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.

Brighton, UK…

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?

LOUISE JOLLY

I loved learning languages and was fascinated with the otherness of different symbolic systems. Growing up way before the internet, I used to try and tune my parents’ radio to Spanish-language stations. I was mesmerised by that river of sound, which I couldn’t imagine would ever resolve into meaning for me. I then learned some Spanish and remember hearing some people speak Spanish in the street — I went up to them and said something probably very basic like ‘how are you?’ When they understood and replied, I was so excited. I couldn’t believe I’d cracked the code and it worked! 

SEMIOVOX

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

LOUISE JOLLY

I loved literary theory at university but to be honest, probably used it in quite a superficial way. It became a kind of template you could apply to anything and everything. That’s one of the problems with that kind of theory — it can become quite facile. Theory and semiotics can also provide the illusion of mastery — definitely a trap.

SEMIOVOX

How did you find your own way to doing semiotics?

LOUISE JOLLY

I became interested in corporate language when I was doing my PhD. I was studying the language of the bourgeoisie in 19th century French novels — very grandiose and latinate. And I realised modern-day corporate language was doing the same thing — talking about ‘prestigious, world-class excellence’ and so on. I really wanted to work on corporate discourse but it was hard finding an outlet or a department for that in academia. So I was really happy to discover there was a profession where you could actually analyse corporate and consumer language for business clients.

SEMIOVOX

What are the most important attributes of a good semiotician?

LOUISE JOLLY

Being really attentive to the brief, trying to solve the problem rather than getting carried away in the heady world of theory, being able to draw unexpected connections, and also using imagination to go deeper into the meanings of whatever you’re investigating.

SEMIOVOX

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

LOUISE JOLLY

I used to read theory but I don’t so much any more. I prefer fiction and find that to be semiotically enlightening enough. Novels are like journeys — they take you into another world and help you make all the connections necessary to make that world come to life.

Recently I read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel while working on a project on London. The timing was coincidental, but I found the novel helped me tap into aspects of the city that I wouldn’t necessarily have found just from looking at Instagram alone.

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?

LOUISE JOLLY

Uncovering the hidden dimensions of meaning, excavating layers you might not have known were there but which make complete sense when elucidated. Giving brands richer narratives and codes to explore, drawing out the resources and symbolic riches they may be sitting on without even knowing it!

SEMIOVOX

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

LOUISE JOLLY

It’s really hard to say. A project may seem unpromising but turn out to be amazing. So I don’t pre-judge them any more. It’s also very much about the team you’re working with, as well as the subject matter involved. 

SEMIOVOX

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

LOUISE JOLLY

I feel we’re at a turning point culturally where our current system won’t be around for too much longer — some kind of new post-growth reality is on the way. I’d like to see our field engage with that, figure out what the role of semiotics could be in that transition, and explore what we could do in the ‘after-life’ of our current system, which most of us are likely to see in our lifetimes. I’d like more bigger-picture enquiry, basically — along with the everyday work of helping clients with more immediate challenges. 

I’ve really admired some of the work young advertising creatives are doing in disrupting the status quo — e.g. setting up beanbags on the doorstep of WPP (who work for fossil fuel clients) in London, and holding a sit-in/brainstorm on how to sabotage fossil fuel briefs. I’d like to see semioticians also exploring what we can do at this critical juncture in human history — not just the semiotics of sustainability but how we can disrupt ‘business as usual’ in creative ways. We are ‘working amongst the ruins’ (phrase borrowed from a book title), so there’s a scope to be creative and brave, and to tell new stories, when there’s everything to play for. 

SEMIOVOX

Peirce or Saussure?

LOUISE JOLLY

I’ve never got to grips with Pierce and my background is on the French side. But I’m not particularly wedded to any theory now. As a parent, I’ve always avoided reading childcare books — not out of a rejection of expertise, but to keep a sense of freedom around it. It’s the same as a semiotician. I enjoy being guided by imagination, a sense of story and intuition. 

SEMIOVOX

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

LOUISE JOLLY

It’s so hard to answer that question as their reality will be so very different from mine was as a young adult finding a professional pathway. Our system is falling over and something new is on the way. So I don’t think I could give any advice that would hold good for very long. I’d want to suggest they really seize this moment to explore how they want to re-shape our world.

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