A Note on Social Semiotics

What is Social Semiotics? Who Discovered it? Why is it Important? 

Social semiotics is a field of study that examines how people utilize various signs and symbols, including language, images, sounds, and gestures, to create and comprehend meaning within social contexts. It explores how these meanings are shaped by ideology and social interaction across different forms of communication. 

It was developed by linguist Michael Halliday, who introduced systemic functional linguistics, a theory of language that considers how language is used as a social tool for creating meaning. The idea was further expanded by Gunther Kress, who applied these concepts to visual communication. 

Crusius (2016) states that, "Like language, visual images are rhetorical. They persuade us in obvious and not-so-obvious ways." Social semiotics is a crucial field of study because it enables us to decode and understand the visual messages that surround us. Images can transcend language and cultural barriers, making their ability to convey meaning powerful and far-reaching. Social semiotics provides crucial insights into what visual messages mean and how they influence us. 

What Are the Rules Associated with Social Semiotics? 

In the field of social semiotics, the vertical and horizontal positioning of elements in images plays a role in conveying meaning. Elements at the top of the image convey ideals, aspirations, abstractions, and what is imagined or desired. Elements at the bottom of the image convey reality, facts, and what is known or given. This vertical positioning distinction enables us to quickly distinguish between what is imagined and what is real. 

The horizontal positioning of elements in images allows us to understand the progression from familiar concepts to new ideas. The elements on the left of an image represent what is known, familiar, or given. The elements on the right of an image represent new, unknown, or novel information. 

Social semiotics also analyzes the composition, or how the elements are arranged and organized within the image. Elements such as symmetry, balance, and framing all convey meaning in images. An image with a symmetrical organization of elements can communicate harmony and stability, while an asymmetrical organization may communicate tension or disorganization.

Color also plays a significant role in conveying meaning and can evoke a range of emotions, moods, and interpretations. Bright colors tend to suggest energy, positivity, or excitement, while dark colors tend to suggest seriousness, somberness, or negativity. 

A significant portion of social semiotics theory examines the symbols and icons within images. Symbols are visual elements that represent ideas or concepts, often requiring cultural or contextual knowledge to be fully understood and appreciated. Icons are elements that are directly associated with the objects or ideas they represent, meaning they are more universally understood. 

Image Analysis 

Positioning

The grounded elephants at the bottom of the image convey reality and the known, the rhythm of everyday life. While the trees at the top of the image represent the ideal and what is desired, the elephant stretching up to the tree creates a powerful metaphor for striving towards something greater while grounded in community and nature. The left of the image is a bare landscape, the given and the familiar, while the elephants are on the right, the new or novel information. The elephants are moving from left to right, suggesting a journey of growth or exploration. 

Color 

The colors are warm and golden, with a beautiful sunset in the background, conveying a peaceful and majestic mood. The light shining through the trees romanticizes the image, conveying nature as sacred and glorious. 

Composition

The image is not perfectly symmetrical, but it is visually balanced, conveying a sense of harmony and stability. The elephant stretching up to the tree is the focal point, surrounded by other trees and elephants, creating a harmonious structure that conveys balance and cohesion. 

Symbols

The elephant functions as both a symbol and an icon. Universally, elephants represent strength, wisdom, and family. Culturally, they can symbolize memory and endurance. The act of the elephant reaching up toward the tree symbolically represents striving and ambition, in contrast to the rest of the supportive herd on the ground. 

Positioning

The rugged path and the hiker at the bottom of the image convey reality and what is known—the physical journey of the hiker and the effort required to move forward. While the snow-capped mountains and expansive, beautiful sky at the top represent what is desired, either literally in the hiker reaching the mountains or metaphorically as a spiritual climb. The left side of the image has the hiker, which is the given and familiar, moving towards the right, the new information side. This spatial positioning conveys a journey toward something new and transformative. 

Color 

The colors at the bottom of the image are warm and grounding, conveying a sense of calm and serenity. The top of the photo has cooler blue and white colors, conveying a sense of clarity and distance. Together, these colors work to create an awe-inspiring mood and further describe the feeling of journey and ambition. 

Composition

The image is not perfectly symmetrical, but it is visually balanced, conveying a sense of harmony and stability. The contrasting slopes on either side of the hiker guide the eye toward the valley and distant peaks, evoking a sense of movement and depth. 

Symbols

The hiker functions as both a symbol and an icon. Universally, the hiker could represent any one of us in motion, and culturally, the hiker can symbolize perseverance and self-discovery. The hiker traveling into the vast unknown symbolizes reaching towards growth or the unknown while remaining grounded in the effort and resiliency required to achieve it. 

References

Crusius, T., & Channell, C. (2016). The aims of argument: A text and reader (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.