Ineffable: Latency in Symbolic Languages

Sirah Yoo, Virginia Commonwealth University

Abstract

The design process demands comprehensive knowledge of visual signs and symbols with a focus on visual literacy; it is related to visual syntax, semantics, and the pragmatics of contexts. My work is an interdisciplinary investigation into how designers integrate polysemantic signs into their design process for particular and highly individualized audiences. By analyzing the role of signs in specific contexts across the spectrum of arts, society, literature, and semiotics, a designer's understanding of the cyclical nature of interpretation and reinterpretation in complex environments creates an avenue for cultivating a new schema that provides further levels of interpretations and different access points. By removing elements from their original context, and fusing these elements into new narratives, we implement new meanings and emphasize the value of interpretation.