About

SEMIOFEST

https://www.semiofest.com/

Currently celebrating the ritual of semiotic sharing every two years

Semiofest originated from the shared aspiration of its co-founders, Chris Arning, Lucia Laurent-Neva, and Hamsini Shivakumar.

They sought to establish a platform celebrating Semiotic thinking. With input from others, they eventually created an event. The Semiofest inaugural conference took place in London in 2012. Since then, there have been seven global events, including Barcelona (2013), Shanghai (2014), Paris (2015), Tallinn (2016), Toronto (2017), and post-pandemic Mexico City (2022). Semiofest now takes place every two years. The main objective of Semiofest is to raise awareness and promote the applied practice of semiotics as a valuable insight tool with broad applicability and usefulness to clients.

Semiofest attracts diverse participants, including semioticians (both academic and commercial), social scientists, qualitative researchers, designers, insights managers, and business professionals. It champions and propagates top-class, applied semiotic thinking, making the conference a significant contribution to this field. While Semiofest started as a conference, its vision has evolved into a hub and learning zone for applied semiotics. It hosts content, case studies, and monthly webinars, all of which facilitate networking opportunities.

TEAM

Meet the folks who will welcome you to Semiofest Porto 2024

Our goal is to take you into the world of liminality through Semiofest’s one-of-a-kind ritual!

Our desire to host Semiofest Porto was to give back and pay it forward after years of benefitting from attending so many great Semiofest conferences; it just felt right! The Semiofest Porto team is a unique mix of individuals from multiple disciplines, including semiotics, sociology, anthropology, psychology, design, literature, brand consulting, and qualitative research.

Organizer

Sónia Marques

Commercial Semiotician

Sónia is based in Lisbon, Portugal. She founded Indiz in 2003, a company pioneering in market research with a cultural angle. Her work at Indiz applies semiotics, cognitive linguistics, narratology, discourse analysis, and anthropology. Going beyond the analysis of how consumers perceive communication, she focuses on the messages clients such as Lipor, Super Bock Group, Sonae, and Auchan convey. She is a guest lecturer at Porto Business School and participates regularly at Semiofest, the international congress for commercial semioticians. Her studies include Sociology from Universidade de Coimbra, Development Economy from Antwerpen Universiteit, and Communication Studies from Universidade Nova in Lisbon.

Organizer

Susanna Fránek

Cultural Anthropologist

Susanna is based in Los Angeles and applies anthropological theories and methodologies to cross-cultural research. Through an intersectional lens, her practice focuses on migrant communities of color and LGBTQ+ in the U.S. She uses anti-oppressive, social justice methods to inform emergent narratives on race, gender relations, and immigrant rights to ensure traditionally silenced individuals are heard and honored. Susanna holds an MA in Cultural Anthropology (2011) focused on Middle Eastern and North African musicians in LA, and an Interdisciplinary MA (2022), combining Women’s Studies, Latin American Studies, and Art, from California State University, Los Angeles. She was introduced to semiotics through Semiofest Toronto (2017), CDMX (2022), and workshops by Malcolm Evans and Chris Arning.

Team Member

Nuno Mendes

Graphic Designer

Based in Lisbon, Nuno’s youth was spent in cities like Leiria and Faro, where he quickly realized that reinvention and the exploration of diverse experiences served as a consistent foundation for navigating creativity. Having graduated from IADE (2000) in graphic design, he has developed numerous multidisciplinary projects through some of the most renowned national design agencies in the areas of digital, editorial, typography, 3D, photography, video, music, sound design, motion graphics, and creative direction. His work has been recognized in Portugal and internationally by entities such as Clube de Criativos, Meios e Publicidade, Prémios Sapo, DesignBoom and El Ojo IberoAmericano. He currently works as an independent multidisciplinary designer in his studio Ninjatranqui.

Team Member

Peter Glassen

Brand Consultant and Semiotician

Peter Glassen is from Switzerland and advises and supports companies and organizations in the strategic development of their brands. He earned his doctorate at the University of Basel. His dissertation was a media science study of the Nike, Adidas, and Puma brands. The work examines mythologically staged images in brand advertising. As the founder of the Swiss expert network for applied semiotics (semiotics.ch), he focuses on cultural codes and signs. In addition to his work as a consultant, he is a university lecturer for semiotics and visual literacy.

Team Member

Colette Sensier

Applied Semiotician

Colette has been a semiotician, cultural researcher, and brand strategist for eight years, including time at Space Doctors and Canopy Insight. She works independently for various agencies, consultancies, and direct clients, with recent projects including work for Google, Coca-Cola, Warner Bros, and Unilever. She has particular interests in body- and mind-focused semiotics and in collaboration with creatives — sometimes as half of semiotic branding studio See Say Studio. Before getting started as a semiotician, she worked in copywriting, journalism, and charity communications. She’s also a poet and creative writer with a book, Skinless, published by Eyewear Press.

Team Member

Gustavo Mendes

Psychologist, PhD, MBA

Based in Porto, Gustavo has over 17 years of experience in strategic and operational marketing and brand management. He is currently leading the “Customer Strategy” and “Campaign Intelligence” teams at Universo Sonae. He is also a senior guest lecturer at Porto Business School (MBAs, Corporate Solutions, and Open Executive Programmes). Gustavo will be our closer connection to Porto, inviting us in with a warm welcome!

HOPE TO SEE YOU IN PORTO

The team is passionate about ensuring the conference delivers a high-level, stimulating experience that nourishes everyone’s soul and intellect. Likewise, every element has been thoughtfully designed to warrant an unforgettable cultural immersion from start to finish.

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