This essay investigates how Philip Guston and Henry Taylor explore the subject of African American oppression in their art and how they have been received by critics and art institutions. Using semiotics based on Hans Haydens article “Den omplacerade koden: Om Edgar Degas Interiör”, this essay explores how meaning is created in signs existing within the respective artists’ works. Readings of the artists´ own words has also assisted in the search for meaning and understanding of the paintings. Postcolonial perspectives were also applied for the means of interpreting the artworks in question, and the signs they contain. For this section Ania Loombas book Colonialism/postcolonialism as well as Åsa Bharathi Larsons doctorate thesis Colonizing Fever have been utilized.        After the visual analysis the essay investigates how the artists have been received by critics and art institutions. In the case of Guston, a time difference is also accounted for, analyzing how his work was received when he first presented his paintings in the 70’s compared to today. Upon analyzing Guston’s work multiple signs were identified and interpreted. Most notably the hooded Klan member, whose representative purpose is multifaceted, communicative of subjects such as racism, guilt, and the concept of being evil. Visual codes regarding self-portraiture also pointed at one of the paintings as being a self-portrait. This theory is also supported by Guston’s own claim of the Klan paintings being pictures of himself.        In Taylors work, signs present and discuss oppression of black people in America from a historical as well as a contemporary perspective, often referencing people and places personal to Taylor.        In the 1970’s Philip Guston’s Klan paintings were heavily critiqued for their visual qualities and stylistic expression, while no notable comments were made of the content/subject matter. Today the situation is different, with the main critique of his works being directed to his use of Klan imagery. Many artists and writers today are in support of Gustons work though.         Henry Taylor’s paintings are generally well received by critics and have seen a rise in popularity concurrent with the Black Lives Matter movement. Taylor has also recently been the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Modern Museum of Contemporary art in LA.

I denna uppsats undersöks hur man genom produktdesign kan få enbättre förståelse för hur stolar och klappstolar tolkas. Syftet har varit attgenom en förståelse för användarens tolkning, ge möjlighet att skapa enny arketyp till klappstolar. Studien är ett samarbete med IKEA ofSweden där de har varit intresserade att undersöka möjligheten för en nyarketyp i deras klappstolssortiment. För att få en inblick i användarenstolkning tar studien avstamp i teori kring användarcentrerad design,semiotik och affordance. Metoder för att samla empirisk data består avexpertintervjuer och workshop. Resultatet av studien visade att en stol iträ med ett statiskt uttryck och mjuka former tolkas som Stabil, Gedigen,Bekväm, Mjuk, Varm och Inbjudande. Slutresultatet och designbidragetmynnade ut till en arketyp applicerad på IKEAs stol STEFAN. Därresultatet från workshopen och IKEAs mål lyfts upp med få synligabeslag och flertalet formgivningsmöjligheter. Uppsatsen avslutas med endiskussion som belyser vikten av att som designer förstå konstruktionoch produktion vid formgivning, särskilt när arbetet sker utifrån en sattbudget. / This essay examines how product design can give a better understanding ofhow chairs and folding chairs are interpreted. The purpose has been tothrough an understanding of the user's interpretation, provide theopportunity to create a new archetype for folding chairs. The study is acollaboration with IKEA of Sweden where they have been interested ininvestigating the possibility of a new archetype in their folding chair range.To gain an insight into the user's interpretation, the study is based on theoryaround user-centered design, semiotics and affordance. Methods that havebeen used for collecting empirical data consisted of expert interviews andworkshops. The results of the study showed that a wooden chair with a staticexpression and soft shapes is interpreted as Sturdy, Solid, Comfortable,Smooth, Warm and Inviting. The end result and the design contributionresulted in an archetype applied to IKEA's chair STEFAN. Where the resultsfrom the workshop and IKEA's goals are highlighted with few visiblefolding components and various design options. The essay ends with adiscussion that highlights the importance of understanding construction andproduction as a designer, especially when working with a budget.

We chose to base our literature study on the meme phenomena. The meme is a portion of culture that is spread among us from mind to mind. Every time we learn something by copying others we use information that has been passed on from a previous person, that information can be seen as a meme. The theoretical frame for our methodology in our exam paper is founded on Forsberg och Wengström research on literature studies. Our aim is to describe to the reader in depth what a meme is and how they could be helpful in an academic and pedagogical setting.Our study will show how memes are seen predominantly as graphic designs and as artifacts for cultural representation parallel to their imagery. This means that the cultural reference is only clear to the beholder if they have corresponding prior knowledge to the reference.Our study will also show via concrete examples how this could be used in school settings and as pedagogical tools in the classroom.

