First Reading pages 1-21

Although the passage was slightly repetitive and drawn out, I found that the reading for this week had several key points that were mentioned. Like the title of the book suggests, the majority of the reading focus' on how your enrvironment and those you interact with have some symbolic meaning. Although sometimes subliminal, these symbols help to mold and shape the judgments and decisions. From semiotics to rhetoric, interpreting your environment and finally using the book, i believe that this first passage gives a good summary of the book, and how it will look at the world. First, semiotics (the study of signs) is discussed. This book overviews how signs give us signals through its shaped symbols and text. According to semiotics, everything is a sign. The book continues to prove its points by analyzing environment within a Starbucks. It notes the colors of the carpet, the ceiling and wall colors and the music present in the establishment. It shows how by analyzing these components of the store, we can find several ideas, themes, and symbols that are buried within the decorations. These themes and what not help to attract the kind of costumers that Starbucks wants to attract. Texts and fonts also help to appeal to different individuals. For example, the text notes how a french restaurant can set its theme with a font that will emphasize that kind of food that is offered.

In conclusion, I believe that this reading assignment has several good points. For example, the mention of all the signs is something that i can really relate to in real life. For example, the stop sign that was used as an example offers several key points. It shows that there are many elements of a sign that change the way i judge and interpreted it. the combonations of the bold text and the bright red color help to grab my attention. If a sign lacks one of these elements, then the stop sign becomes awkward and difficult to recognize.