Semiotics and UID

Dana Dahlstrom and Vinu Somayaji
Dept. Computer Science & Engineering, Univ. of California, San Diego

Abstract

Emerging technologies have facilitated the building of complex computer systems. With a poorly designed user interface, such a system may meet all its performance and functional requirements, and still be rendered completely useless. Of course, these (financially disastrous) situations can usually be avoided ... and not by throwing more money into technology. More often than not, the lack of acceptance of a user interface is attributed to its failing to incorporate the social element (i.e., user values) in the design. Recognizing the need to address this problem, this Web site introduces classical and algebraic semiotics as theories to aid in the analysis and design of user interfaces, while taking into account the necessary user values.

Contents

• Introduction
  • The goal of UID
  • Issues in UID
  • The role of semiotics in UID
• Classical Semiotics
  • Peircian Semiotics
    • The semiotic triad
    • Peirce's classifications of signs
  • Saussurean Semiotics
    • Saussure's model of the sign
    • Sign systems and structuralism
• Algebraic Semiotics
  • The Semiotic Zoo
  • Semiotic morphisms
  • Further reading
• References
• Glossary

Acknowledgements

This Web site was created by the authors as a CSE 271 course project in Spring 2003, and is now distributed (download) under the GNU General Public License (GPL). The authors would like to thank Joseph Goguen for his assistance in reviewing this material.