基于色彩符号学分析的历史街区视觉识别系统再设计—以万寿宫历史文化街区为例

在新型城镇化背景下，历史文化街区的语言景观是文化传承与城市发展的重要媒介，彰显城市文化韧性与创新潜力。基于场所符号学理论，深入分析巢湖市耳街语言景观现状，重点探讨其语码分布、标识形式及空间配置所传递的文化符号与象征意义。研究表明，耳街的官方与私人标牌在语码选择上趋于一致，汉语使用比例高且地位突出。语言景观结合了区域文化底蕴与现代更新，契合新型城镇化发展理念。针对标牌设计中文化符号同质化和多语标牌覆盖不足等问题， 提出了优化路径，以推动城市语言文化生态建设，助力城市高质量发展。

本文旨在探索湖南城市街道色彩空间美学创新设计的有效路径，以应对湖南城市街道在城市化进程中色彩空间美学方面所面临的诸多挑战。通过运用实地调研、问卷调查、文献研究等分析方法，全面剖析湖南城市街道色彩空间的现状、影响因素及存在的问题。重构湖南城市街道色彩空间美学设计，使城市街道在视觉上更具美观性，增强辨识度与竞争力，吸引游客与投资；在提高居民生活品质方面，可为居民提供更舒适的出行与休闲空间，增强居民的幸福感与归属感，促进社区和谐共融；在文化传承与发展方面，将湖南的历史文化元素融入街道空间，延续文化脉络，实现传统文化的创新发展。

基于特殊的地理和历史背景，红砖成为闽台地区鲜明的城市特色，复杂的文化脉络赋予红砖丰富的潜在价值。然而，当前红砖文化基因传承与延续面临困境。应用场景理论，以泉州最具红砖代表性的西街历史文化街区为研究对象，从场景五要素入手，结合载体特征、行为感知和舒适物价值的评价流程，通过实地调研、深度访谈、问卷调查和大数据统计分析，探讨街区整体和微观红砖建筑两个层面的场景舒适物评价指标体系。研究发现：（1）红砖街区的场景构成要素包括空间环境、功能媒介、多元群体、活动组合和价值吸引；（2）整体街区环境的场景功能包括文物历史、文化展示和消费体验三方面，三者相互关联，但当前泉州西街的整体满意度仍需提升；（3）红砖建筑舒适物可分为色彩视觉、质感肌理、细节装饰和地域特征四类，包括红砖、白石、木材、窗户、阳台、外构筑物、梁上装饰、柱子、砖砌方式、内部空间、主体结构和屋顶12种传统建筑特征。由此提出街区保护更新原则、具体规划措施和红砖建筑风貌控制的建议，以拓展场景理论的中国本土化实证研究，为历史文化街区保护与更新提供有效途径。

从景观视觉特征的多义性入手，指出景观视觉感知的内隐特征与研究难点。参考“旅游凝视”理论将旅行照片作为视觉表征媒介，研究观察者对于旅游地景观视觉感知的偏向性如何构建。大数据时代数字足迹的普及，使旅行者上传到互联网社交平台的评论信息及地理信息标记照片成为研究景观视觉感知的重要数据来源。基于此，从3个方面展开研究。1）将2种类型数字足迹纳入传统景观评价框架，并从物像、视像与心像之间的转化过程及其关联机制等方面对景观视觉感知评价方法进行创新。以南京历史城区范围内的秦淮河风光带为研究对象，通过质性分析工具NVivo对数字足迹文本内容中蕴藏的景观感知要素进行编码识别，使用定性分析软件RQDA对旅行照片进行编码处理。2）融合专家与公众视角，从自然景观价值、历史文化价值与社会经济价值3个维度构建秦淮河风光带景观视觉感知评价体系。3）从景观资源分级界定与分类管控的视角，对该评价体系的应用潜力进行分析。研究指出：基于专家与公众视角融合的景观视觉特征分析及基于景观视觉感知评价的设计思考，对于旅游地景观研究与形象提升具有重要意义。

