Icon Examples

References

Christian, L.M., Dillman, D.A., & Smyth, J.D. (2007). Helping respondents get it right the first time: The influence of words, symbols, and graphics in web surveys. Public Opinion Quarterly, 71(1), 113-125. Retrieved from Communication and Mass Media Complete.

Helmhout, M., Jorna, R.J., & Gazendam, H.W. (2009). The semiotic actor: From signs to socially constructed meaning. Semiotica, 175(1-4), 335-377. Retrieved from Communication and Mass Media Complete.

Pappachan, P., & Ziefle, M. (2008). Cultural influences on the comprehensibility of icons in mobile-computer interaction. Behavior & Information Technology, 27(4), 331-337. Retrieved from Communication and Mass Media Complete.

Pauwels, L., & Hellriegel, P. (2008). Strategic and tactical uses of internet design and infrastructure: The case of youtube. Journal of Visual Literacy, 28(1), 51-69. Retrieved from Communication and Mass Media Complete.

Rodriguez, L., & Dimitrova, D. (2011). Levels of visual framing. Journal of Visual Literacy, 30(1), 48-65. Retrieved from Communication and Mass Media Complete.

Scolari, C. (2008). Online brands: Branding, possible worlds, and interactive grammars. Semiotica, 169(1-4), 169-188. Retrieved from Communication and Mass Media Complete.

Research Proposal

1. Research topic:

• To study the use of visual symbols of social networking sites on the internet.
• To determine if a new visual language has been created from social networking sites, or if there is no common string of meanings between visual icons between social networking sites.
• To determine if a visual language has been created with the dawn of the internet or whether it takes from any symbols and visual language we have already established.
• This study is attempting to prove or disprove that icon’s on social networking sites have similar properties to written word and written language.

1. Rational of study:

• As a studio arts major and artist, I am really interested in how images connect and relate to create meaning.
• The more we know about what visual language is and how it is created, we can use that in media messages.
• Being constantly on social media sites, I would like to know how the use of their images and icons affect me rather than just the words.
• Not as many studies have been done on symbols and new media, when its important because its a large part of new media communications.

1. Scope of study:

• The scope will cover 5 social networking sites including Facebook, Tumblr, MySpace, Twitter, and Google+.
• The research will isolate approximately 20 visual symbols from each site including icons, bug images, logos, and layout.
• 800-1200 individuals total. This will consist of a mixture of individuals with social networking sites, with few social networking sites, and with many social networking sites.
• Similarities between the sites will also be analyzed. 

1. Background:

• Social learning theory and social constructivism can both be applied to this study because they both show how we learn based on observation and participation of society. I am trying to find if we learn a language through participation in social networking.
• Theories of mediamorphasis can be applied as well because the use of icons as a means of communication is a result of the converging media media
• Media determinism can be applied because they show how the way we communicate affects the way we think, so using social networking sites frequently can change how we think about images and create new meanings and languages.
• Ferdinand de Saussure’s original research on symbols and language is highly applicable to this study. It shows signs as messages that have a visual signifier and a signified meaning that are completely arbitrary.
• For this research, I’ll be defining language as a widely understood set of signs. Visual aspect specifies that the symbols are seen rather than heard, such as written words.
• There isn’t a lot of research done analyzing visual aspects of social networking as a language, while there are broader, more abstract theories of semiotics.

