Marketing Code-X

Life in Motion

Image for Life in Motion

Timbuk2 website

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.

Harley Davidson website

LIFE IN MOTION” NORM: Never stop — never even slow down. Adventure demands a constant expenditure of energy.

Clockwise from top left: Krave logo, Clif social, Subaru website, Nike logo

LIFE IN MOTION” FORMS: Adventurers in motion, often leaning precipitously into a curve. Images are frequently blurry. Primarily a visual code. Sometimes language indicating speed/motion, e.g., “Whoosh!”

From a 2017 study of the TAKE CHARGE (defined as: freedom to control your life, take the lead, realize a vision) territory within the Adventure space in US brand communications.

Tags: Adventure, CODE-X, Take Charge