
Making Sense
"Our bodies are part of our research tools — experience matters. It’s not just about hours in the office; it’s about the life you live."
Giving voice to the global community of applied/commercial semioticians. (This "topic" is named after a now-defunct website founded by Malcolm Evans and Josh Glenn.) Click here to view Semiofest Sessions only, or here to view MAKING SENSE Q&As only.

"Our bodies are part of our research tools — experience matters. It’s not just about hours in the office; it’s about the life you live."

"What a semiotician offers is an authentic reading of their culture that only they can provide."

"It’s about attention to detail, and spotting what fits a pattern, and what doesn’t."

A session on serendipitous discoveries… that may or may not have been useful to our clients.

"Semiotics can be applied to creative development, artistic production, or policy design — not just to uncover meaning, but to shape it."

"Understanding people means understanding the context in which we operate, and the cultural webs of meanings we’re caught up in."

"I don’t think it’s hyperbolic to say that semiotics will be the last saving grace of humanity."

A session on influencing global perceptions, driving social change, and consolidating symbolic and political power.

"At the start of a semiotics project, you do not know the answer. You also do not know exactly how you will get that answer. You need to be comfortable with that kind of uncertainty."

"There’s a whole untapped evidence base out there in the form of culture itself."

"Even with AI to hand, clients crave a strategic, human-centric approach — where analysis meets creativity to deliver razor-sharp, real-world solutions."

"Semiotics is inherently about acknowledging and holding a plurality of interpretations."

"Semiotics helps clients anticipate cultural shifts and uncover new opportunities, even in unpredictable times."

"People still want meaning. And meaning isn’t something you can automate."