Icons as visual form of knowledge representation on the World Wide Web: A semiotic analysis

This article compares the indexing structure of icons with principles used for traditional indexing. The investigators apply fourteen traditional indexing principles to study and demonstrate whether traditional principles of indexing are applicable for icon analysis. One of the fourteen indexing principles is first chosen for this analysis. A sample of fifteen library homepages is drawn from the total population of the United States library homepages. The investigators examine the structure of the selected homepages and non-icon information on the homepages. They examine icons as a visual form of knowledge representation (the structure and features of the icons) to determine how icons are representative of the information to which they are linked. The investigators assess how the icons on each library homepage satisfy the indexing principle chosen for the study. The article also provides an analysis of meanings of these icons. The investigators use semiotics theory to study the icons. The icons on the homepages of the WWW carry meaning dependent on the syntax of their use. They also carry paradigmatic meanings derived from other systems or domains. Codes and syntax are culturally constructed, which shape the meaning of messages conveyed in the icons. This study demonstrates whether traditional indexing principles are applicable for icons analysis in the WWW environment. It is hoped that the study will help designers of WWW homepages employ icon features that communicate effectively to their users and suggest using icons as a visual form for knowledge representation on the WWW.