为避免传统商业街区同质化更新，探索街区可持续发展模式，以北京老城地区为例，通过获取7个传统商业街区中体验者所拍摄的图像，利用卷积神经网络（CNN）技术提取出体验者重点关注的建筑、街巷、美食消费、行为活动、招牌广告5类核心要素。根据要素特征与体验者感知内容将其划分为本体与衍生2种属性，通过5类要素和2种属性的占比情况分析体验者偏好与街区发展模式的关联。结果表明：1）体验者更加青睐街区的衍生属性，且2种属性占比差异可通过相关要素整合进行改善；2）7个街区的发展模式分化为衍生属性占比较高模式和2种属性占比相近模式，模式并存有利于老城街区活力提升；3）2种属性占比均衡的模式更有利于传统商业街区的可持续发展。通过直接提取以上5类体验者感知要素能够有效反映出传统商业街区发展模式存在的问题，有助于传统商业街区的复兴与多元发展策略的选择。

为了洞察地铁标志的视觉设计规律以及受众的视觉感受，将我国目前已经开通或正在进行地铁建设的48个城市的地铁标志作为研究样本，分析了标志视觉的构成形式；并通过眼动仪展开视觉体验测试研究，结合标志与城市对应关系的用户记忆访谈，剖析了标志色调和图案形式同视觉认知的关联。围绕城市地铁标志的文化体验提升，提出创新性视觉转化的方式，赋予地铁标志更深层次的文化内涵，结合地铁传媒增强对城市文化的传播影响力。

A cultural landscape is the result of a continuous interaction between the surrounding natural landscape and culture. Meanings, symbols, and codes of culture are an integral part of it. This paper is a review of publications on current research over the past 20 years. The aim is to analyze the existing research practices, which are based on factual evidence and existing theoretical foundations, using an interdisciplinary approach, in order to come closer to a sufficiently holistic understanding of the coloristic semantics of the cultural landscape. Such a review and analysis of disparate studies allows for the first time the correlation of different types of cultural landscapes (urban, rural, gardens, and parks) and different types of signifier functions performed in them by color—signals, indices, iconic models, conventional signs or symbols, zero, or empty signs. The author analyzes the difference in the semantics of chromatic and achromatic colors and explores the landscape chromodynamics, namely, by creating the first-ever classification of the types and meanings of color foci of various durations—from days to decades. Color loci signs are continuously communicating in the cultural landscape, which is a field of constant “cultural explosion”, where traditional cultural meanings are transmitted and new meanings are generated. The author comes to the conclusion that color symbolism is part of the “landscape-as-text” containing certain information—“messages” of culture to itself. In these messages, color has sacral, temporal, and historical semantics, thus creating an extended semantic frame for the reproduction of cultural codes.

The aim of this article is twofold: to make semioticians interested in visual semiotics better acquainted with the very elaborate aspects of color theory, from which they could take models to develop other aspects of visual semiotics, and to make color theorists more familiar with general semiotics, a paradigm that can encompass and organize the whole study of color. General semiotic notions are described and illustrated with examples taken from the domain of color, and an account of some of the advances of color theory is given within the framework of semiotic categories. Aspects such as color semantics, color grammar, color harmony, color combinations, and others, are reviewed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Col Res Appl, 23: 390–401, 1998

Currently, historical areas in China are facing issues of color authenticity and excessive commercialization. Colors, as an important element of historical areas, reflect their history and culture. However, there are some flaws in the existing research methods, so a more scientific and systematic method is needed to obtain accurate and objective color visualization results to promote the sustainable development of historical areas. In order to explore the methods and applications of visualizing the environmental color patterns of historical areas, Shiquan Street in Suzhou, China, was taken as the research object; ArcGIS 10.5 was used to obtain the street-view photo samples; Matlab was used to summarize the architectural colors of the historical areas; and K-means clustering was used to generate the central color card of the historical areas, thus completing the color visualization of the historical areas, followed by further searching for the color patterns and central colors, so as to explore the strategies for sustainable development of historical areas. The various quantified color models of historical areas can explore the regional uniqueness and color locality of historical areas, which avoids problems such as homogenization of block colors, unclear styles and features, and an excessive proportion of commercial colors caused by poor color guidance and control in the design related to historical areas, providing approaches to the research on the harmonious unity of environmental colors and features related to historical areas. A color-based research method has been proposed to protect and maintain the original appearance of historical areas. The application of this method provides a new perspective and possibility for the protection of historical areas, allowing these areas to achieve historical sustainability while maintaining their historical characteristics and values.

