The Ongoing Transformation of the McDonald's Logo - Ohio University

interpretation and methods of cognition. Peirce’s model is one of two influential
paradigms that have been employed for semiotic analyses of consumer and
marketing issues. The other paradigm is the Saussurean model (Nöth, 1990;
Pinson, 1988; 1993). Saussure’s (1986 [1916]) paradigm is rooted in language,
and is principally centered around arbitrary codes (Mick, Burroughs, Hetzel,
& Brannen, 2004). As opposed to Saussure’s (1986 [1916]), Peirce’s semiotics
transcends this model, as demonstrated by his “representamen-objectinterpretant”
analysis of the sign.
Representamen
Based on Peirce’s “representamen-object-interpretant” model, the
representamen is the actual sign itself. A sign is what stands for something
else: an object or a concept (Eco, 1979, 1986; Hoopes, 1991). Representamen
signifies representation, something that represents something else – as it would
to a viewer’s interpreting mind (Peirce, 1958 [1931]). The representamen
has meaning to someone; it forms in the viewer’s mind a corresponding
image, or perhaps a more developed meaning (Peirce, 1958 [1931]). The
representamen stands for an object (Popper, Shearmur, & Turner, 2008). The
notion of “representamen” is analogous to Saussure’s “signifier” (see next
section) (Silverman, 1983). A representamen functions to “mean” something
in an interpreting mind. From this vantage point, it can be best described as
something which represents (Peirce, 1958 [1931]).
Peirce designates three distinct kinds of signs: iconic, indexical, and
symbolic signs. Iconic signs are imitative representations that are explicit;
they represent what they represent at face value. For instance, a triangle is
a geometrical icon. Indexical signs symbolize and involve cause-and-effect
relationships, or physical connections (Johansen & Larsen, 2002; Neumann-
Held & Rehmann-Sutter, 2006). As such, a footprint indicates an individual
having walked by. Similarly, bullet holes in a piece of wood indicate that
a gunshot took place. An indexical sign represents evidence of something.
In the symbolic sign (e.g., colors or a given flag), the meaning – that is, the
sign-object relation – is arbitrary, in the same way that language is open to
interpretation (Peirce, 1958 [1931]).
Object
The sign symbolizes its object. For a representamen to exist, it must
be representative of something else: an object. According to Peirce (1958
[1931]), an object is something from which someone can derive meaning.
This is consistent with Saussure’s (1986 [1916]) signified. This sign, on the
other hand, is closely connected to Saussure’s signifier. The object, then, is
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