Rephrasing Semiotics in my own words

When you have no notes, (forgot to bring back my notes from uni, oh damn!)

no slides, 

no books

nothing, but google to help you in learning visual communication, (this course is quite subjective)

so i sought for the help of my blog, to help me rephrase anything i understand into this tiny little blog of mine. 

i am sure there will be a lot of flaws in it, but do correct me if there's anything wrong in whatever i am going to elaborate out in the next part

okay, 

here goes

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True, there are semiotics everywhere, hidden in messages that are express in visuals and graphics. We often watch advertisement without ever thinking deeply what are their semiotics behind all these. 

Semiotics happened, because all the messages that are trying to express out are done by humans, therefore they have selective meanings.

Semiotics is the idea that signs reference real things, an image has denotations, what you are actually seeing in the image and connotations, what the image actually makes you think.

period. 

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A sign

is a combination of a

concept and a sound-image, a combination that cannot be separated.

There are two fundamentals in signs, which is Signifier and Signified. 

I often get confuse at that -er and -ied even tho reading through it had stirred  me clear what is the difference between these two. 

so i decided to draw a plan out well

The word Signified are Past tense, therefore it comes after signifier.  

so what comes before are our brain, we often look at the physical or outerlook of something first, before we actually start thinking in connotation. 

For example: 

The word "DOG" has a connotation meaning of an animal running around going "woof" 

the word "dog" is denotative. 

Let's derive these following controversy advertisement done by United Colors of Benetton. 

i think their tactics are called "shock advertising" , something that are done to make people remember them for being outstanding than the rest. 

Even though i am sure Benetton is a commercial company who ought to advertise things commercially, but they did it non-commercially but in another way still helping them "commercially"

i think it's confusing you but i shall dig in deeper later.

now why would a clothing company be advertising things like this to appeal people to buy their products?

what are the semiotics here eh?

of course they still have their trademarks there, 

but have if you actually dig in deeper. okay, we see three people with different skin color, an army clothes being drench in blood, and a few leaders of the same gender kissing each other (that causes quite an uproar)

all denotation

but what's the signified thing in here?

With two leaders (opposing each other in real life) smooching each other,in connotation meanings, which is

It is a uniting image, uniting two opposing sides in an act that both sides would find difficult to digest. 

People buy Benetton to make themselves feel better, in another words, they are supporting their controversial advertisement, and of course by thinking this is a "worthy" campaign after all. 

Done?

okay, semiotics chapter

Close

maybe i didn't dig in deeper, but i think words can't elaborate much anymre when my brain cells are deteriorating.