Signs are all around us and exist in many different forms - gestures, typography, language, images, architecture, design. It is how we understand the world. Signs in different cultures and what they mean can vary but they are all there to tell stories. For example high heels are considered very strange attire in some countries as they are very impractical but in Western society they have become sexual symbols. Look at this photograph by Robert Frank - it contains many signs that allow us to place it in history but also to understand the gestures and attitudes of this group of five women sitting in from of some typography that we understand to be signs of a rather ordinary cafe or in this case a diner. The women are confident and at ease (their body language shows us this), possibly on their lunch break from work, they are aware of their attractiveness (their lipstick, clothing and hair are signs of this) and we can imagine that they are probably all wearing high heels. They are looking at the photographer - Robert Frank and we can see that he has hardly disturbed this scene. They are sitting perhaps in a window watching the world, they are also prepared to be looked at and in this case quite relaxed about being photographed. Photographs and films are especially good at using our understanding of signs to create narrative and suspense.
These are the books to look at:
Barthes, R. (1972)
Mythologies, London: Cape.
Jansz
L & P. (2004) Introducing Semiotics, Icon Books ltd
Hall, S. (2007) This Means
This This Means That, A Users Guide to Semiotics: Lawrence King
