Representing the Producer: the Use of Semiotic Analysis to inform the Design of Interactive Components in Networked Media

Light, A (2001) Representing the Producer: the Use of Semiotic Analysis to inform the Design of Interactive Components in Networked Media DSVIS 2001, Glasgow, Scotland, June 2001

This paper describes how semiotic analysis can be applied to aid the design of interactive components for websites and other networked digital media. This kind of analysis can supplement existing design strategies by articulating the relationship between the producer and users of a networked system. It can support requirements capture by stripping away the form of the interactions planned for the site, leaving the intentions of the participants to determine the nature of components. By focusing attention on the relationship building function of the presence, content and context of an interactive device, the analysis promotes a fuller understanding of design issues in terms of acceptability as well as usability. To illustrate this technique, the paper examines the results of several studies into how users make sense of the interactive devices that can be provided on websites.