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Familant, M. E., & Detweiler, M. C. (1993). Iconic reference: Evolving perspectives and an organizing framework. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 39(5), 705–728.
Added by: Mark Grimshaw-Aagaard Last edited by: Mark Grimshaw-Aagaard 24/08/2005, 14:22
Some discussion of the use of the term 'icon' in semiotic terms and in general (computer) usage.
Contains a critique of other iconic taxonomies including Gaver and Blattner et al. (Gaver 1986; Blattner, Sumikawa, & Greenberg 1989). The suggestion is that they fail in distinguishing between sign and referent relations. The authors propose a taxonomy including: Direct reference: Signal ----> Sign Referent/Denotative Referent (identical referents). Indirect reference: Signal ---->Sign Referent ----> Denotative Referent. The referent relation (between Sign and Denotative referents) can be: Part-part: S and D share a subset of features. Part-whole: all the features of S are a subset of D. Whole-part: all the features of D are a subset of S. Identical: S and D have the same set features. Disjoint: S and D have no features in common. based on commonalities (or not) between feature sets of S and D. The most common signs are part-part and part-whole.
de Souza, C. S. (1993). The semiotic engineering of user interface languages. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 39(5), 753–773.
Added by: Mark Grimshaw-Aagaard 27/09/2005, 12:17
Points out that systems are a metacommunication artefact -- they can not only send and receive messages, but are also messages themselves (from designer to user) -- and therefore "must be engineered according to explicit semiotic principles."
"When users realize they are not interacting with autonomous machines, but with a rational product of a human mind, they can resort to a wealth of beliefs and expectations they have regarding the intellectual and creative behaviours of other people."
In a further discussion of computers as metacommunication artefacts and contrasting this to the arts, de Souza suggests that "computer messages are not typically intended to elicit a variety of emotions in users, but quite contrarily a reduced number of rational alternative meanings for each message."
"Semiotic Engineering is the process of engendering messages in an appropriate code -- i.e. with emphasis on message expression -- so that the content interpretation targets suggested by cognitively-oriented research can be met. The articulation between Semiotic and Cognitive Engineering is one in which the latter provides experimental data, explanations and predictions that are in accordance with the contributive principles of the former."
Paraphrasing Eco: "Significant communication occurs whenever a human being (i.e an agent capable of interpreting a code) perceives a message sent by the transmitter", de Souza explains that in this communicative framework, the fundamental requirement "is that the message be coded in a signification system. Communication can only take place if the interpreter recognizes the sign(s) being passed as part of a culturally established code." Umberto Eco, A Theory of Semiotics, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1976
"...given a set of contents to be conveyed, existing recognizable signs make better expressions than invented ones."
An apt reminder that the compsci term 'icon' is actually, in semiotic terms, a combination of icons, indices and symbols. Hence some confusion.