Semiofest

Semiofest SEMIOFEST: A Celebration of Semiotic Thinking Globally, our media consumption is increasingly relentless, visual, mobile, and interactive.

We live in an ‘Electronic Age’ of simultaneous information and in a Global Village arguably ‘as wide as the planet’. Media theorist Marshall McLuhan – who was a professor at the University of Toronto – introduced these notions way back in the 1960s. Author of the phrase, “The Medium is the Message”, McLuhan may not have been an “official” semiotician, but his discussion of the “meaning structures”

produced by the media reflects an intrinsically semiotic view of the world. Semiofest 2017 will use McLuhan’s “semiotic” approach as a jumping-off point to explore some of the most perplexing and salient issues in the field. Semiofest was first established in 2012 to share semiotic thinking internationally and to allow those who apply semiotics in their business to connect with like-minded people.happy-pic

Today, Semiofest is the world’s only annual conference focused specifically on applied semiotics. Semiofest brings together leading practitioners from both industry and academia to share, collaborate, and develop understanding and capabilities around semiotics as an applied discipline.

✨ Next up in our series of Semiofest Warsaw 2026 thematic blocks: Viscosity Applied - the part of the program where our ...
17/04/2026

✨ Next up in our series of Semiofest Warsaw 2026 thematic blocks: Viscosity Applied - the part of the program where our theme really gets put to work ✨

Instead of speaking about viscosity in abstract terms, this block looks at how meaning actually thickens, sticks, and resists change in real cultural and commercial contexts and why that matters for anyone working with brands, strategy, or research.

Across three talks, we’ll explore:
🍯 why some signs and symbols become stubbornly “viscous” while others remain comparatively easy to shift (Chris Barnham)
🍯 how cultural systems transform through phases of change without fully letting go of older structures (Jiakun Wang)
🍯 how certain brand cues lodge in memory and culture, shaping what Byron Sharp calls “mental availability” (Sarah Johnson)

These sessions continue to explore the question what makes meaning stick and when does that stickiness help or hinder us? 🤔

This block is especially relevant if:
👉 you work with brands and feel the tension between change and continuity,
👉 you’re interested in how cultural meaning accumulates over time,
or
👉 you’re looking for ways to connect semiotic thinking with practical marketing and strategy questions.

Viscosity Applied is less about theory for its own sake, and more about sharpening how we read, design, and work with meaning in situations where it doesn’t flow easily.

If that sounds useful, this block is one to keep an eye on. 🏌️‍♂️
More details in the comment below.

Applied semiotics has long helped us uncover meaning beyond what people say - connecting patterns, contexts, and cultura...
13/04/2026

Applied semiotics has long helped us uncover meaning beyond what people say - connecting patterns, contexts, and cultural codes. It turns cultural data into something more intuitive, more alive 🙏

At Semiofest Warsaw 2026, we want to broaden your toolbox through hands-on learning about how biosemiotics expands the field beyond culture, into the body, the senses, and the biological systems that shape how we perceive and make sense of the world. Biosemiotics explores how meaning is formed before language, through instinct, sensation, and interaction with the environment.

You will benefit from this workshop if:
🕸️ you want to design products and services that address human needs more holistically, going beyond declared needs and engaging instinctive human response
🕸️ you’re looking to bridge the gap between sustainability goals and real human engagement
🕸️ you’ve ever had the sense that meaning starts before words

What you’ll learn:
🕸️ how to use your own body as an interpretive tool
🕸️ the practical difference between semiotic and biosemiotic approaches to meaning
🕸️ how to recognize multi-layered sign systems (from molecular to symbolic)

The workshop is led by Noël Theodosiou, Emanuela Bove, and Yogi Hendlin - practitioners working at the intersection of semiotics, biosemiotics, and innovation.

Don’t worry, no prior experience is needed! Emanuela, Yogi, and Noël will guide you through everything. 🦸 🦸‍♂️ 🦸‍♀️

🎉 Good news you can join both workshops (Applied Brand Semiotics 101 by Chris Arning and the above) on the first day if you want, as they don’t overlap 🚋 🚋 🎉

Look below for more details and be sure to secure your spot.

