Objets et Communication MEI - Hochschule für Gestaltung ...

OBJETS &
COMMUNICATION
Sous la direction de Bernard Darras
& de Sarah Belkhamsa
5.5 Designers
Nathalie Audigier
Sarah Belkhamsa
Anne Beyaert-Geslin
Bernhard Bürdek
Jacob Buur
Bernard Darras
Michela Deni
Jean-Philippe Dupuy
Jean Fisette
Jacques Fontanille
Christophe Genin
Xotchitl Arias Gonzales
Jérôme Guibourgé
Jan Hadlaw
Trine Heinemann
Jung-A Hue
Jung-Hae Kim
Betti Marenko
Gavin Melles
Johann van der Merwe
Robb Mitchell
Marc Monjou
Nanta Novello Paglianti
Andrzej Piotrowski
Giampaolo Proni
Keith Russell
David Tucker
Susann Vihma
Alessandro Zinna

Sous la direction de
Bernard Darras & Sarah Belkhamsa
Objets & cOmmunicatiOn
MEI N°30-31
L’Harmattan

mei « médiation & infor ma tion ».
Revue internationale de communi cation
Une revUe-livre. — Créée en 1993 par Bernard Darras (Université de Paris 1) et Marie Thonon (Université
de Paris VIII), MEI « Médiation Et Information » est une revue thématique biannuelle présentée
sous forme d’ouvrage de référence. La responsabilité éditoriale et scientifique de chaque numéro
thématique est confiée à une Direction invitée, qui coordonne les travaux d’une dizaine de chercheurs.
Son travail est soutenu par le Comité de rédaction et le Comité de lecture. Une contribution annuelle du
Centre National du Livre (CNL) permet un fonctionnement souple et indépendant.
Une revUe-livre de référence. — MEI est l’une des revues de référence spécialisées en Sciences de l’information
et de la communication, reconnue comme “qualifiante” par l’Agence d’évaluation de la recherche
et de l’enseignement supérieur (aéres). Elle est de plus certifiée par le Conseil national des universités
(CNU). Le dispositif d’évaluation en double aveugle garantit le niveau scientifique des contributions.
Une revUe-livre internationale. — MEI « Médiation et information » est une publication internationale
destinée à promouvoir et diffuser la recherche en médiation, communication et sciences de l’information.
Onze universités françaises, belges, suisses ou canadiennes sont représentées dans le Comité de
rédaction et le Comité scientifique.
Un dispositif éditorial thématiqUe. — Autour d’un thème ou d’une problématique, chaque numéro
de MEI « Médiation et information » est composé de trois parties. La première est consacrée à un entretien
avec les acteurs du domaine abordé. La seconde est composée d’une dizaine d’articles de recherche.
La troisième présente la synthèse des travaux de jeunes chercheurs.
Monnaie Kushana, représentation de Miiro
Source : Hinnels, J., 1973. Persian Mythology. Londres : Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd.
Médiation et infor ma tion, tel est le titre de notre
pu bli cation. Un titre dont l’abréviation mei correspond
aux trois lettres de l’une des plus riches racines
des langues indo­euro péennes. Une racine si
riche qu’elle ne pouvait être que di vine. C’est ainsi
que le dieu védique Mitra en fut le pre mier dépositaire.
Meitra témoigne de l’alliance conclue entre
les hommes et les dieux. Son nom évoque l’alliance
fondée sur un contrat. Il est l’ami des hommes et
de façon plus gé né rale de toute la création. Dans
l’ordre cos mique, il préside au jour en gardant la
lumière. Il devient Mithra le garant, divin et solaire
pour les Perses et il engendre le mithraïsme
dans le monde grec et romain.
Retenir un tel titre pour une revue de communi
cation et de médiation était inévitable. Dans
l’univers du verbe, le riche espace séman tique de
mei est abondamment exploité par de nom breuses
langues fondatrices. En védique, mitra signifie
“ami ou contrat”. En grec, ameibein signi fie
“échanger”, ce qui donne naissance à amoibaios
“qui change et se ré pond”. En latin, quatre grandes
familles seront déclinées : mu tare “mu ter, changer,
mutuel…”, munus “qui appartient à plu sieurs personnes”,
mais aussi “cadeau” et “com muniquer”,
meare “pas ser, circu ler, permis sion, perméable,
tra verser…” et enfin migrare “chan ger de place”.
