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.

Turin…

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?

TATIANA JARAMILLO

I was a proud Girl Scout — and for me, the mottos, emblems and badges, chants and rituals weren’t just fun traditions. They shaped my sense of identity and belonging. As I grew older, I became captivated by the hidden meanings embedded in architecture, books, and secret codes that seemed to whisper stories from the past. Then came alchemical philosophy — like a mysterious ancient manuscript, it landed in my hands at just the right moment.

To this day, I’m still decoding the world… one symbol at a time.

SEMIOVOX

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

TATIANA JARAMILLO

My fascination with alchemical philosophy led me to the Hermetic tradition, which caused me to obsess over how it differs from hermeneutics. While lost in these thoughts, one day my father casually said, “There’s a modern way to explore these things, you know — it’s called semiotics”.

I began with Eco, thinking, OK, this seems manageable. Then — bam! — with Lotman and Pierce, I found myself swimming in semiotic complexity. Their approaches were interconnected yet different, like puzzle pieces that ought to fit together… but don’t. More than once, as I pursued a Master’s in Semiotics at the University of Tartu, I wondered if I’d made a mistake. But I persevered, and take pride in having survived the labyrinth of the ‘study of the meaning-making process’.

SEMIOVOX

How did you find your own way to doing semiotics?

TATIANA JARAMILLO

Five years ago, I boldly dropped everything and moved, all the way from Colombia, to Tartu, Estonia, to study this topic with which I’d become fascinated. I’m still at the beginning of my career in this discipline, but I’ve discovered that when it comes to a tool for decoding fundamental aspects of reality, understanding how things work (or don’t), and maybe even changing or improving things, semiotics is unmatched. So here I am, living and breathing this stuff….

SEMIOVOX

What are the most important attributes of a good semiotician?

TATIANA JARAMILLO

A good semiotician has the eyes of a detective, the mind of a philosopher, and the soul of a poet.

It’s all about observation (being curious, noticing what others overlook), attention to detail (being meticulous, questioning what may seem obvious), and sensitivity (feeling the “weight” of a single sign within a sea of meanings).

SEMIOVOX

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

TATIANA JARAMILLO

• Umberto Eco’s Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language explores how language operates as a system of signs, and how meaning is constructed through codes and interpretation. He also delves into encyclopedic knowledge, the theory of modes of sign production, and how communication functions across different contexts. It’s a dense but incredibly rewarding read.
• Juri Lotman’s Universe of the Mind: A Semiotic Theory of Culture. Lotman’s concept of the “semiosphere” changed the way I think about meaning-making. He presents culture as a vast, dynamic space of interrelated signs, where different semiotic systems constantly interact and evolve. This book helped me understand how cultures create, store, and transform information; it’s an essential tool for anyone working in cultural semiotics.
• Jesper Hoffmeyer’s Signs of Meaning in the Universe was my gateway into biosemiotics — i.e., the idea that semiosis isn’t just a human affair but extends to all living systems. This book beautifully argues that life itself is structured through sign processes, from the simplest cells to complex human communication. It’s a fascinating exploration of how biology and semiotics intertwine, and it’s one of the reasons I see semiotics as a universal tool for understanding life.

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?

TATIANA JARAMILLO

The first hurdle is often explaining what semiotics is—and honestly, I love doing so. I’ll tailor my explanation to the audience. If they have a scientific mindset, I’ll introduce semiotics through biology (biosemiotics and communication in living systems). If they’re more culturally inclined, I’ll explain it through media, branding, or social structures. The beauty of semiotics is that it applies to everything — from how cells “talk” to each other to why certain ads make us feel something.

When it comes to convincing skeptical clients, I let the conversation unfold naturally. By the time we’ve explored a few examples, they start realizing how signs shape their world — whether in business, culture, or even their personal experiences. Eventually, they’ll become very intrigued.

SEMIOVOX

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

TATIANA JARAMILLO

Whether it’s designing more sustainable communication models, improving brand narratives, or reshaping environmental policies, semiotics bridges the gap between human culture and the natural world. So for me, the real magic happens when I can bring both biosemiotics and cultural semiotics to bear on communication strategies, sustainability, and environmental and social governance (ESG). The most rewarding projects show how everything is interconnected — and for which semiotics proves to be a powerful tool for helping industries and markets actually do better.

What excites me the most is the “aha!” moment for — when clients realize that we’re not separate from nature, that everything operates as a network of signs and meanings.

SEMIOVOX

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

TATIANA JARAMILLO

It’s frustrating that some clients still perceive semiotics is something abstract or academic, and when they want to know “What’s it good for?” By this point, no one should be asking that!

Semiotics is for everyone. Yes, it’s complex — but that doesn’t mean it’s inaccessible. In fact, in spaces like Semiofest, you can see how semiotics is dynamic, engaging, and deeply practical. It’s not an obscure intellectual exercise—it’s a tool for understanding and shaping our symbolic worlds.

Since I work in strategy, I wish more people recognized that semiotics is foundational. It’s not just a theoretical lens — it’s a way of decoding reality, culture, and behavior. If more industries embraced this tool, we’d have smarter branding, better communication, and more meaningful innovation.

SEMIOVOX

Peirce or Saussure?

TATIANA JARAMILLO

Peirce is the ultimate “magic triangle” thinker — an alchemist of signs who built his theory of language on mathematics and geometry. His infinite semiosis perfectly aligns with how I see meaning-making: ever-expanding, never fully settled, always in motion. I proudly consider myself a pansemiotician: I see (and believe) that everything is a sign. And Peirce? He gets that.

Also… unlike Saussure, who confined semiotics to language, Peirce brings nature and culture together as a unified field of meaning. He doesn’t just analyze signs; he shows how they evolve, transform, and generate entire worlds of interpretation.

Peirce was also pragmatic. For those of us engaged in commercial and applied semiotics, as opposed to academic semiotics with its theoretical black holes, Peirce is a breath of fresh air.

SEMIOVOX

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

TATIANA JARAMILLO

Semiotics can feel overwhelming at first, but that’s because it rewires how you see the world. Read widely, explore different fields, and practice decoding everyday life: ads, politics, nature, digital culture.

Talk to skeptics, since explaining semiotics to others sharpens your own understanding.

Don’t just read and think about it, apply it! Whether in branding, design, activism, or science, semiotics is not merely a fascinating philosophical theory, but a powerfully useful tool.

Be patient, find your own semiotic style, and enjoy the journey.

MAKING SENSE series: MARTHA ARANGO (Sweden) | MACIEJ BIEDZIŃSKI (Poland) | BECKS COLLINS (England) | WHITNEY DUNLAP-FOWLER (USA) | IVÁN ISLAS (Mexico) | WILLIAM LIU (China) | SÓNIA MARQUES (Portugal) | CHIRAG MEDIRATTA (India / Canada) | SERDAR PAKTIN (Turkey / England) | MARIA PAPANTHYMOU (Greece / Russia) | XIMENA TOBI (Argentina) | & many more.

Also see these global semio series: MAKING SENSE (Q&As) | SEMIOFEST SESSIONS (monthly mini-conferences) | COVID CODES | SEMIO OBJECTS | COLOR CODEX | DECODER (fictional semioticians) | CASE FILE | PHOTO OP | MEDIA DIET.