CALL FOR PAPERS

Filosofi(e)Semiotiche, Vol. 10, n. 2. 

Design, dessein, Da-sein: The contributions of semiotics to design

Editors:

Valeria Dattilo (Dipartimento di Architettura, Università degli Studi “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti-Pescara);

Raffaella Massacesi (Dipartimento di Architettura, Università degli Studi “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti-Pescara);

Semiotics, as is well known, starting from the 1960s, has evolved beyond its traditional focus on linguistic sign systems to encompass all processes of significations: from fashion to advertising, television, and in general, the new means of mass communication. This is largely thanks to the work carried out by Roland Barthes (1964) in France, and Umberto Eco (1968) in Italy. It is precisely during those years that semiotics also shows an interest in industrial design and, in general, in design.

The aim of the call is to reignite the mutual interest of these two disciplines, semiotics and design, with the aim of comprehending how the concept of “design” extends in concentric circles, embracing a wider array of elements. This transcends the outdated dichotomy between form and function that has traditionally characterized the field of design, a divide that is now destined to dissolve, like ripples dissipating in water.

This encounter can only occur in relation to an additional element: artefacts, which play a fundamental role in the process of shaping and reshaping the boundaries of subjectivity. This process is referred to as omination or anthropogenesis, the becoming human of humankind; a subjectivity that is increasingly more woven with “things”, as objects participate in our humanity, contributing to the construction of subjectivities (Latour, Mimesis 2021). It could be said that design brings forth the Da-sein, echoing a wonderful play on words developed by Henk Oosterling.

Call for papers here