© 2009, auteurs & Éditions de l’Harmattan.
7, rue de l’École­polytechnique. 75005 Paris.
Site Web : http://www.librairieharmattan.com
Courriel : diffusion.harmattan@wanadoo.fr et harmattan1@wanadoo.fr
ISBN : 978­2­296­11707­5 EAN : 9782296117075

Direction de publication
Bernard Darras
Rédaction en chef
Marie Thonon
Comité scientifique
Jean Fisette (UQAM, Québec)
Pierre Fresnault­Deruelle (Paris I)
Geneviève Jacquinot (Paris VIII)
Marc Jimenez (Paris I)
Gérard Loiseau (CNRS, Toulouse)
Armand Mattelart (Paris VIII)
J.­P. Meunier (Louvain­la­Neuve)
Bernard Miège (Grenoble)
Jean Mouchon (Paris X)
Daniel Peraya (Genève)
Comité de lecture
Jan Baetens, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Brigitte Borja de Mozotta, Université Paris X
Karen Brunel­Lafargue, Université Paris I
Dominique Chateau, Université Paris I
Nicole Everaert­Desmedt, Faculté Universitaire Saint
Louis, Bruxelles
Silvia Filippini­Fantoni, Université Paris I
Alain Findeli, Université de Nîmes
Pierre Fresnault­Deruelle, Université Paris I
Pascal Froissart, Université Paris VIII
Jean­Pierre Meunier, Université de Louvain­la­Neuve
Marie Thonon, Université Paris VIII
Philippe Verhaegen, Université de Louvain­la­Neuve
Édition & révision
Pascal Froissart
Secrétariat
Gisèle Boulzaguet
Comité de rédaction
Dominique Chateau (Paris I)
Bernard Darras (Paris I)
Pascal Froissart (Paris VIII)
Gérard Leblanc (École nationale supérieure « Louis­Lumière
»)
Pierre Moeglin (Paris XIII)
Alain Mons (Bordeaux III)
Jean Mottet (Paris I)
Marie Thonon (Paris VIII)
Patricio Tupper (Paris VIII)
Guy Lochard (Paris III)
Correspondants
Robert Boure (Toulouse III)
Alain Payeur (Université du Littoral)
Serge Proulx (UQAM, Québec)
Marie­Claude Vettraino­Soulard (Paris VII)
Les articles n’engagent que leurs auteurs ; tous droits réservés.
Les auteurs des articles sont seuls responsables de tous les droits relatifs
aux images qu’ils présentent.
Toute reproduction intégrale ou partielle, faite sans le consentement
de son auteur ou de ses ayants droits, est illicite.
Éditions Op. Cit. — Revue MEI « Médiation et information »
6, rue des Rosiers. 75004 Paris (France)
Tél. & fax : +33 (0) 1 49 40 66 57
Courriel : revue­mei@laposte.net
Revue publiée avec le concours du Centre national du livre

Nous remercions tout particulièrement
Rodrigo Angulo, Danay Catalan Alfaro, Fabien Gavinet et Benjamin Leleu
qui ont assuré le design et la mise en page de ce numéro de MEI.

Éditorial
Les objets communiquent­ils ?
par Bernard Darras & Sarah Belkhamsa--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7
entretien
Design et communication.
Questions de Bernard Darras & Sarah Belkhamsa à 5.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------9
Dossier
Objects : In between language and meaning
Bernhard E. Bürdek --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------41
Les objets communiquants : des corps, entre texte et pratiques
Jacques Fontanille & Xochitl Arias Gonzalez -------------------------------------------------------------------53
À quel point en sommes­nous avec la sémiotique de l’objet ?
Alessandro Zinna ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------69
L’intervention sémiotique dans le projet : du concept à l’objet
Michela Deni ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------87
Formes de table, formes de vie. Réflexions sémiotiques pour vivre ensemble
Anne Beyaert-Geslin ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------99
Objet et préfiguration. L’exemple du menu de restaurant
Jean-Philippe Dupuy ­­­­­­------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------111
Le label AB (agriculture biologique) : interactions sémiotiques entre l’individu et l’environnement
Nanta Novello Paglianti -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------123
Sémiotique et design produit : un objet commun ?
