(Re)structure your idea of the web. Introducing semiotics in your workflow

A web project may be seen as a technical endeavor or a creative one, business or passion, but all possible conflicting views cannot deny the fact that designing for the web is, first and foremost, an act of communication.

This session will show how a conscious application of semiotics, the science of meaning and communication, can help all stages of a web project—from pre-design (getting the client) to launch. It can be used as a diagnostic and analytical tool, and also, in reverse, as an active component of the design process. While it may sound esoteric at first, its basic and most accessible concepts can help systematize practices that are often the product of instinct and trial and error.

Everyone on a design team—from content strategists to developers—should have a grasp of what a semiotic approach can do for their everyday work, to overcome the divide between a communication strategy and the tools used to put in into action.