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.

Hamburg…

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?

MARINA MACHAUER

I remember being gifted Look of the Century — Das Design des 20. Jahrhunderts as a kid in the late ’90s, a book I still have and care about. It is filled with examples and description of (commercial) design of the decades (cars, razors, chairs, fashion, fonts). I spent a lot of time flipping through it, taking in different design styles and shapes, and frequently changing my mind about what I liked best. I kept recognizing the design in everyday objects around me.

As an alternative teen, I also became pretty good at reading and decoding subcultural cues and the subtle ways of ingroup-outgroup signalling. Learning how to read tarot for fun was a bonus. Being involved in theatre taught me how much meaning can be carried through archetypes, gestures, and familiar tropes.

I’ve always enjoyed getting lost in different worlds and alternate realities, but I also liked puzzles, games, and anything that involved “figuring things out”.

SEMIOVOX

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

MARINA MACHAUER

My first encounter was probably during my linguistics and philosophy studies at university. I remember learning about Saussure, signs, and semiotic theory and finding it interesting, but also fairly abstract. At the time, it felt disconnected from anything visual or practical, and it got buried among other introductory theories. We basically nodded at each other, but at that point, semiotics did not fully click for me.

When I re-encountered Semiotics during my work at an agency, it made more sense to me, and felt more tangible and direct when tied to brands, visuals, and communication. It gave a shape to the theory blanket.

SEMIOVOX

How did you find your own way to doing semiotics?

MARINA MACHAUER

When I worked at an insights and innovation agency in Hamburg (STURM und DRANG), I passed a room where the walls had been filled with printouts, images and post-its. My colleagues inside told me about their semiotic work, so the next time the chance came to join, I volunteered. I started by supporting semiotic projects and working hands-on alongside semioticians, getting more and more wrapped up. After it became clear that I had no way or plan to escape, I took a class in London (with Malcolm Evans) to deepen my understanding of the subject matter.

Later, I occasionally had the chance to collaborate with multiple semioticians on larger international projects. Seeing how differently people worked and approached Semiotics and the same topic was important; how their approach, cultural background and sense of the world informed the outcome.

I can still feel a bit hesitant calling myself a semiotician. I’ve learned a lot on the job, in a fairly patchwork way. That said, semiotics is central to how I work. Much of my understanding has grown through practice, often in nonlinear, exploratory ways — but the discipline’s principles consistently shape how I think. Even when a project isn’t explicitly semiotic, the principles guide how I approach my ethnographic and cultural work.

SEMIOVOX

What are the most important attributes of a good semiotician?

MARINA MACHAUER

A sense of curiosity, wonder, and maybe even befuddlement about the world. Wondering about little things, staring at things others overlook, staying open to be surprised. 
 
A balance of distance and intuition. You need to trust your instincts, but also know when to step back and question them. That means being aware of your own biases — the value they bring, the risks they carry — and being able to move fluidly between an insider and outsider perspective.
 
Finally, none of this matters if you cannot communicate clearly. A good semiotician needs to explain ideas without hiding behind theory or jargon. Give feedback and voice concerns honestly, instead of trying to appease the client or force-fit things that don’t fit together.  

SEMIOVOX

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

MARINA MACHAUER

Here are texts I find myself returning to and referencing — both in the office and during kitchen-table discussions. 

Writing on the Body: Female Embodiment and Feminist Theory (ed. Katie Conboy, Nadia Medina, and Sarah Stanbury). It’s a collection of prominent essays, looking at how women’s bodies are represented, treated, commodified, seen, or made invisible. Originally I encountered it when analysing dystopian science fiction, but I keep returning to it when thinking about contemporary culture, media, politics, and personal narratives. (What does this say about our present?)

Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation. I first encountered Baudrillard during my philosophy studies, and these ideas still come up for me all the time — especially when thinking about digital culture, scrolling, and the strange blend of proximity and alienation that we experience.

Roland Barthes’ Mythologies. Barthes brings the idea of “myth” into everyday life and questions things we usually take for granted. It’s a great reminder to notice the small, ordinary moments that quietly shape culture and myths.

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?

MARINA MACHAUER

“Semiotics goes beyond the surface to cultural and collective meaning. We are looking at the signals and messages that are constantly being sent and recognized, intentional or not. This a layer of interaction that people can often not articulate, though they respond to it. It’s like a cultural magnetic field. “

In my experience, though, no matter how you describe semiotics, most clients only “get it” after working with it. It’s like a covered pie… they don’t know what’s inside, so you need to convince them to take a bite.  I often smuggle semiotics in using more familiar methods, like ethnography, as a bit of a Trojan horse — i.e., to show off what semiotics can do.  

SEMIOVOX

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

MARINA MACHAUER

I really thrive on variety. On some projects, that means open-ended, explorative work where I can dig into deeper cultural processes. Other projects are more straightforward and narrow, looking at a specific brand or category. I like moving from topics like Self-Determination, say, to Shampoo. 

Working with good people makes a big difference. Being able to talk openly, bounce ideas around, and sharpen the thinking together is the greatest tool when I get stuck or overwhelmed.  
 
I like it when at least part of a project is hands-on and clearly tied to what it’s feeding into, whether that is a campaign, an innovation platform, or brand positioning.  

SEMIOVOX

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

MARINA MACHAUER

Semiotics can still seem so wobbly and obscure. It’s a discipline that overlaps with so many others that it can be hard to pin down. That’s a credit to its importance and embeddedness, but it can also make the work feel vague or hard to explain — especially in Germany, where semiotics is still relatively unknown. Semiotics is tricky to introduce and represent —even when it’s clearly relevant. 

SEMIOVOX

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

MARINA MACHAUER

Follow cultural phenomena that genuinely interest you, and that align with your values and personality. Spend time observing how these work, their rules, shapes, language, and visual logic. Talk to others about what you’re seeing and try to build a more rounded, multi-dimensional picture of what’s going on.

At the same time, don’t limit yourself to niche or “artsy” spaces. Those are important, but so are everyday cultural codes and narratives. Pay attention to supermarket shelves, poster ads, mainstream TV, print magazines, and even the local influencers who get on your nerves. All of these affect each other.  

Trust your instincts, and find value in your unique perspective and voice. 

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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 | TATTOO YOU (semioticians’ tattoos).