Visual Semiotics: Identity Reflection in Personal Symbol Creation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37134/kupasseni.vol9.1.9.2021Keywords:
Thematic Analysis, Visual Semiotics, Personal Symbols, Design Philosophy, Visual AnalysisAbstract
This study reports on personal identity reflection in personal symbols created by first year design students. The personal symbols, together with descriptive texts that answer the prompt question: How does the personal symbol created reflect you as a designer? created by first year design students were used to identify the common themes relating to identity reflection and the extent of how connotative meanings are embedded in the personal symbols. Using the method of thematic analysis on the descriptive texts, 6 themes relating to personal identity reflection are identified including (1) Personal Preference, (2) Personal Names, (3) Character Personality, (4) Cultural Identity, (5) Design Style and (6) Design Philosophy. The extent of how connotative meanings are embedded in the personal symbols was analysed using Barthes’ visual semiotics analysis. It is proposed that there is a correlation of recurring themes across the two sets of findings, which is the theme (1) character personality, suggesting the significance of the theme in informing design students’ identity reflection in personal symbols. The framework and methods used including the integration of thematic analysis and visual semiotics to analyse symbol creation employed in the present study is aimed to provide new knowledge in the field of visual communication and graphic design. Furthermore, it is implied that these can be adopted by design educators to analyse various visual works of design students within the design field in the future.
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