Marc Monjou -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------133
L’objet et le cycle des habitudes et des changements d’habitudes. Approche sémiotique
Sarah Belkhamsa & Bernard Darras ------------------------------------------------------------------------------147
Modélisation dynamique de la communication de l’objet. Approche systémique et sémiotique
Bernard Darras & Sarah Belkhamsa ------------------------------------------------------------------------------161
The function of nonfunctional objects. Semiotics of functionalism
Giampaolo Proni ---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------185
On design semiotics
Susann Vihma --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------197
Les signes pour se guider dans l’univers. La boussole, l’astrolabe, l’arbalète, le loch ... et le GPS.
Jean Fisette ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------209
Who is in the driver’s seat ? The car/driver interface
David L. Tucker -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------225
Object­relics and their effects : for a neo­animist paradigm
Betti Marenko --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------239

Architecture and the shaping of thought
Andrzej Piotrowski -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------255
Le circuit de la culture et le designer : nouvel intermédiaire culturel ou technicien ?
Gavin Melles ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------269
The secret lives of ANTs
Johann van der Merwe -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------279
Co­constructing meaning with materials in innovation workshops
Trine Heinemann, Robb Mitchell & Jacob Buur ------------------------------------------------------------289
Objets, culture, valeurs et marque
Jérôme Guibourgé --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------305
La patrimonialisation comme arme concurrentielle
Nathalie Audigier ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------315
The design contest : the function, form, and meaning of the Bell telephone, 1920­1939
Jan Hadlaw ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------329
Le gaucher contrariant : critique de l’objet polarisé
Christophe Genin ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------341
L’objet symbolique sacré du bouddhisme et son double mode de communication dimensionnelle : la
pagode et le mandala
Jung-Hae Kim ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------353
On the shine of things and the uses of Gleaming
Keith Russell------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------363
La table qui désire la communication. Ponge and the object
Jung-A Hue -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------373
Conditions de publication ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------385
Numéros déjà parus -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------386
Bulletins d’abonnement --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------392

Objects : in between language
and meaning
Prof. Bernhard e. BÜrDek 1
Product Design is constantly moving from an Applied Art towards a scientific foundation.
During the 20th century, the main focus was on a functional approach, but the
postmodern movement in the 1980’s and the linguistic turn shifted the priority in design
from function to meaning (Bürdek 2005)
Since the 1970´s, two fields of research have become important: product language and
product semantics. Both are based on semiotics and communication theory. What are
the similarities and what are the differences? And how can objects be described as
language and meaning?
Keywords : design, disciplinary design theory, language, linguistic turn, meaning,
product language, product semantics, semiotics
Le design produit tend en permanence à passer du domaine des arts appliqué à un
fondement scientifique. Au XX e siècle, l’accent était mis sur une approche fonction-
nelle, mais le mouvement postmoderne des années 1980 et le linguistic turn (tournant
linguistique) a déplacé la priorité du design de la fonction au sens (Bürdek 2005).
Depuis les années 1970, deux domaines de recherche ont gagné en importance : le
lan- gage et la sémantique du produit. Tous deux sont fondés sur la sémiotique et la
théorie de la communication. Quelles en sont les similarités et quelles en sont les
différences ? Comment décrire les objets comme porteurs de langage et de sens ?
Mots-clés : design, théorie du discipline design, langage, linguistic turn, sens,
langage du produit, sémantique du produit, sémiotique
1 Prof. Bernhard E. BüRDEK born in 1947, was one of last students at the Ulm Design School. Since
1971 he is working as a designer, teacher, author and consultant. At the Academy of Art, Design and
Media at Offenbach am Main he teaches Design Theory, Design Methodology, Product Language and
Strategic Design. He was guest lecturing in Brasil, Mexico, Roumania and Taiwan and is the author of
numerous publications. In 1990 he founded Vision & Gestalt, an office for design and communication.
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OBJETS & COMMUNICATION MEI 30-31
Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, art scientist
etc., was the first designer in the world. He believed knowledge was based
on visual perception and developed a compatible connection between art and
science, a topic still relevant today. Therefore, with Leonardo da Vinci, the idea
that designers are inventors of technical systems began its long career, and the
European tradition of a functional approach in design was chiefly based on these
ideas, principles and projects.
