Communication

Cybernetic theory is useful for researching how as a designer your work makes effective communication

Three levels of potential communication problems -

Level 1  Technical  Accuracy

  Systems of encoding and decoding

  Compatibility of systems/need for specialist equipment or knowledge

Level 2  Semantic  Precision of language

  How much of the message can be lost without meaning being lost?

  What language to use?

Level 3  Effectiveness  Does the message affect behaviour the way we want it to?

  What can be done if the required effect fails to happen?

Semiotics

Three basic concepts-

- Semantics

  - the meaning of a sign

- Pragmatics

  - context of a sign

- Syntax

  - relationship between signs

- Communication as the extension of the mind and of the nervous system

Rhetoric - useful for thinking how you are going to communicate certain affects to an audience