Semiology of Graphics by Jacques Bertin: An Annotated Bibliography

Semiology of Graphics: Diagrams, Networks, Maps
Jacques Bertin
Translated by William J Berg
Esri Press, Redlands, California, 2011
from the library of Carollina Song

Originally published in English by the Univ Wisconsin Press
1983

Originally published in French as Sémiologie grahique by Jacques Bertin copyright 1967 Editions Gauthier-Villars, Paris

LOC QA90.B47513 2010

monosemic system: the meaning of each sign is known prior to use
polysemic system: the meaning of the individual signs follows and is deduced from consideration of the collection of signs. "Signification becomes subjective and thus debatable."
"...and perception consists of decoding the image. The reading operaton takes place between the sign and its meaning. The abstract painting represents an extreme form of polysemy. In its attempt to signify "everything" it no longer signifies anything precise and so becomes "pansemic"."
p 2

"On the other hand, in graphics...each element is defined beforehand.", "The reading operation takes place among the given meanings."

"But graphics and mathematics differ in the perceptual structure which characterizes each of them. It would take at least 20,000 successive instants of perception to compare to tables of 100 by 100. If the data are transcribed graphically, comparison becomes easy; it can even be instantaneous."

"Monosemy is the fundamental condition of logic, but it also defines its limits. In effect, monosemy can only exist within a finite domain of objects and relationships. Logical reasoning, therefore, can only be a moment of reflection, since there is an infinite number of finite domains, however large they may be. Logic appears, then, as a sequence of rational moments immersed in the infinite continuum of the irrational." (footnote, p 3)

"Thought can only be expressed within a system of signs." verbal and written language are codings as are digital representations. "Any transcription leads necessarily to a separation of content from form. The 'content,' those elements of the thought which can remain constant, regardless of the sign-system into which they are translated, must be distinguished from the 'container.' that is the means available in a given system and the laws which govern their use. These elements are constant, whatever the thought to be transcribed." (p 4)