These roots constitute the basis of German Bauhaus Design (in Weimar, Dessau
and Berlin), as well as that of the legendary Hochschule für Gestaltung at Ulm
(Ulm Design School) from 1955-1968. German Design’s functional heritage was
grounded there, and the tradition of a functional approach in many different
European countries (such as Scandinavia, UK, the Netherlands, etc.) was born
of this notion.
Beyond this, it is important to know that the first steps toward a semiotic-based
“theory of design” were undertaken in the early 1960´s at the Ulm Design School
by Max Bense, Tomás Maldonado, Gui Bonsiepe and Klaus Krippendorff. Maldonado
(1961) published an equivalent to a dictionary of semiotics, and Gui
Bonsiepe (1963) introduced the importance of semiotics in design: the shared
structure of the world of products and the world of signs suggests that the communicative
aspects would represent the most important component of Industrial
Design theory.
In this context, it is necessary to discuss some philosophical changes in the 20 th
century. The so-called linguistic turn was a very radical adjustment: the subjectobject
debate shifted away from philosophy to concentrate on the new premise
that the understanding of world (its problems and even its products) is mainly
achieved through language. It is therefore important to research language itself,
to discover its principles and transform this knowledge into design theory.
It is necessary to mention some of the most important forerunners and their
contributions, which are – in my opinion – still pertinent today, because they
form the theoretical pillars upon which rests the design theory debate of the 20 th
century.
Roland Barthes (1985) was one of the early literary critics who wrote, for example,
that fashion has two meanings: it is both of practical utility and a rhetorical statement.
When the legendary Citröen DS came onto the market in 1955, he remarked
(Barthes 1981) that this car was comparable to the gothic cathedrals: a revolution
in the form of an automobile. Also, Barthes was a co-founder of structuralism,
which became the most important movement of the 1960´s.
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OBJECTS : IN BETwEEN lANgUAgE ANd MEANINg
In 1968, Jean Baudrillard published “Le système des objets” and although he does
not directly tackle the problems of design, it has gone on to become one of the
most influential books in this field. To him, structural design is mainly a system
of meaning. All products move from a technical system into a cultural system,
implying that they have both (objective) denotations and (semantic) connotations.
Baudrillard said, that as opposed to language, the system of objects is a constant
interference between a practical and a technical system. He further demonstrated
that, based on semiotic principles, a close similarity exists between the spoken
language and the language of things.
Also in 1968, the Italian Umberto Eco published his “La struttura Assente” which
became the second pillar for modern design theory. He posits that communication
is based on codes, agreed upon in society. Understanding the codes and
their meanings is necessary, as they are determinant in communication. Eco also
wrote that semiotics is a general method by which all types of cultural forms of
interactions can be interpreted. In his famous chapter about “Architecture and
Communication” Eco points out, that his conclusions are similar for architecture,
design and city planning. The general use of architecture (or products) is not only
functional but also cultural, implying that the use also determines the meaning
On this basis, Eco distinguishes between the primary and the secondary functions
of buildings. He then goes on to discuss the primary function, which is
denoted, and the secondary function, which is connoted. This is not a value judgement,
but seeks only to demonstrate the two faces of a coin – or better, of a product.
For Eco, the entire world is constructed of signs, and a culture’s condition
can be read from its signs.
In the 1970´s we - at the Offenbach Academy of Art, Design & Media - began
discussing a new approach for design theory and design practice (Bürdek 1991).
We had in mind the history of product culture and decided not to focus on natural
science (like the big technical universities), but on humanities. In the beginning,
we needed to address some questions with regards to our scientific approach. A
most basic way of de veloping a discipline is to determine the targets, the objects
and the methods:
With design, the target is to develop an independent discipline
with own principles, rules, lan guage, etc.
The object of design is the relationship between a user and a
product, as expressed via language and semiotics
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OBJETS & COMMUNICATION MEI 30-31
The methods for this approach stem from the Humanities –
not from natural sciences, as it is the case in engineering, etc.
Design is a form of communication, it transports meaning
from the objects to the users and from the user into society.
