Introduction
The signifier and signified concepts described by Saussure apply to both language and visual representations. The signifier in visual communication can be considered the image or representation, and the signified can be thought of as the idea or meaning it transmits (Smith, Kelly, and Josephson, 2020).
Discussion
Since the meaning of an image is not inherent in it itself but is instead created by cultural, historical, and personal experiences, the link between the signifier and the signified in imagery is similarly arbitrary and conventional as in language (Tyrer, 2021). Visual pictures can be analyzed using the semiotic triangle theory, which holds that a sign system must include the sign, the object, and the interpreter (Pauwels, 2021). The terms “object,” “semiotic,” and “interpretant” all refer to different aspects of an image: the physical item depicted in it, the representation, and the meaning that the viewer assigns to it.
Visual images can serve as signs and carry meaning similarly to language, according to studies on the subject of visual semiotics, such as those by Roland Barthes and Umberto Eco. For instance, Barthes’ work on the rhetoric of images has shown how visual images can employ several strategies, including framing, color, and perspective, to express meaning and arouse emotions in the spectator (Semetsky, 2019).
Conclusion
The link between the signifier and the signified in images is similar to that in language, and Saussure’s theory of the signifier and signified can be applied to them (Suhaimi and Ahmed, 2021). Semiotics can be employed to examine how representations carry meaning and influence the observer. By employing semiotics, one can analyze these elements and how they work together to create a particular interpretation of the image.
Reference List
Pauwels, L. (2021). Validating Visuals: A Socio-Semiotic Instrument For an Informed Production and Use of Visual Representations. Social Semiotics, pp.1–20.
Semetsky, I. (2019). Visual Semiotics and Real Events. Video Journal of Education and Pedagogy, 4(2), pp.90–110.
Smith, K., Kelly, J.D. and Josephson, S. (2020). Handbook of Visual Communication: Theory, Methods, and Media. New York; London: Routledge.
Suhaimi, S. N. and Ahmed Fauzi, T. (2021). Visual Semiotics: Identity Reflection in Personal Symbol Creation. KUPAS SENI, 9(1), pp. 93–103.
Tyrer, C. (2021). The Voice, Text, and The Visual as Semiotic Companions: An Analysis of The Materiality and Meaning Potential of Multimodal Screen Feedback. Education and Information Technologies.