What makes a semiotician tick? SEMIOVOX’s Josh Glenn has invited his fellow practitioners in the field of commercial semiotics, from around the world, to answer a few revealing questions.

Shanghai…

SEMIOVOX

When you were a child/teen, how did your future fascination with symbols, cultural patterns, interpreting “texts,” and getting beneath the surface of daily life manifest itself?

JIAKUN WANG

From an early age, while other children reveled in noise and play, I found solace in solitude, surrounded by books. By the time I reached elementary school, I had already flipped through entire volumes of encyclopedias.

I was always on the periphery, observing rather than participating in the games and laughter of my peers. This distance wasn’t just physical; it stemmed from an early awareness of a complex web of rules and symbols that I could never quite master at the time. My understanding of these rules came through trial and error, often as I stumbled through the absurd yet harsh lessons taught by the schoolyard’s unspoken laws. In truth, I was never truly grounded, always drifting in the orbit of my own private universe, where the rules of the world outside felt as unreachable as the stars.

SEMIOVOX

Describe your first encounter(s) with the theory and practice of semiotics.

JIAKUN WANG

During an undergraduate course on the fundamental elements of film art, I encountered Steven D. Katz’s Shot by Shot: A Practical Guide to Filmmaking — which revealed to me the power of visual elements to convey metaphor, symbolism, and deeper meanings. I discovered that my childhood habit of observing life from the sidelines mirrored a film director’s perspective, making the analysis of visual texts a natural pursuit for me.

My film professor also introduced me to Jung’s concept of the collective unconscious. This idea shed light on the intricate web I had vaguely perceived in my youth; I began to understand that narratives could evoke and manifest these unconscious symbols. Over time, my focus shifted from merely analyzing narratives to delving into how they are generated. This evolving curiosity led me from film to new media design and eventually to inclusive design research, culminating in my study of International Design Business Management (IDBM) at Aalto University in Finland.

My Master’s thesis explored how the construction of cultural social service systems can nurture the natural growth of cultural brands within communities — an approach that [marketing expert] Douglas Holt refers to as the branding paradigm of the post-postmodern era, or the “citizen artist.” I utilized future-oriented design ethnography, employing image probe techniques and text analysis based on cultural-social service system structures, to understand how optimistic and active senior citizens among Finland’s baby boomers envision their retirement future.

The structural framework I used for text analysis back then continues to guide my work today. It’s a framework that blends phenomenology with structuralism, forming a dynamic narrative and symbolic system.

SEMIOVOX

How did you find your own way to doing semiotics?

JIAKUN WANG

In 2014, while I was halfway through my master’s thesis, I landed my first job in Finland with Gemic, a consulting firm specializing in anthropological research. During a project on the emerging concept of “new masculinity,” I stumbled upon the British semiotics consultancy Space Doctors — which helped me to realize that while ethnographic research may meticulously examine cultural phenomena, it often overlooks the dynamics of emerging cultural groups. Semiotics, with its structural approach to understanding the culture in formation, captivated my interest.

Freelancing for Space Doctors helped me become proficient in analyzing R/D/E cultural codes within Saussure’s synchronic framework. However, this approach doesn’t address the complexities of brand strategy and the development of cultural service systems. So I returned to Shanghai and took on a role with the Futurist Circle, a newly established cultural salon. Here, I began integrating semiotics with future study in our foresight projects. This transition allowed me to develop a comprehensive framework that blended synchronic and diachronic analysis, merging the phenomenological perspectives of pioneering individuals with the cultural sign systems of future societies. 

Together with the Futurist Circle and the social innovation platform BottleDream, I embarked on a year-long, non-profit cultural research project titled “Heading Towards Happiness.” This initiative aims to explore the four paradigm shifts in the concept of happiness over the past 40 years of China’s reform era — and to investigate new practices and expressions of happiness in the post-pandemic world. Concurrently, I have embraced a new role as a happiness coach!

SEMIOVOX

What are the most important attributes of a good semiotician?

JIAKUN WANG

Since semiotics is a delicate balancing act between the humanities, arts, and scientific rationality, a semiotician must possess more than just an understanding of symbols. They need to be well-versed in disciplines — such as art, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, economics, politics, and technology — which influence cultural systems.

