ABSTRACT
Any concept that defines itself as the science of signs must offer a rich seam of new ideas for the corporate practitioner. The author asks ‘if applied semiotics (the science of signs) can inform the way non-linguistic images in corporate literature are analysed’. Non-linguistic refers to anything from page design, logos and photographs to the choice of material, print fonts and even to the binding itself. Despite the importance of the visual component in communication, managers appear to find difficulty expressing themselves when commissioning print material with non-written elements. This chapter aims to show that semiotics can be used to reduce uncertainty in decision making by encouraging practitioners to focus on individual elements that transfer meaning. In this way unstructured decision-making can be reduced. Corporate practitioners also need techniques to achieve consistency regardless of which executive signs off their material.
