The Mechanics of Communication
Communications is the process of sending a message through a medium or channel with some effect. The process school aims to differentiate the separate elements and parts of the communication process as whole functions. The purpose and context are also important notions to some commentators. The message needs to be converted into code that is appropriate for the channel being used to transmit it.
Semiotic school concentrates on text on the sings and codes that text is comprised of. The stages of communications are:
you: you have your own style depending on your age, habitat, interests, family group, culture, and education.
message: you need to employ a code which is a system or group of signs governed by a collection of rules shared by sender and audience. Sign=signifier(drawn object)+signified(meaning of drawn object). An icon is a sign that closely resembles the object it is signifying. A symbol is a sign that is culturally agreed upon but has no connection with what it signifies such as a letterform. index is a natural sign which has a physical connection between the sign and what it signifies.
channel/medium: the physical means of directing communication.
The destination: the people who will be decoding the messages: the audience. the code is influenced by the intended recipients of the message.
