Introducing the diagrammatic semiotic mode (original) (raw)
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Introducing the diagrammatic mode
ArXiv, 2020
In this article, we propose a multimodal perspective to diagrammatic representations by sketching a description of what may be tentatively termed the diagrammatic mode. We consider diagrammatic representations in the light of contemporary multimodality theory and explicate what enables diagrammatic representations to integrate natural language, various forms of graphics, diagrammatic elements such as arrows, lines and other expressive resources into coherent organisations. We illustrate the proposed approach using two recent diagram corpora and show how a multimodal approach supports the empirical analysis of diagrammatic representations, especially in identifying diagrammatic constituents and describing their interrelations.
Proceedings, 2017
The article aims to demonstrate the importance of the diagrammatic image as an essential element of the inferential process: a necessary tool for us to interpret and to communicate the intelligible. Accordingly, it will be discussed how diagrams privilege and display pertinences of the object they stand for, consequently affecting our interpretation and what we can fathom. As a fundamental graphic-sign for reasoning and discovery, the diagram will be described in accordance with a theoretical model, to provide the visual designer with a useful instrument to monitor and probe their designs. In this view it will also emerge how the designer's work resembles that of the scientist, both with the intention to innovate models to describe an object.
In this paper we will argue that although current drawing software tools enable the production of sophisticated images they do not guarantee the construction of well-formed diagrams, or do not do so in a flexible manner. This results in badly formed diagrams that confuse those reading them, or in constraints on the creators of diagrams. We propose that by broadening our understanding of diagrams and their well-formedness to go beyond the rigidity imposed by current reductionist theoretical frameworks, better guidelines for the development of drawing software could emerge. Our notion of understanding diagrams by means of a multi-aspectual framework, SySpM, recognises the diversity of the types of diagrams and applications, and may be used for the assessment of the impact and effectiveness of diagrams. This work is part of an ongoing research project currently being carried out at the Information Systems Institute -Salford University.
Using perceptual syntax to enhance semantic content in diagrams
IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 2001
Diagrams are essential in documenting large information systems. They capture, communicate and leverage knowledge indispensable for solving problems and are conceived to act as "cognitive externalizations". 1 A diagram provides a mapping from the problem domain to the visual representation by supporting cognitive processes that involve perceptual pattern finding and cognitive symbolic operations. 2 However not all mappings are equivalent, and to be effective a diagram's representation needs to be embedded with characteristics such that meaningful patterns can be easily perceived. Consequently a diagram's effectiveness depends, to some extent, on how well it is constructed as an input to our visual system. In our research, we focus on a class of diagrams commonly referred to as graphs or nodelink diagrams. Nodes representing entities, objects or processes, and links or edges representing relationships between the nodes characterize them. Their most common form is that of outline circles or boxes denoting nodes, and lines of different types representing links between the nodes. Entity-relationship diagrams, software structure diagrams and data flow models are examples of node-link diagrams used to model the structure of processes, software, or data.
Towards a Typology of Diagrams in Linguistics
Diagrammatic Representation and Inference, 2018
The aim of this paper is to lay out the foundations of a typology of diagrams in linguistics. We draw a distinction between linguistic parameters-concerning what information is being represented-and diagrammatic parameters-concerning how it is represented. The six binary linguistic parameters of the typology are: (i) mono-versus multilingual, (ii) static versus dynamic, (iii) mono-versus multimodular, (iv) object-level versus meta-level, (v) qualitative versus quantitative, and (vi) mono-versus interdisciplinary. The two diagrammatic parameters are (i) iconic/concrete versus symbolic/abstract representation and (ii) static versus dynamic representation. We briefly illustrate how different types of linguistic diagrams can be analysed in terms of the interaction between the linguistic and the diagrammatic parameters.
On Diagrammatic Nature of Representation : Art and Design as Modeling Forms of Thinking
Visio. The Journal of the International Association for Visual Semiotics, 2003
By giving shape to our experiences we make sense of them. Making sense of something means to comprehend it. Such a comprehension is made possible by virtue of linking new information (=sign) with an old and familiar one. The process of linking, that is, a process of semiotic modeling requires connectivity and interconnectedness of our conceptualizations, which form thought patterns. That sense of interconnectedness ever present in the shaping and comprehension of experience leads to the examination of diagrams. This presentation is geared toward a discussion of relationships between diagrammatic reasoning, cognitive psychology, sensory perception, and the process of visual representation. For both an artist and a communication designer, it is essential to acknowledge, that changes in design affect the meaning in such a way, that it becomes a different meaning altogether. This presentation reveals the relationship between the meaning and the sensory characteristics of graphic diagram...
Cognitive Science Approaches To Understanding Diagrammatic Representations
Thinking with Diagrams, 2001
Through a wide variety of approaches cognitive science has given us various important insights into the nature of diagrammatic representations. This paper surveys the findings, issues and approaches to diagrammatic representations in cognitive science. Important current issues that are highlighted include: the relation between the parts of the representational system that are internal to the mind and in external visual media that presents the diagram; the use of multiple representations which is typical of real contexts of diagram use; the benefits of diagrams in terms of (i) computational offloading, (ii) re-representation and (iii) graphical constraining.