1. Literature  Review

• Luc Pauwels and Patricia Hellriegel did a case study of Youtube and its visual layout (among other things) as a power dynamic, which is a good place to start when looking at meanings and relationships of social networking sites.
• This research doesn’t contribute a lot to my focus of viewing images as a language, but it sets a good framework for the type of research I’ll be conducting. It provides an analyzation of “words, pictures, design features, and navigational or narrative strategies” of a social networking site similar to my content analysis of social networking icons.
• Daniela Dimitrova and Lulu Rodriguez have applied some semiotic theories of connotation and denotation to media content.
• This research brings up that visual framing exists on mentally stored principles and characteristics of the news itself. My research is focusing on the the mentally stored principles of icons and whether they are associated with certain ideas in the audience’s mind.
• Carlos Scolari theorized how brands and logos can create a visual language of symbols, and his research can be applied to this study of social networking semiotics.
• While this study shows the complexity of creating meaning, it also considers visual symbols of brands a narrative based off of meaning, value, and contract. While this sets a ground work for finding a true internal narrative of a visual symbol, I am merely considering the meaning component.
• The process of creating meaning is shown in this study in three steps:
• The deep level where abstract elements are related.
• The semio-narrative level where certain components are organized into action sequences to generalize certain characteristics.
• The discursive level where the narratives are thematized and defined in detail.
• This shows that definitions are given from context and relationships so unless a meaning is fully developed then the icons won’t have meaning out of context.
• Helmhout, Jorna, and Gazedam conducted a study on humans as actors in relation to symbols. In this study, they showed that signs are both cognitive and social; Signs exist in the individual mind with given meanings, but also as a tool to send messages. This means that signs reflect a social experience. This applies to my study in the respect that I am using the social learning theory as an explanation to the learning of the visual language. By defining a sign as both social and cognitive, the study supports and adds to the idea that we can cognitively define images out of context because of their social aspect.
• Christian, Dillman, and Smyth conducted a study on the effects of words, symbols, and graphics on survey response formats. The result of this study is that while space and sizing of answer slots affected the response format, so did using symbols instead of words. Using symbols (such as MM/YYYY) rather than words (such as “Month” and “Year”) resulted in a change from 35% correct response format to 42% correct response format. This shows the benefits of using symbols and can be applied to social networking sites. This study shows that the icons I’m studying not only have meaning, but more meaning than words, and result in better communication and less semantic noise.
• Another study was done by Pappachan and Ziefle researched the understanding of icons across culture. One of the results of this study is that abstract icons aren’t semantically understood by those without experience which supports my use of social learning theory in my study. Another result is that familiarity affects semantic understanding of an icon, and phones use icons not because of good design but rather because of cultural understanding.

1. Hypothesis

• After researching this topic, I believe that there is some relation and language between the symbols in social networking sites so people that use some sites will be able to recognize meanings of symbols from other sites. I also believe that while people without any social networking sites may not completely recognize icons.

1. Research Methods

• Survey 800-1200 people consisting of
• Participants who have accounts on no social networking sites
• Considering the state of today’s media and society people fitting this category will be difficult to find, and will be hopefully located through newspaper ads, radio ads and other non social networking media sources.
• Participants who have accounts on one of the studied social networking sites.
• Participants who have accounts on many of the studied social networking sites.
• The variety of participants will allow me to examine if the visual language is created from social networking sites or existed previous.
• Surveys will be like Rorschach tests in which an image is shown and the individual writes what they think it means and where they may’ve seen it.
• They will be conducted in a lecture hall in which images are shown on slides. This is meant to isolate images from other images because the point of the study is to see if participants can associate a meaning to an image out of context.
• Surveys will also consist of a portion consisting of questions asking what social media sites they have accounts on.
• This aspect is important considering the possible lack of participants without social networking sites. If the social networking accounts of an individual is limited, they can still help show that icons can be understood through experience in limited social networking sites.
• Research will also consist of content analysis in which the five social media sites being researched will be studied and their icons and images will be compared to find any connections.
• The content analysis is crucial to this study because it helps show wether there is a universal social networking visual language. Studies have already shown that people can learn meanings. This will help explain the current state of language and the internet rather than just human semantic processing.

1. Predictions

• If all participants answer the survey to match the image to meaning correctly, there is a visual language that exists outside of social networking.
• If participants with no accounts answer incorrectly and participants with social networking accounts match the image to meaning correctly of the site they have an account for but not for other sites, there is a language for each site.
• If participants with few accounts answer correctly for all sites and participants with no sites  answer incorrectly, then there is a cross site language being created.
• If answers are all either incorrect or incorrect in each group then there is no visual language.

1. Applications

• This study provides a basis for other possible studies. If it is proven that there is a universal visual language, further studies can be conducted on what specifically the icons mean, how they are related as a language, and if this language extends to other aspects of communication rather than merely social networking sites.
• In addition to further studies, this research can be applied commercially. An understanding of meaning of individual icons can add to the understanding of the narratives of branding. The simplicity of icons provides a basis for visual language so it can be built up from this study to create a more complex and effective method of communication in web sites and advertising.