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.

“PRISON BREAK” NORM: Pain has been keeping you in a prison – now you’re liberated.

“PRISON BREAK” FORMS: Body language — from ”closed” to “open.” People bursting through barriers. Celebratory gestures. Forward motion. Liberatory tonality. “Are you feeling trapped by pain? Free yourself.” “Break the pain barrier.” “The pleasure of moving.”

From a 2019 study — conducted in partnership with Semiotica Studio — of the CHANGE YOUR LIFE territory (a transformative journey of liberation) within Mexico’s Pain Relief category.