Signs – what are they and why should they matter?

Signs are present in everyday life. Signs on the billboards, in the subway, on the street, in the stores, on your home, the bathroom, the airport, the stores, everywhere you can imagine. They are used to express information through words, pictures and colors. They are EVERYWHERE... although in a more abstract way, "signs" can be seen as something occurring and telling us something we are ignoring or need to know such as smelling something familiar to remind us of something, but in terms of the art world and this class, signs are conductors of information to tell the world something. We see them everyday, and are bombarded with them in our lives. They matter because without them we would not get the proper information we need, but also, they matter because it's how we communicate indirectly with one another- from the written words in the many the alphabets and characters of the world to simple pictures communicating to people basic needs, from Ikea instructions to intricate paintings created to express emotion and incite feelings, we need signs to communicate to one another visually.