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.

“GILDED CURSIVE” NORM: Gold and cursive convey the idea of a luxury experience. The attempt is to signal a quality of experience above and beyond the price point.

“GILDED CURSIVE” FORMS: Gold pack detail; often against black background. Gold crests — suggesting traditional, inherited luxury. Gold accents in advertising and site imagery.

From a 2016 study of the STATUS SYMBOL space — within the Brown Spirits category.