The areas containing the symbols were colored differently to further the distinction among the signs and corresponded to the days of the week I had each class. My Monday, Wednesday, and Friday courses were color coded in primary colors, and my Tuesday and Thursday classes were in secondary colors. This is a distinction that many are familiar with, so it is used as an example of a cultural cue informing a symbol choice. The rest of the symbols I chose were similarly culturally determined: a waning moon to show how late in the day the class was for me, starting with my earliest as a full moon and shrinking down to a crescent moon later in the day; a red, yellow, or green beacon to indicate how urgent the homework is in my opinion, utilizing a common “alert” metaphorical concept that red is critical, yellow is less so, and green is safe; and a series of basic geometric shapes--stars, squares, or triangles--that acted as arbitrary signs for the type of assignments that were left in my classes. The squares were reminiscent of the shape of paper and represented essay assignments, the triangles were for tests, and the stars showed whether or not I had a final in the course. As a result, I could look at a course and see what was on my plate or click on the courses to get more in-depth information. Finally, the icons for the files that contained my class documents corresponded to the symbols. Semiotic theory implies that the best way to pick up and understand a sign-system is to engage with it daily as we do with so many of our own sign system; I did that by keeping my classes’ documents in folders that shared the symbols I created, as shown in Figure 1. Essentially, this was my attempt at creating a practical use of semiotic theory on a smaller scale. The same application of semiotics to a simple day planner has been used in evolutionary biology. Semiotics signs are inescapable in human society and keeping them in mind and learning to better utilize them is an important skill to apply to create and navigate the myriad symbolic systems that envelop us.
The areas containing the symbols were colored differently to further the distinction among the signs and corresponded to the days of the week I had each class. My Monday, Wednesday, and Friday courses were color coded in primary colors, and my Tuesday and Thursday classes were in secondary colors. This is a distinction that many are familiar with, so it is used as an example of a cultural cue informing a symbol choice. The rest of the symbols I chose were similarly culturally determined: a waning moon to show how late in the day the class was for me, starting with my earliest as a full moon and shrinking down to a crescent moon later in the day; a red, yellow, or green “alert” beacon to indicate how urgent the homework is in my opinion, utilizing a common metaphorical concept that red is critical, yellow is less so, and green is safe; and a series of basic geometric shapes--stars, squares, or triangles--that acted as arbitrary signs for the type of assignments that were left in my classes. The squares were reminiscent of the shape of paper and represented essay assignments, the triangles were for tests, and the stars showed whether or not I had a final in the course. As a result, I could look at a course and see what was on my plate or click on the courses to get more in-depth information. Finally, the icons for the files that contained my class documents corresponded to the symbols. Semiotic theory implies that the best way to pick up and understand a sign-system is to engage with it daily as we do with so many of our own sign system; I did that by keeping my classes’ documents in folders that shared the symbols I created, as shown in Figure 1. Essentially, this was my attempt at creating a practical use of semiotic theory on a smaller scale. The same application of semiotics to a simple day planner has been used in evolutionary biology. Semiotics signs are inescapable in human society and keeping them in mind and learning to better utilize them is an important skill to apply to create and navigate the myriad symbolic systems that envelop us.
Ulab%20Part%20A%20F16.docx