Multimodal Semiotics and Collaborative Design

codes. Producing theoretically-grounded and focused categories via reconsiderations of initial open
codes ultimately led me to create the systemic-functional matrix for further theorization. One axis
of this analytical matrix comprises Halliday’s (1978, 2007) systemic metafunctional categories
(experiential/representational, interpersonal/orientational, textual/ organizational) (see also
Lemke 2002, 2009a, Kress 2010). The second (vertical) axis is constructed by concepts that are
adopted from MDA, particularly the notions of ‘nexus of practice’ (Scollon 2001, Scollon and
Scollon 2004) and ‘place semiotics’ (Scollon and Scollon 2003), in which social actors, places,
interaction orders and multimodal semiotics of objects are in focus. For the multimodal analysis in
Chapter 8, I have also revised and re-appropriated the concepts of rank-scale in architectural
design from O’Toole (1994, 2004).
“[O]ur reading of any work of art -indeed, of any semiotic message - is in part structured by
absences, by elements that might, and perhaps should, have been visible in the text but for
some reason are not” (O’Toole 1994: 150).
My purpose in producing the complex analytical framing as a matrix of interrelated semiotic
dimensions of collaborative design is a pragmatic one. I consider the findings as interrelated units
of a ‘hypertext’ (O’Toole 2004) within the overall data-set, and I set out to explain causal relations
between situations where the co-designers make certain decisions to signify (or not signify)
particular characteristics in their designs. Differences in contexts of collaborative design in three
case studies provide me with a wider trajectory of situations in which co-designers may (or may
not) engage in collaboration. On the other hand, focusing on three different cases present
limitations for analysis, and foregrounds the need for self-reflexivity as researcher.
5.5. Conclusion: The analytical framework as a bridge between theory and
methodology
The overall analytical framework is explained visually in detail in Figure 5.1, which also
summarizes the stages of research design and my analytical strategies for producing, coding and
interpreting the multimodal data. In the following section on methodology, I will outline and
discuss the more specific aspects of the research design, data production methods and coding
strategies, as well as the ways in which I intend to capture a critical reflexive stance in compliance
with abductive logic. However, it is important at this point to note that the multimodal social
semiotic theory provides certain methodological guidelines and frameworks to study the meaning
potentials in semiotic phenomena. In this respect, the systemic-functional framing of threedimensional
spaces (and digitally mediated places) provides particular considerations on the metafunctions
and design features, which ultimately has led to the generation of the analytical matrix in
Chapter 8. I use this matrix to comparatively study the experiential, interpersonal and textual
112