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.

“RURAL RED” NORM: Flying the red flag of a traditional way of life.

“RURAL RED” FORMS: The color red — in its primary hue — used to connote a fiercely proud devotion to deeply rooted tradition. The red American barn being the source. In Dairy, frequently used as logo color — and often used to signal “whole milk.” Note that in the era of “red state vs. blue state” partisanship and red MAGA hats, etc., the color red may have political connotations not intended by some or all of these brands.

From a 2022 study of the WHOLESOME territory — associating milk with an old-fashioned way of life — within the Dairy & Non-Dairy Milk category.