There are many general definitions of design. Each emphasizes different aspects of the vast range of design practices.
Our definition of design emphasizes the creation of meaningful experience:
Design is the process by which a designer creates a context to be encountered by a participant, from which meaning emerges.
Semiotics is the study of meaning. It is primarily concerned with the question of how signs represent, or denote.
People use signs to designate objects or ideas. Because a sign represents something other than itself, we take the representation as the meaning of the sign.
Charles Pierce identifies four semiotic concepts:
A sign represents something other than itself.
Signs are interpreted.
Meaning results when a sign is interpreted.
Context shapes interpretation.
A sign represents something other than itself: In a game, gestures, objects, behaviors, and other elements act as signs. In the game Assassin, a tap denotes a "kill."
Signs are interpreted: A sign stands for something to somebody. Meaning emerges in a game as players take on active roles as interpreters of the game's signs.
Meaning results when a sign is interpreted: A sign stands for something to somebody in some respect or capacity. The meaning of a sign emerges from relationships between elements of a system.
Context shapes interpretation: Context is the environment of a sign that affects interpretation. The related phenomenon of structure also shapes interpretation. Structure is a set of rules or guidelines that prescribe how signs can be combined.