I remain convinced of the necessity to develop a disciplinary kernel of design
mainly based on communication. This goes along with Nigel Cross’ observations
(2001), when he described three paradigmatic changes in design’s development
in the 20 th century: in the 1920s, scientific findings were integrated into design
training for the first time (at the German Bauhaus); the 1960´s were the heyday
of design methodology (in England, the USA and the Ulm Design School) but
this era also marked the beginning of scientific design; today, in the 2000´s the
emphasis is on enhancing design’s profile as an independent discipline. Furthermore,
beyond all inter-, multi- or even trans-disciplinary approaches, without its
own knowledge, design will be unable to exist in the world of science. In such
a case, it has to move into the field of arts, which many designers are indeed
doing today. Thus they are no longer expected to justify what they are doing
scientifically.
Language – or commutative action – was once designated by Jürgen Habermas
(1985) as the “key to constructing theory”, better allowing us to deal with the
capricious structures of the life-world. Reality is imparted and explained through
language, and this also holds true for design. A further analogy is significant
here: language is not uniform; there are different languages and within them
more dialects and figures of speech exist. Language is a multi-layered entity that
can describe complicated and complex facts. At the same time, each language
has rules of usage – in the terms of semiotics: syntax, pragmatic and semantic.
It is from this theoretical background that we began to develop, in the mid 1970´s,
a so-called “theory of product language” dedicated to the communicative function
of design. Based on the analysis of aesthetic functions, the Czech linguist Jan
Mukařovský (1970) proposed a model which became the basis for the Offenbach
approach:
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Diagram 1: The product function model
Although the importance of this model is still relevant, we must also consider that
the arguments for the different types of functions are changing. Today, ethnological
and anthropological research has largely influenced symbolic functions, as
they represent the different cultural values in a globalized world (Hahn 2005).
For example, the international automobile industry does a lot of research in of
consumer behaviour, such as in Asia, as it represents a very important market.
Ethnological research often starts at home: what are the different values of
user groups, communities or even regional differences within a country. Design
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OBJETS & COMMUNICATION MEI 30-31
concentrates not only on global markets but also on changing cultural values, the
LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability), the priority shift towards new
values, new consciousness, new needs, involving a new focus on man, slowing
down, health, and durability. There is a very strong need for new products and
new services (www.lohas.de).
This only illustrates how product language must move towards a new representation
of values and meaning. Today, the center of design research is to be found
not just in the single product but also in the lifestyles of people as a whole.
Looking to some other references, it is obvious that this approach of design theory
– focused on language and meaning – dominates the international discourse.
Based on their empirical studies in the 1970´s, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and
Eugene Rochberg-Halton (1981) published “The Meaning of Things” in which
they concentrated of individual forms of living and their meaning for the user.
Both were familiar with the work of French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss
and the aforementioned Roland Barthes. For them, things are not only practical
objects but also units of information. From a semiotic perspective, which they
also adopted, objects are signs within societies and they constitute the frame of
reference for our experiences. The fields of furniture design and everyday objects
constitute an exciting area for such an analysis. It is obvious that everyday objects
are loaded with so much semantic baggage that for the most part their only remaining
function is to serve as orientation aids in a social context.
The Austrian Helene Karmasin adopts a similar point of view . She associates
aspects of psychology (cognitive and linguistic), sociology, cultural studies and
communication sciences (semiotics) to produce a work that is both remarkable
and highly original. When the first edition was published in 1993 it was obvious
that semiotics – as a fundamental theory of communication – can be used widely
for products and advertising campaigns. She wrote that when “products are messages,”
then we may use them to communicate and thus by combining different
products we may express and transfer meanings (e.g. in the everyday), which may
be understood by all parts of society. For example the IKEA’s “Billy” bookshelf is
not only an excellent product for storing many books, but it is also a sign, indicative
of the basic functional idea of furniture –to serve a purpose. As opposed to
when the Italian designer Ettore Sottsass Jr. designed his “Carlton” bookshelf for
the first Memphis collection in 1981, it was obvious that this product is primarily
a semiotic system. One can, of course, store books in it, but it looks much better
left empty. The “Carlton” more closely resembles a living room sculpture than a
piece of furniture, and its purpose as an object is therefore more semantic than
functional. Promoted mainly in Italy in the beginning of the 1980´s, the “Carlton”
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OBJECTS : IN BETwEEN lANgUAgE ANd MEANINg
became the most emblematic product in the transition from the modern to the
post-modern movement.
Diagram/picture 2: Ettore Sottsass Bookshelf Carlton
That said, beyond such obvious examples of product design a strong theoretical
movement – mainly based on semiotic research – developed and was only partly
recognised by the international design community.