Title: Road to success: A critical discourse analysis of Bossbabe's web communication  The aim of the study was to investigate and problematize how companies involved in coaching of women's entrepreneurship relate to and construct the discourse of success. The theoretical areas covered are individualisation and reintegration, the expert society, gender theory and gender roles, and relationship-building marketing. The study used critical discourse analysis and semiotics as a method to analyze screenshots from the Bossbabe company's website. From the analysis, findings emerged that Bossbabe challenges and reproduces norms of success. Visibility work was found to be mainly used as an additional source of income. Success was personified by Bossbabe both by showing experts as concrete symbols of success and by advocating a certain type of lifestyle. Bossbabe also uses relationship-building marketing such as pink marketing and word-of-mouth (WOM). From the analysis we see a pattern of reproduction and challenge of gender norms within the discourse of success.

The intent of this paper is to study the growing trend of depicting the female body in interior design and the creators behind them. The naked female body is a recurring subject in western european art, often depicted as an object of desire in line with the conventions and ideas of the time. A rising interest in interior design along with feminisms body positivity movement has led to a wide range of products on the market depicting the female body. However these products may not always be aligned with feminist values and could instead be seen as objectifying and upholding old art traditions. By looking at different categories of producers, the study analyzes the creators intention and how this affects the meaning and interpretation of the piece. The analysis is done using feminism, marxism, and semiotic theory as theoretical frameworks. Smaller creators operating on instagram, have used the naked female body as an expression against patriarchal views with an intention to portray the female body as naked instead of nude for the male gaze. The intention is clear as well as the presence  of the creator in the handmade objects. In contrast, for big companies that massproduce through factory manufacturing the intention gets lost and the hands that create are left anonymous. This results in a different interpretation of the female body and a higher risk of objectification.

Det här är ett examensarbete i informationsdesign, med inriktning på textdesign. Syftet är att undersöka sätt att använda text för att förstärka och förtydliga den bildbaserade kommunikationen på Instagram. Svenskt barnbildarkiv (SBBA) är ett unikt och växande arkiv som arbetar enbart med teckningar och andra bilder gjorda av barn mellan 0–20 år. Arkivet är viktigt för bevarande av barns kulturarv. Det utgör också en värdefull ursprungskälla för forskare av alla slag, och kan också användas till exempel för undervisning i skolan. Om bara de möjliga användarna visste om arkivet och dess möjligheter. Därav designproblemet: Hur ska SBBA kommunicera för att nå och intressera nya användare?  Denna studie är begränsad till användningen av Instagram, som är en av de digitala kommunikationskanalerna som används av SBBA. Deras befintliga konto på Instagram har få följare och låg interaktion med användare. I studien används teorier inom semiotik, kommunikationsteori, visuell perception och forskning om relationen mellan text och bild för att designa nya, alternativa sätt för SBBA att kommunicera effektivt. Fokus är att fånga målgruppernas uppmärksamhet och intresse via Instagram. Metoderna som använts för att skapa prototyper är intervjuer, deltagande design, omvärldsanalys och prototyptestning. Designförslaget för kommunikation på Instagram består av bilder med text i samspel med barnteckningar. Det inkluderar även kontextuella detaljer och det fysiska arkivets miljö för att fånga målgruppernas intresse. Resultaten visar att obekanta och överraskande bilder är effektiva för att fånga användarnas blick, och att text är till hjälp för att lägga till nödvändig information för att behålla och engagera en intresserad användare. / This study is a bachelor thesis in the field of Information design with focus on Text design. It aims to investigate ways of using text to enhance and clarify the picture-based communication on Instagram. Svenskt barnbildarkiv (SBBA) is a unique and ever growing achive exclusively for drawings and other pictures made by children aged 0–20 years. The archive is important for the preservation of children’s cultural heritage. It does also make up a valuable primary source for researchers of any kind, and can be used for purposes like primary school education. If only the possible users would know of the archive and its possibilities. Hence the design problem: How do SBBA communicate to reach and interest new users?  This study is limited to the use of Instagram, which is one of the digital communication channels used by SBBA. Their existing account on Instagramhas few followers and low interaction with users. This study uses theories within semiotics, communication theory, visual perception and research on the relation between text and images to design new, alternative ways for SBBA to communicate efficiently. The focus is to catch the attention and interest of the target groups via Instagram. The methods used to design the final prototype are interviews, participatory design, external analysis and prototype testing. The design proposal uses textual language in pictures in interplay with photos of children’s drawings. It also includes contextual details and the physical archive’s environment to catch the interest of the target groups. The results shows that unfamiliar and surprising pictures are effective in catching the user’s eye, and that text helps to add necessary information to retain and engage an interested user.

