Semiofest is the main worldwide conference series and event on commercial

semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...

. Its focus is on the methods of semiotic analysis which are helpful in solving interpretational conflicts and providing tools for better design of social meaning-making spaces. The topics covered include the applications of semiotics in

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

development,

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

, applied aspects of

social semiotics Social semiotics (also social semantics) is a branch of the field of semiotics which investigates human signifying practices in specific social and cultural circumstances, and which tries to explain meaning-making as a social practice. Semiotics, ...

ecosemiotics Ecosemiotics is a branch of semiotics in its intersection with human ecology, ecological anthropology and ecocriticism. It studies sign processes in culture, which relate to other living beings, communities, and landscapes. Ecosemiotics also dea ...

etc. The conference subtitle is "A Celebration of Semiotic Thinking". Commercial semiotics applies results from

semiotic anthropology Semiotic anthropology is the process of using the cognitive tools of semiotics (theory of signs) to understand social structures from the anthropological perspective. The phrase was first used by Milton Singer (1978), whose work brought together th ...

cultural semiotics Semiotics of culture is a research field within semiotics that attempts to define culture from a semiotic perspective and as a type of human symbolic activity, creation of signs and a way of giving meaning to everything around. Therefore, here cu ...

and

biosemiotics Biosemiotics (from the Ancient Greek, Greek βίος ''bios'', "life" and σημειωτικός ''sēmeiōtikos'', "observant of signs") is a field of semiotics (especially Neurosemiotics) and biology that studies the prelinguistic meaning-makin ...

for multi-sided analysis of meaning-making.

History

The initiators and first organisers of Semiofest were several British companies and agencies that provide semiotic consultancy. An aim of Semiofest is to bring together the specialists practicing semiotics in marketing and social consultancy, and academics researching and teaching semiotics in universities.Gabriela Pedranti 2016. Report on Tallinn Semiofest. ''Semiotix''. The conference have been organised in the following centres (and themes): *2012 –

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

*2013 –

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

*2014 –

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

("Global Meets Local: A Cross-cultural Celebration of Semiotic Thinking") *2015 –

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

("Fall in Love with Applied Semiotics") *2016 –

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

("Semiotics and Culture of Innovation") *2017 –

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

("Media, Messages, and Meanings: Semiotics, Form and Content") *2018 –

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

("Time of the Signs") *2020 –

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

("Resemiotization") *2022 –

("Resemiotization and Metaphors") *2024 –

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

References

External links

Semiofest homepage
Semiotics International conferences Marketing {{semiotics-stub

History

See also

References

External links