The CODE-X series catalogs a vast codex of source codes (aka “signs”) extracted from past audits.

The object of study in semiotics is not the signs but rather a general theory of signification; the goal of each “audit” is to build a model demonstrating how meaning is produced and received within a category or cultural territory. Signs on their own, therefore, only become truly revelatory and useful once we’ve sorted them into thematic complexes, and the complexes into codes, and the codes into a meaning map. We call this process “thick description”; the Code-X series is thin description.

“DIG DEEP” NORM: What you need — e.g., answers, strength, motivation, purpose, willpower — is already inside you. You just need to tap into it.

“DIG DEEP” FORMS: People taking a moment (often with eyes closed) to marshal their inner resources. People listening to their body’s message. Introspective. Portentous music, calm voiceover. “A message from your immune system.” “Find your ___.”​

From a 2018 study of the IT’S UP TO YOU space, defined as “When making a big change, you’ll need to rely on yourself.“