Semiofest is getting close, and and we’re down to around 20 passes! 😬 If your work involves understanding people, cultur...
09/04/2026

Semiofest is getting close, and and we’re down to around 20 passes! 😬

If your work involves understanding people, culture, communication or meaning, Semiofest is designed to give you something genuinely useful! Not just inspiration, but ways of thinking you can apply straight back in your work.

🗓️ Over four days in Warsaw, Semiofest brings together semioticians, researchers, strategists, designers, marketers, anthropologists and creatives to explore how meaning works and how to work with it better, especially in complex, fast‑moving contexts.

What people value most about Semiofest:
🔨 Practical tools and fresh lenses that sharpen how you read culture and behaviour
🤝 Workshops where theory clicks and confidence grows through doing
🍵 Conversations that challenge and energise, not just presentations
🦄 A rare mix of disciplines and perspectives, creating insights you don’t get in siloed events
👐 A warm, curious community where exchange comes naturally

This year, all of this happens in Warsaw in May, hosted at  , a place that perfectly matches the open, un‑conference spirit of Semiofest.

✨ If Semiofest has been on your list, this is a good moment to stop postponing it ✨

Check out passes and tickets in the comments 👇

On Friday, April 24th, six commercial/applied semioticians from around the world, along with host Josh Glenn, will discu...
08/04/2026

On Friday, April 24th, six commercial/applied semioticians from around the world, along with host Josh Glenn, will discuss the symbolism and stories behind their tattoos!

The sessionists are: Aarushi Chadha (India), Whitney Dunlap-Fowler (USA), Su Luo (Taiwan), Max Matus (Mexico), Alexandra Ncube (England), and Sundari Sheldon (USA).

2 pm London time. Link in comments. Suggested donation only!

👋 Hello Semiofest friends, we’re starting a series of posts in which we’ll introduce thematic blocks and all the wonderf...
07/04/2026

👋 Hello Semiofest friends, we’re starting a series of posts in which we’ll introduce thematic blocks and all the wonderful speakers of Semiofest Warsaw 2026 and the ideas they’ll be bringing to the event.

Let’s begin with Sticky Ideas 🏃‍♂️‍➡️ . This is a new format at Semiofest, created for short, memorable 5-minute presentations. Sticky Ideas create an opportunity to make an immediate impression on the audience and stay with them long after the talk has ended. It is a space for personal fascinations, compelling observations, and semiotic phenomena that draw people in and leave a lasting trace 🤔

At this year’s Semiofest, shaped by the theme of viscosity, this format feels especially relevant.

In this Sticky Ideas block, taking place on Thursday, 21 May:

⚡ Ashley Mauritzen will show why old ideals of femininity keep making a comeback.
⚡ Siddhant Lahiri will look at what the remake of Running Man reveals about masculinity in transition.
⚡ Ania Chyl & Ela Konopińska-Dudek will explore whether people on TikTok are interpreting culture just as vividly as the expert semioticians do.
⚡ Liwa Sun will explain why digital humour today feels more sticky than new.

These presentations will draw you in, hold your attention and leave a lasting trace long after you’ve left Warsaw.

In the coming days, we’ll also be sharing speakers from other Semiofest blocks, including Viscous Materiality, Substance of Care, Digital Gooey, Ethics Between Solid and Fluid, Thick Culture, and Viscosity Applied. And let’s not forget the many amazing workshops happening throughout the festival as well!

Stay tuned, and look in the comments below for more program details and Semiofest passes 🎟️ 👇

📣 Calling all semiotic enthusiasts, practitioners, thinkers, Semiofest attendees, speakers and fans!Which ideas matter m...
02/04/2026

📣 Calling all semiotic enthusiasts, practitioners, thinkers, Semiofest attendees, speakers and fans!