… viewing colors in environmental color design as semiotic … As the evolution of semiotic resources is driven by new … interpreting environmental color from a social semiotic approach…

ABSTRACT Peterson, Norway, was a former cellulose factory that is in the process of being transformed into new usage. A landmark at the premises is the “digester,” a high-rise steel structure used to make cellulose before the factory closed in 2012. The digester is now facing an uncertain material future, but this does not keep it from being represented and remembered in different ways. Peterson is also known for its elephant logo, which has been resemiotised from a signboard into a three-dimensional elephant sculpture in blank steel. As we will demonstrate, this and other uses of semiotic resources may be viewed as part of a transformative process that indicates looking forward into a post-industrial society where communication is more important than cellulose production. However, as we will demonstrate, this interpretation does not necessarily match the intention of the sign producer.

… The semiotic medium for collective identity is multi-modal, … There are visual codes that relate colors to identity and codes … is the use of flags or national colors to proclaim origins. The …

… reconstructed Chinatown’s semiotic landscape, this article … , it is still highlighted by a brighter color. As shown in Figure 6, the … name in bright yellow color is fixed on the red-colored wall. …

… semiotics to do so, to understand the interpretation of place, time and spatial reference to historical … They used different colours of blocks to say something about a special place. I heard …

Abstract The aims of this study were to investigate the semiotic landscapes (SLs) in Bangkok’s Chinatown from the social semiotic perspective, to identify the types of semiotic resources that make Bangkok’s Chinatown a tourist destination, and to examine tourists’ stances toward the SLs. In total, 108 tourists participated in this research, in which a qualitative analysis was mainly used. The results revealed that six types of semiotic resources merged to index the SLs in Bangkok’s Chinatown, namely the Chinese language, colors, decorations, images, products and food displays, and architecture. The participants’ positive stance toward Bangkok’s Chinatown was elicited by the integration of decorations, colors, and the Chinese language, whereas their negative stance was based on the lack of Chinese-style architecture, the lack of the Chinese language on certain signs, and insufficient information in Chinese on some signs. Different types of semiotic resources functioned in conjunction to establish the SLs of Bangkok’s Chinatown as a tourist destination. Although the combination of languages, colors, decorations, and images created a Chinese atmosphere and positive stance toward Bangkok’s Chinatown among the tourists, the deficiencies in the architecture resulted in the insufficient presentation of Chinese culture and the culture and history of the Chinese diaspora in Bangkok.

… colors of mining, which are gold and yellow because of the extracted minerals, still visible in the form of mine dumps on the outskirts of the inner city, and brown which evokes the color …

The purpose: to investigate and analyze the current situation regarding the integration of Chinese cultural heritage into design objects aimed at creating the city's image, substantiating the necessity of such integration in modern conditions. Methodology. The research used the methods of literature review, synthesis, analysis, and systematization of the obtained results. Additionally, a situational analysis of the visual image of Chinese sports events is conducted. Results. The importance and necessity of integrating aesthetic elements of Chinese cultural heritage into the design production of the city's visual identity are justified. Future research directions in this field are identified. The study analyzes successful examples of design objects for major sports events in China developed using cultural heritage elements. Scientific novelty. The study involves the analysis and synthesis of previous research on the topic. Based on this analysis, four promising directions for further research in the field of design production for creating the urban image are identified. Practical significance. The findings of this research can be applied in studying innovative design based on cultural heritage and in practical design of objects visualizing the urban image.

