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.

“GET GRANULAR” NORM: Explore your senses, and be mindful of the fine details of the world around you.

“GET GRANULAR” FORMS: Rich contexts featuring an enormous number of details — maximalism, a strong contrast with minimalism. Loving close attention to textures, surfaces. Language about uniqueness: “like no other.” Language about awakened senses: “You were asleep at the wheel. Until now.”

From a 2022 study of the US Luxury space — across categories.