Helene Karmasin (1993, p. 190) placed emphasis on three most important aspects:
-All objects in our culture transfer meaning – they are semantic.
-The meaning is not the result of single products (this is more
the symbolic aspect, like in the diagram of product language),
but more that of classes of objects. Meaning results from the relationship
between of one element in the system and other objects.
-Whether conscious or unconscious, this process is automatic,
and organic to man’s social and cultural quality.
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OBJETS & COMMUNICATION MEI 30-31
As demonstrated above – in the case of the LOHAS – product semantics is a way
of understanding the meaning of objects in a society.
Susan Vihma (1995), a Finnish scientist at the UIAH (University of Art and Design
Helsinki) published her dissertation on “Products as Representation” which
went on to become a milestone in the product semantic and product language
movement. She wrote “the representative function of design products has been studied
very little because technical and ergonomic aspects have had priority in product
development” (p.10), which was typical worldwide for design from its beginning
until the 1980´s. She recognised that beyond traditional design history there is
a cultural history (as written by Roland Barthes or Umberto Eco, for example),
in which the authors refer to products as symbols and as language-like systems.
She therefore cites Charles S. Peirce as her main reference. Vihma discusses “the
constitution of the semiotic sign in the case of a design product and analysed its functions
as a sign” (S.11). According to her, products are not only physical objects but
also – or primarily – means of communication. Product language (in the sense
of the Offenbach approach) is dedicated to the relationship between the product
and the user. Thus, product language – especially in the area of electronic products
– must be able to make a product understandable without any user manual
(Bürdek 2001).
Beyond her important theoretical discourse, Susann Vihma also analysed a lot of
existing products and gave an excellent semantic or even symbolic interpretation
of everyday objects, such as steam iron: their handling, their colours and their
overall iconic sense in the communication at home and with the guests. Almost
a decade later it became obvious that modern and extremely designed kitchens
are not only for cooking, but they are much more symbolic tools representing the
status of the owner, visualising his or her professional art of cooking (whether it
is or not). Here it is obvious, that design has widely changed from “function to
meaning” (Bürdek 2008).
A very similar movement began in the USA in the 1970´s. Klaus Krippendorff,
a former Ulm Design School student who finished his studies there in 1958
with a thesis on semiotics. In the 1980´s he and Reinhard Butter (also a former
Ulm Design School student, also teaching in the USA) led a special issue of the
journal Innovation (published by the Industrial Designers Society of America),
entitled “The Semantics of Form”. Michael and Katherine McCoy taught at the
renewed Cranbrook Academy near Detroit, Michigan (USA) from 1970 to 1995.
They became most influencial in product semantics teaching. Michael McCoy
(1996) compared the “linguistic turn”, which came into force in structuralism
and poststructuralism, with examples of so-called post-modern architecture from
the 1970s and 1980, as widely presented by Charles Jencks (1978) in his legendary
work “The language of post-modern architecture”.
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Diagram 3: Klaus Krippendorff: Trajectory of artificiality
The most fundamental book in this field is Klaus Krippendorff’s (2006) “The
semantic turn”, because within he established product semantics based on communication
theory. He developed a “Trajectory of Artificiality” in which he represents
a complete system of knowledge: from the products to the discourses.
Krippendorff’s model is a very comprehensive one and contains a special focus on
human-centred design. He believes the user is more important than the product.
His idea of “stakeholders” designates the intensive involvement of users in the
process of development and design. As opposed to the product language movement
(which concentrates more on the products), the product semantic model
concentrates on the complete process of innovation.
He starts with a very simple statement: “Design is making sense of things”. Krippendorff
who teaches communication theory at the University of Pennsylvania
(Philadelphia, PA) is strictly orientated towards linguistics when he wrote: “The
semantic turn needs to take the role of language in the use of technology seriously. It is
the use of language that distinguishes forms, materials, functions, and problems, and
directs designers attention to what they are to do with them. It might appear obvious
that artefacts do not exist without their makers, but colours are artefacts as well, being
the product of the human perceptual apparatus. Without language one would have no
inclination of what other fellow humans perceive”. (p.23) In detail, he underscores
how important language is for design and its theory, when he wrote: language is
a system of signs and symbols, language is a medium of individual expression,
language as a medium of interpretation and others (p. 150-152).