… study conducted to identify visual preferences of international … -based survey, six visual preference dimensions were … are entitled visual chaos, urban greenery, roadside heritage, …

… of brand visual identity system based on urban brand image … of urban commercial block visual identity system as an … cultural heritage, local folk customs and industrial culture in urban …

… Another aspect of urban heritage that needs consideration, is … impact on the visual appearance of an urban space and the … enhances the cultural heritage identity of its urban settings. …

With the increasing importance of cultural consumption and the sustainable revitalization of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), visual communication has become a key mechanism for translating cultural meanings into contemporary branding contexts. This study develops a semiotics-informed structural model that integrates semiotic theory with consumer behavior frameworks to explain how cultural visual symbols influence brand preference through cultural cognition and cultural identity. Using Wufangzhai as an empirical case, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is applied to survey data from 274 consumers. The results indicate that different visual elements exert differentiated effects on cultural cognition, with color and packaging showing stronger influences, while typography plays a more significant role in shaping cultural identity. Cultural identity is also found to mediate the relationship between cultural cognition and brand preference. These findings contribute to cultural branding research and provide practical insights for the design of ICH visual communication systems.

This scientific paper is dedicated to the issue of studying the urban architectural environment as a comprehensive continuum for socio-cultural communication and artistic expression. The research’s relevance lies in the creation of practically oriented conditions for dialogue between the artist and the city, as for artistic reflection on the exact visual-semiotic architectural layer. The research purpose is to scientifically substantiate and present a concept dedicated to the artistic and aesthetic city image, which is formed by the artist during individual decoding of the visual semiotics of local architectural patterns. The methodology is based on the perceptive research model, which describes the urban architectural identity through artistic and aesthetic perceptive ways. The scientific paper confirms the important role of urban architectural identity in the construction of the holistic city image and in building interpersonal “city–artist” interactions. The research’s investigations are proved through an international art project in the format of the realized author’s urbanistic practice dedicated to the search for the wall’s image identity in one of Kaliningrad’s districts.

This paper investigates the public space architecture in urban centers of contemporary cities. Through time cities evolve with a certain traditional profile either spontaneous or planned; correspondingly, urban spaces emerge responding to the current developments, community aspirations, and architectural influences of the era. The study adopts a research methodology of triangulation involving review of theoretical derivatives, legislations for urban aesthetics, and conducting visual surveys of urbanscapes. Three fundamental theories are explored-‘Semiotics/Semiology’ by Saussure (1916) and Peirce (1902), ‘Duck and decorated shed’ by Robert Venturi (1972) and ‘Urban semiotics’ by Kevin Lynch (1960). The premise is investigated with the case of Bangalore (also, Bengaluru) in India; a city which has a rich historical profile while also being one of the progressive cities, resulting in transitions in its urbanscapes profile and existence of two distinct city cores, old and the new. This analysis is ensued by adopting comparative analysis of façades investigated in these two Central Business Districts, with a ‘Façade grid’ assessment methodology leading to interpretation of varying semiotics in both scenarios. The surveys conducted reveal an interesting semiology in the older and newer nodes reflecting intense objectives of commercial architecture and leads to formulation of a strategic proposal framework for façade architecture and management to reconnect to the use-experiential factors in urban centers.

PurposeIn the face of urbanisation, there has been prior and current discourse on the gradual thinning out of street identities. Particularly, the diasporic identity of streets such as Petaling Street (Chinatown) has received increasing attention due to diverse development and gentrification plans for the purpose of tourism and urban development. Current and future urban development plans of Kuala Lumpur have led to the need to analyse Petaling Street's identity. Taking this as a point for departure, this paper aims to analyse the contemporary diasporic identity of Petaling street in the face of rapid urbanisation. While there have been studies that addressed Petaling Street's identity, the focus has been from social, cultural and perceptual perspectives which relates to the intangible aspect of place. Taking an alternative stance, this paper studies the contemporary meaning of Petaling Street through the visual communication of facades.Design/methodology/approachAdapting from Odgen–Richard and Parsaee, semiotics, or the study of signs and symbols, is applied as both theoretical and methodological concept to draw meanings. It examines the visual communication of the cultural products that have evolved from the social processes in shaping the street character. Particularly, this paper examines the street identities by studying the contestation of urban sign and symbols of selected street facades.FindingsThe findings reinforced the contestation of identities in Petaling street, with key signifiers of signages, ornament and colour being physical aspects that contest a sense of Chinese-ness. The functional meaning portrayed by the facades due to social, political and economic factors led to the contestations of meaning formed by society that has left the street in a state of irrelevant and unfamiliarity.Practical implicationsIt calls to action for retention of significant urban elements of street facades to prevent further diminution of diasporic meanings which characterise Petaling Street as a whole in the process of urbanisation.Originality/valueIt provides basis to understand the contemporary identity and values of Petaling Street and the shift in meanings that has left the street in a state of irrelevant and unfamiliarity. This can prevent further diminution of diasporic meanings which characterise Petaling Street as a whole in the process of urbanisation.

