The Symbiotics of Semiotics and Visual Communication

This article reviews visual semiotics, aphilosophical approach that seeks to interpret messages in terms of their signs and patterns of symbolism. Semiotic analysis is particularly relevantfor messages that rely on visual communication cues. The theory is that Peircian semiotics, rather than Saussurian semiology, can provide a central organizing perspective for analyzing how the “standsfor” function in sign systems produces meaning in nonverbal communication situations.