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A strong brand is a valuable asset for modern companies. Victoria’s Secret is an American lingerie company that has had a well established and successful brand for years. However, the company’s net sales and market share have been decreasing since 2016. The company has also received criticism for creating unattainable beauty standards and excluding women with different appearances. In recent years, the brand has made changes in their marketing. This might be an attempt to increase revenues again and to gain lost market shares back. However, the numbers have continued to decrease, which indicates that the new strategy has not been very successful. The questions that the study intends to answer are how Victoria's Secret’s marketing has changed between 2016 and 2022 and why the new marketing strategy does not seem to be successful. The purpose of the study is to increase the comprehension of possible challenges that can arise in the process of trying to change an already established brand. This is a qualitative, interpretive study that uses a method called semiotic content analysis. The semiotic content analysis was used to analyze how the brand’s advertising images have changed. The results from the semiotic studies were then analyzed through some theories and earlier studies on the subject, to find possible explanations to why the rebranding does not seem to have created the expected results. The study found that Victoria’s Secret’s marketing has become less sensual, aesthetic and fantasy-like. Instead it has become more inclusive and oriented towards comfort, relatability and self-esteem. The study further presents a couple of possible explanations to why the new branding concept does not seem to have become successful, according to a couple theories on the subject. The explanations that were found was that the company does not seem to have achieved a congruence between the brand’s new identity and the brand image, that the changes might not be perceived as authentic and that the brand can no longer capitalize on an idealized identity.

I den här undersökningen studeras hur visuella linjer används i den sydkoreanska filmen Parasite (2019) och hur dessa tillsammans med filmens mise-en-scène och bildkomposition bidrar till att förstärka de sociala teman som finns. Detta görs genom en semiotisk- och formanalys med hjälp av filmvetenskapliga begrepp. Teorier som används är främst Pierre Bourdieus kapitalteori men också filmvetenskapliga begrepp som mise-en-scène och dess underkategorier så som; setting, kostym och smink samt ljus. Dessutom ligger kameraarbetet och bildkomposition i fokus. Fyra olika scener där visuella linjer är närvarande valdes ut och analyserades, och samtliga semiotiska tecken i scenerna tolkades på en denotativ och konnotativ nivå. Genom att de kopplas till Pierre Bourdieus kapitalteorier om kulturellt, socialt och ekonomiskt kapital samt habitus och fält visar resultatet av undersökningen att de visuella linjerna, tillsammans med scenernas mise-en-scène och bildkomposition bidrar till att förstärka de sociala och ekonomiska skillnaderna. / This study examines the use of visual lines in the South Korean film Parasite (2019) and how they, together with the film’s mise-en-scène and composition, contribute to reinforce its social themes. A semiotic and form analasys is used, utilizing film theoretical concepts. The primary theory used is Pierre Bourdeu’s capital theory, as well as film studies concepts such as mise-en-scène and its subcategories, including setting, costume and makeup and lighting. Additionally, camera work and composition are emphasized. Four scenes featuring visual lines were selected and analyzed and semiotics signs in the scenes were interpreted both denotatively and connotatively. By connecting them to Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of cultural, social, and economic capital as well as habitus and fields, the results of the study demonstrate that the visual lines, along with the mise-en-scène and the visual composition of the scenes, contributes to reinforce social and economic divisions.

Detta arbete har undersökt fredsduvan som symbol i ukrainska krigsaffischer och vilken påverkan dess gestaltning får för slut resultatet. Syftet med arbetet var att skapa en djupare förståelse i hur en traditionell symbol, i detta fall fredsduvan, kan användas för att skapa en opinion för ett specifikt ändamål. Studien har genomförts genom en kvalitativ metod i form av en semiotisk visuell analys där materialet undersökts genom denotation och konnotation för att slutligen sättas i relation till det teoretiska ramverket. Teorin som applicerats är bland annat representation, semiotik och propaganda. Resultatet visar att fredsduvan tar på sig olika roller beroende på den kontext den gestaltas i men gemensamt för samtliga affischer är att den tydligt tar ställning för Ukrainas sak och den blir en symbol för att bygga upp sympatier i västvärlden. Som en del av mitt examensarbete har jag också gjort en medieproduktion. Syftet med denna var att göra om illustrationerna till Unicef Ukraina och Dzerelos befintliga broschyr ”Förvärvad funktionsnedsättning hos ett barn. Tips till föräldrar och pedagoger” med en mer positiv och inkluderande gestaltning av barn med funktionsnedsättning, samt att genom illustrationerna att inspirera och skapa en känsla av hoppfullhet hos målgruppen. / This thesis has investigated the dove of peace as a symbol in Ukrainian war posters and what affect its depiction have for the final result. The aim of the thesis was to create a deeper understanding of how traditional symbols, in this case the dove of peace, can be used to create an opinion for a specific purpose. The study was performed through a qualitative method in the shape of a semiotic visual analysis where the material was analyzed by using denotation and connotation and finally put in relation to the theoretical framework. Applied theory includes representation, semiotics, and propaganda. The result shows that the dove of peace takes on different roles depending on the context it is depicted in, but all posters have one thing in common and that is that it takes a clear stand for Ukraine’s cause, and it becomes symbol to create sympathy in the western world. As part of my degree project, I have also done a media production. The objective of this was to redo the illustrations for Unicef Ukraine and Dzerelo's existing brochure "Children with Acquired Disabilities. Guidelines for Parents and Professionals" with more positive and inclusive portrayal of children with disabilities, as well as to inspire and create a feeling of hope among the target group through the illustrations.