… and opinions of the residents of Ptolemaida about their urban environment, we tried to formulate the specific semiotic measurement indicators that shape the trends, regarding the basic "…

This article aims to describe correlation between city's architecture as urban culture and cultural studies, specifically in semiotics. This article starts from Chris Barker's statement about city and urban as text in his phenomenal book, Cultural Studies, Theory and Practice. City as a complex subject has been transformed as the representation of urban culture. In the post-modernism view, urban culture as cultural space and cultural studies' sites have significantly pointed to became communications discourse and also part of the identity of Semiology. This article uses semiotics of Saussure for the research methods. Surabaya and Jakarta has been chosen for the objects of this article. The result of this article is describing the significant view of architecture science helps the semiotics in cultural studies. In other way, city's architecture becomes the strong identity of urban culture in Jakarta and Surabaya. Architecture approaches the cultural studies to view urban culture, especially in symbol and identity in the post-modernism era. 

ABSTRACT In this article, I demonstrate my visual-material approach to researching the urban built environment as a medium of communication in its own right. Specifically, I discuss my research on second-tier cities with “world-class” aspirations, which highlights the significance of both symbolic and material resources in processes of urban regeneration and redevelopment. A visual-material approach draws not only from social semiotics and multimodality, but also from critical and material rhetoric to engage with the ways in which increasingly widespread “formats” of urban regeneration and redevelopment are mobilized to transform the urban built environment in the service of a globally appealing aesthetic. In doing so, this is also an approach that illuminates the dialectical relationship between cities’ perceived necessity to appear competitive on a heavily mediatized global stage and to intervene on their landscape in ways that mediate the everyday lives of urban communities in lasting ways.

ABSTRACT  Architectural lighting provides optimum visibility for tasks but illuminations convey meanings as well. Though many studies analyze technical dimensions of lighting, research on the meaning is rare. Therefore, this article discusses semiotics as a methodology for lighting design within the design process and critically reflects the appearance of light and architecture. The semiotic discourse starts with terminology and presents models of architectural signs. The history of architectural semiotics serves as a background for the transfer to lighting and leads to an understanding of recent debates. The relevance of semiotics for lighting design is shown in three aspects: Firstly, the influence on the lighting design process; secondly, how physical characteristics of light intensity, distribution, and spectrum are interpreted as signs; and, thirdly, the evaluation of different lighting design tasks like daylight, lamp and luminaire design, interior and exterior lighting, as well as media façades. A critique of architectural and lighting semiotics reveals the methodological limitations of the linguistic concept. It can be concluded that semiotics provides a useful instrument to identify the meaning, which helps to improve the quality of lighting design. The semiotic matrix offers a differentiated view of relationships based on the aspects of sign, object, and interpretant with relation to light characteristics, illuminated buildings, and architectural lighting in general.

This study investigates the relationship between architectural colour and cultural identity in the ancient villages of Hebei Province, emphasising the role of colour in cultural heritage preservation and sustainable development. The research aims to (1) identify the dominant chromatic attributes of Hebei’s village architecture, (2) interpret their cultural and symbolic meanings, and (3) construct a colour model applicable to heritage conservation. A qualitative case study approach was employed across four representative villages, combining field surveys, semi-structured interviews, and digital colour analysis using the COLORO system. The findings reveal that the prevailing hues—ranging from red and yellow to ochre and brown—derive from local stone and timber, embodying values of stability, humility, and harmony with the environment. Decorative elements in bright red and gold signify celebration and community vitality, contrasting with the subdued architectural tones. Integrating these empirical and cultural insights, this study proposes the Colour Symbol System for Hebei Ancient Villages (CSSHAV)—a model that unites quantitative colour parameters with qualitative cultural interpretation. The CSSHAV serves as a practical framework for guiding colour conservation, policy development, and sustainable design in rural heritage contexts. The originality of this study lies in bridging scientific colour measurement with cultural semiotics, providing both theoretical advancement and actionable guidance for the preservation of regional chromatic identity. The findings identify increasing risks of colour homogenisation under the pressures of globalisation. Through the CSSHAV model, it proposes strategies to preserve Hebei’s traditional chromatic identity by integrating digital colour analysis with cultural interpretation. This balance between conservation and innovation contributes to sustaining both the aesthetic integrity and cultural vitality of ancient villages.

