=":2" /> Saussure, however, focused primarily on the structure and value of a sign and its relation to other symbols within the language system. The school of thought that Saussure curated contributed to the rise of structuralism as well as later theories developed by various scholars in the field of communication.<ref name=":3" />