Which ideas matter most to you now? 🤔 Tell us in the comments! 👇

Semiotics is changing. New concepts emerge, familiar ones take on new force, and the field keeps expanding across research and practice. For Semiofest, this matters deeply.

✨ We want to capture the ideas that make semiotics vital today: the concepts that shape how we think, work, question and connect ✨

Share the ideas in semiotics that matter most to you now and help us create a glossary that will be available to a wider audience, mapping what semiotics is becoming today 🗺️

I first heard Yogi Hendlin speaking at Brave New World Conference in Leiden, and I was blown away. Energy, intellect and...
01/04/2026

I first heard Yogi Hendlin speaking at Brave New World Conference in Leiden, and I was blown away. Energy, intellect and enthusiastic, real connection with the audience is what stuck with me. Yogi is a force of nature!

We’re excited to introduce another keynote speaker of Warsaw 2026 - Yogi Hendlin! ✨ What if meaning didn’t start with t...
01/04/2026

We’re excited to introduce another keynote speaker of Warsaw 2026 - Yogi Hendlin! ✨

What if meaning didn’t start with the obvious, but with what usually fades into the background?

Drawing on biosemiotics, Yogi reconnects aesthetics with ethics and reframes semiotics as an ecological practice.

In his talk, we’ll be invited to rethink how commercial semiotics understands the world - not as something abstract and detached, but as something we perceive through our bodies, senses, and evolutionary attunements.

Rather than treating signs as frictionless tools of persuasion, biosemiotics sees meaning as viscous - thickening through bodies, habits, histories, and ecological relations, unfolding through sensory and ethical engagement. 🤲

By re-embedding signs in the environments we inhabit, commercial semiotics can really evolve into a more grounded, responsible practice, one that aligns market meaning with embodied perception, evolutionary attunements, and more-than-human worlds. 🌏

Semiofest is a global conference exploring how meaning shapes business, culture, and innovation - bringing together strategists, researchers, and creatives from around the world.

If you don’t want to miss this - check the link in the comments for passes and tickets. Looking forward to seeing you all in Warsaw very soon!

Z przyjemnością ogłaszamy, że partnerami Semiofest Warsaw 2026 zostali:➡️ PTBRiO – Polskie Towarzystwo Badania Rynku i ...
27/03/2026

Z przyjemnością ogłaszamy, że partnerami Semiofest Warsaw 2026 zostali:
➡️ PTBRiO – Polskie Towarzystwo Badania Rynku i Opinii
➡️ Marketing przy Kawie

PTBRiO to największa w Polsce organizacja skupiająca profesjonalistów zajmujących się badaniem zachowań konsumentów i społeczeństwa oraz przekładaniem insightów na lepsze decyzje biznesowe.

Marketing przy Kawie to jedno z najbardziej cenionych źródeł wiedzy o marketingu i komunikacji, klarownie wyjaśniające trendy, analizujące sukcesy i porażki marek oraz inspirujące do przemyślanych działań.

Jesteśmy bardzo wdzięczni za ich wsparcie i zaangażowanie w promocję tegorocznej edycji Semiofestu Współpracujemy z partnerami, którzy tak jak my wierzą, że lepsze rozumienie kultury, konsumentów i znaczeń pomaga tworzyć skuteczniejszy marketing, trafniejsze strategie i ciekawsze projekty.

Razem budujemy wydarzenie, które łączy specjalistów z różnych dziedzin i pozwala spojrzeć na współczesne wyzwania przez pryzmat kultury i semiotyki.

Semiofest daje uczestnikom nowe narzędzia, inspiracje i perspektywy, które można od razu wykorzystać w praktyce.
Podczas Semiofestu odbędą się także praktyczne warsztaty podnoszące kompetencje zawodowe, prowadzone przez ekspertów z różnych krajów.

Dziękujemy, że jesteście z nami i wspieracie Semiofest 2026!