A semiotician’s scope must be sufficiently broad to comprehend the intricate web of cultural dynamics. Moreover, one must remain engaged with significant cultural shifts, emerging lifestyles, and pioneering groups — understanding what triggers these changes is crucial.

It is also essential to grasp the political and economic games that underlie symbols. A semiotician must recognize that myths and narratives serve a broader public purpose. In essence, a distinguished semiotician should avoid malicious manipulation and use “cultural alchemy” to conjure a future culture marked by goodness and beauty, rather than merely perpetuating the power of the ruling elite.

SEMIOVOX

What three books about semiotics have you found the most useful and enlightening in your own work?

JIAKUN WANG

• Douglas Holt and Douglas Cameron’s Cultural Strategy: Using Innovative Ideologies to Build Breakthrough Brands. Though it does not explicitly delve into semiotics, this book offers an invaluable perspective on applying cultural symbols in branding. The book meticulously illustrates how cultural strategies can shape and elevate brands.
• [Russian Literature scholar] Aleksei Semenenko’s The Texture of Culture: An Introduction to Yuri Lotman’s Semiotic Theory. Unlike Saussure’s static model, Lotman’s theory shows how symbols evolve within shifting cultural contexts. It integrates semiotics with cultural studies, offering a comprehensive view of symbols’ roles in society.
• [Semiotician and linguistic anthropologist] Marcel Danesi’s Of Cigarettes, High Heels, and Other Interesting Things: An Introduction to Semiotics. Danesi’s exploration of cultural symbols in daily life reveals their profound influence on behavior, much like how scenes in a film subtly convey deeper meanings.

SEMIOVOX

When someone asks you to describe what you do, what is your “elevator pitch”? How do you persuade a skeptical client to take a chance on using this tool?

JIAKUN WANG

“We live immersed in culture, often unaware of its profound impact on our decisions, much like fish are oblivious to water.” As semioticians, we interpret cultural influences on consumer behavior, akin to anthropologists. However, semiotics allows us to model culture, providing a comprehensive understanding beyond mere consumer perceptions. By integrating semiotics with design and trend research, we enhance brand concept testing and gain a structured view of emerging trends.

In essence, semiotics helps us uncover not just the known unknowns of qualitative research, but also new insights into the unknown knowns and unknown unknowns.

SEMIOVOX

What specific sorts of semiotics-driven projects do you find to be the most enjoyable and rewarding?

JIAKUN WANG

Projects that delve deeply into cultural semiotic domains, particularly those where cultural texts are still evolving. The happiness research I mentioned earlier exemplifies such projects. We’ve analyzed multiple domains within the cultural field to understand how paradigm shifts and cultural-social semiotic systems have historically defined and shifted the meaning of happiness. In such projects, I feel like I’m engaging in a liberating form of semiotic research rather than using myths to manipulate consumer behavior.

SEMIOVOX

What frustrates you about how semiotics is practiced and/or perceived, right now?

JIAKUN WANG

In China, the practice of cultural branding is still not widely established, and it’s frustrating to see semiotics narrowly reduced to producing mere visual icons and catchphrases. I believe semiotics should be viewed as a core catalyst for the growth of brand culture and service systems, rather than just a tool for selecting memorable visual elements based on existing cultural knowledge. I’d like to see a broader recognition of semiotics’ potential to shape and develop comprehensive cultural narratives and systems, rather than its current, limited application.

SEMIOVOX

Peirce or Saussure?

JIAKUN WANG

Peirce, particularly when viewed through the lens of Yuri Lotman’s ideas. Peirce’s perspective, which sees meaning as something actively generated and evolving within cultural contexts, aligns well with Lotman’s view of the ever-changing nature of symbols within the “semiosphere.” Meaning is not static but constantly shifting, reflecting the fluid and adaptable nature of cultural symbols.

SEMIOVOX

What advice would you give to a young person interested in this sort of work?

JIAKUN WANG

Be prepared for a life of contemplation and — sometimes — detachment. If you find joy in being a cultural observer, even at the cost of sacrificing some first-hand experiential insights, then welcome to the world of semiotics. Your willingness to delve into the intricacies of symbols and their meanings will make you a valuable addition to this field.

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