Semiotics and designing

Theories of design may inform practice or aid understanding, though this is not an absolute distinction. Semiotics promises benefits to design theory in recognizing the semantic dimension (ignored by information theory), but in extrapolating from an α-historical linguistics it has no means of dealing with the material activity of designing; either as aid to practice or to understanding. The proposal of a visual/verbal rhetoric promises to link theory and practice, and to recognize designing as a social activity. But designing will remain obstinately out of reach of any formal theory.