SIGNS: SYMBOLS, ICONS AND INDICES

A sign is a bifacial entity composed of two parts: the signifier and the signified.
The signified is the concept, the idea that one wants to send. The signifier is the perceptible part of the sign: is the drawing, the sound or the object that forms the sign.

Signs are divided into three groups:

• symbols
• icons
• indices

The sign is an icon when the signifier looks like reality. For instance, a girl’s picture is an icon of that girl, because is similar to reality, is similar to the girl.

It’s a symbol when the signifier doesn’t look like reality. For instance, a red, white and blue flag is the symbol of France, because it’s not similar to reality, It’s not similar to the whole of France. It represents the France but obviously it doesn’t look like French people, French language, French food, French towns or French geography. In conclusion, doesn’t look like France.

The index is a natural sign, without a sender. For example a rainbow is an index, a natural sign that before this moment it had rained. Nobody drew this sign on the sky. There isn’t a sender. There is only this wonderful natural sign.

It’s important to understand the role and the rules of this concept.

It’s a very useful tool to analyzing and creating an effective fashion and luxury visual text, synchronic rather than diachronic.