Priscila Lena Farias

Images, diagrams, and metaphors: hypoicons in the context of Peirce's sixty-six-fold classification of signs

Abstract In his 1903 Syllabus, Charles S. Peirce makes a distinction between icons and iconic signs, or hypoicons, and briefly introduces a division of the latter into images, diagrams, and metaphors. Peirce scholars have tried to make better sense of those concepts by understanding iconic signs in the context of the ten classes of signs described in the same Syllabus. We will argue, however, that the three kinds of hypoicons can better be understood in the context of Peirces sixty-six classes of signs. We analyze examples of hypoicons taken from the field of information design, describing them in the framework of the sixty-six classes, and discuss the consequences of those descriptions to the debate about the order of determination of the 10 trichotomies that form those classes.

Letters and cities: reading the urban environment with the help of perception theories

When wandering around a city such as Sao Paulo, we are surrounded by letters, numbers and symbols. These elements form part of an environment full of signs in many shapes and sizes that compete for...

São Paulo City Epigraphic Archive: Construction Steps and Procedures

The study of architectonic epigraphs—engravings containing the names of those responsible for the design and construction of buildings—provides, in one respect, a better comprehension of letterforms and carving techniques, and of its relation to architectonic language. In another respect, it contributes to a better understanding of the history of the city, revealing the participation of architects, engineers, and constructors, some unknown or seldom studied. This study aims to describe the methods and procedures applied to the configuration of the São Paulo City Epigraphic Archive, a collection that comprises representations of architectonic epigraphs found in São Paulo city historical centre. The methods developed by the research team included systematic gathering and organization of many different kinds of data, from photographic records and transcription of contents to maps, rubbings, vector drawings, and three-dimensional reproductions of the engravings. As a result, 134 architectonic epigraphs were catalogued, and information on them was made available both physically and on the Internet.

Graphic Design in Urban Environments

While graphic design is usually understood as the realm of bi-dimensional and printed artefacts, urban design is generally described as an activity concerned with tri-dimensional and dynamic aspect...

Transatlantic eccentricities: tuscan typefaces as an example of transnational typographic taste

Abstract Based on evidence found in commercial almanacs published in Brazil in the nineteenth century, we propose a reflection on the use and circulation of ornamented letterforms between Northern and Southern hemispheres, most specifically between Europe, North and South America. The focus is on the so-called ‘tuscan’ typefaces, a popular form characterized by its curled and branching serifs and exuberant ornaments.

On Peirce's diagrammatic models for ten classes of signs

Abstract The classifications of signs are among the most important topics of Peirces theory of signs. The 10 classes of signs were developed from 1903 and represent an important refinement of the fundamental division of signs into icons, indexes, and symbols. In this paper we present two diagrammatic models for 10 classes, proposed by Peirce, and an interpretation of the reasoning behind their development, based on the analysis of preparatory versions of these models.

82. On Peirce’s Visualization of the Classifications of Signs: Finding a Common Pattern in Diagrams

In a draft of a letter to Lady Welby dated 24–28 December 1908 (L463:132–146), Peirce designed the diagram shown above, and added the ensuing comments. In this chapter we focus on Peirce’s diagrammatic method to visually model 10 classes of signs. As we know, this classification was developed from 1903, and represents a major refinement of the better-known division of signs into icons, indexes, and symbols, introduced in 1868, in “On a new list of categories” (CP 1.558, W2: 56), and in the 1903 Harvard Lectures on Pragmatism (CP 5.73– 76). Although a number of philosophers and semioticians have shown interest, in recent years, for Peirce’s 10 classes of signs, the extended typologies of signs, specially the 66 classes, still seem obscure, structurally intricate and hard to apply to actual phenomena. Such classifications should be considered as an important advancement with respect to the task of modeling the variety of signs,

Os diagramas de C. S. Peirce para as dez classes de signos

A section of C. S. Peirces Speculative Grammar, on the ten classes of signs, received an important diagrammatic treatment from 1903 on. In this article we present and discuss two diagrams developed by Peirce for the ten classes, and include sketches of these models.