Heading to Semiofest Warsaw 2026 in May? We made you a Handy Guide to Warsaw - the kind you keep on your phone and actua...
23/03/2026

Heading to Semiofest Warsaw 2026 in May? We made you a Handy Guide to Warsaw - the kind you keep on your phone and actually use, especially after a long travel day.

Here’s what you can expect inside:
🥟 Where to stay: from budget to upscale, plus a practical “best area to search” tip if you’re booking an apartment near the venue
🥟 Venue info + how to find our venue, Teatr Komuna Warszawa, a hidden gem right in the city centre
🥟 Local hacks and everyday tips to make Warsaw feel easy from day one
🥟 A mini Polish phrasebook with pronunciation, so you can confidently say “cześć” and “dziękuję” (and a few more essentials)
🥟 Arrival and travel basics: airports Chopin (WAW) vs. Modlin (WMI), plus simple ways to get into the city
🥟 Getting around: public transport pointers + apps/taxi options that make moving around simple even if you don’t speak Polish
🥟 A few Warsaw highlights, including riverside vibes and free Chopin concerts on Sundays

If you’re joining us in May, this guide should help you land smoothly and save your energy for the good stuff: people, ideas, and Warsaw evenings.

Find the link to the guide in the comments and don’t forget to get your tickets and passes on our website!
🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️ 🎟️

Come for the talks. Stay for the people. Return for the conversations that change how you think.At Semiofest Warsaw 2026...
20/03/2026

Come for the talks. Stay for the people. Return for the conversations that change how you think.
At Semiofest Warsaw 2026 you’ll get:
🥟 an international crowd you rarely see in one place
🥟 inspiring conversations
🥟 fresh angles on your work
🥟 new collaborators and new friends
🥟 space to talk about meaning, culture and signs without explaining yourself
If you love noticing things, connecting dots and exploring ideas together, you’ll fit right in.
And yes, it all unfolds in May, in Warsaw, when the city is full of light and energy.
✨ Tickets: 2026.semiofest.com

Semiofest Warsaw 2026 isn’t just talks and presentations, it’s also a chance to roll up your sleeves and learn semiotics...
12/03/2026

Semiofest Warsaw 2026 isn’t just talks and presentations, it’s also a chance to roll up your sleeves and learn semiotics by doing. 🔨

Workshops are where theory clicks, confidence builds, and you walk out with tools you can use immediately. So here’s part two of our “what’s in it for me?” series: Day 0 workshops (20 May).

🥟 WORKSHOP 1: Applied Semiotics 101 with Chris Arning
For anyone who’s semiotics curious, confused, or simply semiotics intimidated.
If you’ve ever thought: “It sounds fascinating… but will I actually understand the presentations — or even what semiotics is?”, this is your entry point.

Chris Arning is a Semiofest co-founder and one of the most experienced applied semioticians out there. Expect a session that makes semiotics clear, practical, and genuinely enjoyable - the kind that turns “semiotic fog” into “ohhh… now I get it.”

🥟 WORKSHOP 2: From Molecules to Meaning: How Biosemiotics insight can help us innovate for our changing world
For anyone curious about new frameworks, deeper meaning-making, and radically new ways to innovate.

Led by Noël Theodosiou, Yogi H. and Emanuela Bove Firla Bove, bringing together expertise in biosemiotics, public health & environmental thought, and life-sciences innovation strategy.

Current practices of applied semiotics don’t fully integrate all levels of the human experience. Biosemiotics expands semiotic analysis to include the biological sign systems that underpin, and sometimes unconsciously influence, the others. It considers how humans interpret meaning through bodily, sensory, and ecological cues, as well as cultural ones.

This workshop is designed to help participants enrich their current practice — thickening the levels of meaning-making in semiotic analysis and grounding it closer to how our species experiences and interprets the world.

✨ Day 0 is about getting hands-on: learning with others, trying things out, and bringing new perspectives into your practice. To get your tickets for Day 0 workshop visit our webesite (link in comments) ✨

Cheers!

Adres

Emilii Plater 31
Warsaw

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