Krippendorff, who began his career, as mentioned above, as a trained designer,
really developed a “practice-based Design Theory”: meaning he presents many
products of the “real” world and dicusses them from a semantic point of view.
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It is for this reason that I completely agree with him when he contends that the
“semantic turn” lead to a science of design. Numerous other approaches, such
as art history or cultural sciences, contemplate the possibility of a “science about
design” but none other call for the development as a “science of design”.
Deyan Sudjic (2008), current Director of the Design Museum London (UK),
put forward a profound report about “The Language of Things”. Although this
publication is not a scientific one, it reflects on a high level and offers a number
of actual product examples describing how product language became the leading
philosophy in product planning, product development and product design. Sudjic
reminds us, that “both Barthes and Baudrillard were strikingly uninterested in any
discussion of the role of the designer, preferring instead to regard the disposition of
things as the physical manifestation of a mass psychology. Baudrillard, for example,
professed to see the modern interior not as the product of design as a creative activity,
but as the triumph of bourgeois values over an earlier, earthier reality”. (p..8)
He dedicates a long chapter to the so-called “Archetypes”, because they represent
what each designer wishes to have created in his lifetime. The Anglepoise lamp
from the 1930´s, the 2CV, the Fiat 500 and the Mini are archetypes: via their
meaning, they have formed our consciousness about product culture. The reason
these products have been re-designed and re-invented in recent years is that
Retro-Design is primarily a method of semantic memory. A current archetype
example is the Apple iPhone, because it is the heir of Dieter Rams’ 40 year tradition
of work for the German company Braun. It is also, however, a revolutionary
product in the terms of use: an illustration of how the electronic industry found a
way back from digital to analog. As using the iPhone is easy and self-explanatory,
it rightfully belongs to the wide range of cult product made by Apple. “Design
is understood as a primarily visual language. It uses colour to suggest playfulness or
masculine, and shape to engage or inform users about functions. But it is much more
than that: it makes uses of all the senses” (p. 89).
In summary, it has become obvious that semiotic or linguistic-based theories are
fundamental to the development of Design Theory as a discipline. Such a foundation
enables basic design to transfer knowledge into an interdisciplinary process.
Tim Parsons (2009) recently published a good contribution in his chapter “Reading
Form”, when he explained that Design involves both the users’ perception
of form and the Designers’ task of injecting meaning into their products. This is
indeed an accurate description of the current state-of-the-art in Design.
50

ReFeRences
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OBJECTS : IN BETwEEN lANgUAgE ANd MEANINg
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new foundation for Design. Boca Raton-London-New
York, Taylor & Francis
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51

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Achevé d’imprimé par Corlet Numérique - 14110 Condé-sur-Noireau
N° d’Imprimeur : 47773 - dépot légal : décembre 2009 - Imprimé en France

OBJETS &
COMMUNICATION
Sous la direction de Bernard Darras
& de Sarah Belkhamsa
Les objets communiquent-ils et s’ils le font comment font-ils ?
Une trentaine de chercheurs internationaux spécialistes des études
du design, de la sémiotique, de l’anthropologie et de la philosophie de
la culture matérielle, ont répondu à ces questions.
Le monde des objets ne bénéficiait pas encore d’un tel panorama
théorique, aussi les théories elles-mêmes ont été mises à jour pour
l’occasion.
Cet ouvrage rédigé en français et en anglais, propose donc de
nouveaux modèles et de nouvelles perspectives sur le monde des
objets et du design produit.
Ce livre s’adresse à tous les spécialistes de la communication, mais
aussi aux designers qui ne disposaient pas d’un tel regard sur leur
activité et leurs productions. Les enseignants en design et leurs
étudiants trouveront enfin l’ouvrage qui leur manquait.
Are objects able to communicate and if they can, how do they do it?
Some thirty international experts in design studies, semiotics,
anthropology and philosophy of material culture have addressed
these questions.
The world of objects has never had such theoretical coverage, the
theories themselves have therefore been updated for the occasion.
Written in English and French, this book offers new models and new
perspectives on everyday life objects and product design.
It is dedicated to all communication specialists but also to designers
who have never had such a point of view on their business and their
creations. Teachers and students in design will also finally find the
book they were looking for.
ISBN 978-2-296-11707-5
Prix éditeur : XX