This study focuses on the issue of visual sustainability of colors in commercial historical districts, taking the historical area of Xueshi Street–Wuzoufang Street in Suzhou, China as a case study. It explores how to balance modern commercial development with the protection of historical culture. Due to the impact of commercialization and the introduction of various immature protection policies, historical districts often face the dilemma of coexisting “color conflict” and “color poverty”. Traditional color protection methods are either overly subjective or excessively quantitative, making it difficult to balance scientific rigor and adaptability. Therefore, this study provides a detailed literature review, compares and selects current quantitative color research methods, and proposes a comprehensive color analysis framework based on ViT (Vision Transformer), the CIEDE2000 color difference model, and K-means clustering (V-C-K framework). Using this framework, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the color-harmony situation in the studied area, aiming to accurately identify color issues in the district and provide optimization strategies. The experimental results show that the commercial colors of the Xueshi Street–Wuzoufang Street historical district exhibit a clear phenomenon of polarization: some areas have colors that are overly bright, leading to visual conflict, while others have colors that are too dull, lacking vitality and energy; furthermore, some areas display a mix of both conditions. Based on this situation, we then compared the extracted negative colors to the prohibited colors in the mainstream Munsell color system’s urban-color management guidelines. We found that colors with “high lightness and high saturation”, which are strictly limited by traditional color criteria, are not necessarily disharmonious, while “low lightness and low saturation” colors that are not restricted may not guarantee harmony either and could exacerbate the area’s “dilapidated feeling”. In other words, traditional color-protection standards often emphasize the safety of “low saturation and low lightness” colors unilaterally, ignoring that they can also cause dullness and discordance in certain environments. Under the ΔE (color difference value) threshold framework, color recognition is relatively more sensitive, balancing the inclusivity of “vibrant” colors and the caution against “dull” colors. Based on the above experimental results, this study proposes the following recommendations: (1) use the ΔE00 threshold to control the commercial colors in the district, ensuring that the colors align with the historical atmosphere while possessing commercial vitality; (2) in protection practices, comprehensively utilize the ViT, CIEDE2000, and K-means quantitative methods (i.e., the V-C-K framework) to reduce subjective errors; (3) based on the above quantitative framework, while referencing the reasonable parts of existing protection guidelines, combine cooperative collaboration, cultural group color preference surveys, policy incentives, and continuous monitoring and feedback to construct an operable plan for the entire “recognition–analysis–control” process.

… district like Shiquan Street, characterized by a low-saturation, harmonious color palette, such choices appear out of place and create visual conflict and discord. The lack of …

New buildings continue to be constructed in historic districts as urbanization accelerates. This leads to incongruities between historic and modern buildings, as well as degradation of the historic landscape. As a means of resolving these problems, this study uses the expert scoring method to solicit opinions from relevant experts through anonymous methods for architectural samples and establishes two groups of architectural images that have been screened for objective color attribute analysis. Comparing the architectural color codes on site was conducted using the Chinese Architectural Color Card based on the Munsell color system. Furthermore, questionnaires were used to measure the differences in visual comfort between different building types by asking the subjects to rate architectural colors when viewing architectural images. This study will also combine the advantages of measurement and analysis of objective objects with the study of human perceptual experience in order to enhance its practicality. In general, the buildings in the West Nanjing Road Historic Landscape District are painted in warm yellow, and the public is aware of its comforting color. Both historical and modern buildings in the historic district are mostly of medium and high brightness, and both use low-purity colors for the main body of their structures. Despite some differences between people of different genders, ages, and literacy levels, all of them agree on the main tone of warm yellow color in architectural colors.