ISBN : 9782296117075
THE FUNCTION OF NONFUNCTIONAL OBJECTS. SEMIOTICS OF FUNCTIONALISM
Giampaolo Proni1
Humans use a lot of objects that do not work perfectly, have some faults or even
serious flaws. They use them not only because they don't have a better choice, but because
they like using them as they are. The paper will then try to answer two questions.
First, why do users show such affection for nonfunctional objects? And, if so, does it
mean nonfunctional objects have a function? The hypothesis will be put forward that
nonfunctional objects perform the social function of being'live' artifacts. Thus they
communicate in a dialogic relation with their user, enhancing his/her mastery over
the environment.
Furthermore, if objects acquire their identity in this way, we may pose a new question:
is it possible to design a non-functional object?
A short discussion on functionalismwill follow. I will then introduce the vision of semiotics,
specifically Charles Peirce's theory about functionality as one aspect of semiosis. In
this way, the semiotic/symbolic approach is not opposed to functionalismbut both can be
set in a unified frame. Functions of objects are texts as well as texts perform functions.
This perspective allows us to view design not as separated from knowledge and communication,
but as a component of the