Multimodal Semiotics and Collaborative Design
Multimodal Semiotics and Collaborative Design
Multimodal Semiotics and Collaborative Design
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The socio-cultural perspective on design reminds the multimodal framework in certain aspects,<br />
particularly in its tendency to shift the focus of analysis from the visual <strong>and</strong> material to design<br />
cultures (Julier 2006). On the one h<strong>and</strong>, design culture is articulated by the proper combinations<br />
of the visual, audial, spatial <strong>and</strong> linguistic elements. On the other h<strong>and</strong>, it also reflects social values,<br />
power structures, beliefs <strong>and</strong> norms of interaction in particular societies. Following this logic,<br />
Julier argues that digital communication <strong>and</strong> virtual reality technologies opened up new<br />
trajectories for design, as they present “an, albeit extreme, metaphor for change in the rules of<br />
engagement between subject <strong>and</strong> object” (Julier 2008: 11). In these new spaces, cognition of design<br />
culture is much more spatial <strong>and</strong> temporal, in contrast to visual representations in twodimensional<br />
graphic spaces. <strong>Multimodal</strong> interaction takes place not only during the users’<br />
interactions with the object of design, but also designers’ processes of creating, prototyping <strong>and</strong><br />
testing their ideas. In fact, Julier’s theory continues to develop models to study <strong>and</strong> underst<strong>and</strong> 21 st<br />
century design cultures, especially the transformations brought about by the introduction of virtual<br />
reality technologies <strong>and</strong> virtual environments as new multimodal environments for design-based<br />
interaction. By using Henri Lefebvre’s (1991 [1974]) notion of ‘production of space’ as his starting<br />
point, Julier (2008) analyzes virtual environments as new ‘spaces of consumption’ (as well as new<br />
tools for design) <strong>and</strong> emphasizes the emerging role of designers as ‘cultural <strong>and</strong> technological<br />
intermediaries’. By discussing immersive VR technologies, MMORPGs <strong>and</strong> virtual worlds such as<br />
AlphaWorld <strong>and</strong> SL, Julier concludes “just as life ‘on screen’ is in fact restricted by the available<br />
formats <strong>and</strong> technologies, so it is also constrained <strong>and</strong> regulated by a range of issues outside the<br />
box” (Julier 2008: 187).<br />
Figure 4.1"Domains of design culture" (adapted from Julier 2008: 13)<br />
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