Semiotics/ semiology is a system of signs. This is a growing field of study that was originally founded by two key individuals. These were Saussure (1857-1913) and Pierce (1839-1914), who continued and worked on to grow Saussure's work and research. Saussure and Pierce both had similar theories regarding semiotics but took these in slightly different directions, developing their own ideas.
Saussure wrote that a sign is made up of two elements: the signifier, which is the physical form, the thing that is being considered, and the signified, which is what this culture has decided this form means. This means, essentially, that people all interpret things in different ways and no two people will imagine the same generic thing in the same way.
Pierce, however, believed that there were different levels of meaning attached to signs. These were; icon, which is what you can see (e.g. pictures), index, which is what you can work out (e.g. fire equals danger and symbol, which is what you can learn (e.g. flags). Pierce also said that a symbol is not necessarily just an image but can be found, also, in the forms of; words, sounds, smells, flavours, acts and objects.
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