“In some respects, I think designers have more time to create symbols, and the rest is to create physical objects.†- Philippe Starck, the most prestigious French designer of contemporary times, a representative of minimalism language. The practical significance of the symbol of human cultural production in modern design is very important. Symbols, like products, originate from human social labor and are human's exclusive wealth. They are man-made things that embody the people's spiritual needs and social civilization. Products are the material form of human culture, and they are the material media of human-nature-society interaction. They are also the material media of human life style. The essence of design is precisely to create a reasonable lifestyle for human beings. As a material medium for human lifestyles, its symbolic characteristics are obvious. First, symbol and symbol system All meaningful material forms are symbols. Symbols are things that use a certain medium to express or refer to something and can be understood by the general public. According to Pierce's semiotic theory, any symbol consists of three kinds of elements, namely, media related objects, object related objects, and interpretive related objects. Each symbol has three related elements. If any of the symbols does not show these three An associated element, it is not a complete symbol. For example, a stone itself does not have any meaning. It can only serve as a symbolic media link and cannot be used as a symbol. However, when used as a tool for grinding a stone axe, the stone can indicate a certain meaning - a stone axe. When the meaning is understood by people, the stone axe constitutes the symbol. From the symbolic features of the "Shi-axe", it can be seen that the symbol is the structural relationship between the meaning and the object world. This structural relationship fuses the object and the meaning into a unified symbol system. Just as human beings change their way of life through their products and thus integrate humans, nature, and society in a coordinated manner, the symbols enable people to communicate with the world and make the world understood and mastered by the subject as meaning. Symbols are neither spiritual nor material, nor are they subject or object, but rather the structure of relations between the mind and the object and the subject and the object. This structure of relations is formed in the course of the interpretation. The symbol is a system composed of media associations, object associations, and interpretive associations. In this system, each symbol determines its own meaning in the difference from other symbols. This meaning is contractual. It is through symbols that the symbols are connected and through which the connection can be reasonably explained. The symbolic nature and difference, the proof symbol is a system of three related objects. The three related objects can only constitute the symbol in all the connections. At the same time, the symbol is used as a meaning object, and it can only play the role of interpretation in a certain environment. This symbol can only reflect its significance as a system. Second, the product system symbol analysis The product is the materialization of human labor. It is a system that combines various materials in a certain structure and form and has corresponding functions. The product as a material carrier of human life style is not an end but a means to achieve its purpose. Any product does not exist in isolation. It must be connected with people and other elements in a specific environment, and must exist in a systematic way. To achieve its functional significance. The establishment of external relations of products must be reflected by internal factors in a certain structural way. The elements, structure, and functions are the three factors that constitute the product system. Among them, the function is the core of the product system, and its implementation process is the symbolic process. It is the use of semantic, linguistic, and pragmatic methods to form a symbolic system and to achieve a connection between human beings and the material world and the world of meaning. 1. Semiotic Analysis of Product Elements Product elements are the units that make up a product system. Any product system is an organism made up of several interconnected product elements. Any unit body can only constitute a particular symbol if it gives meaning to it. Elements as the unit body that constitutes the product symbol system are first expressed in the sense of product symbol elements and external relations, ie, the semantic features of the product. Each element in the product system should have a certain referential meaning, because only by referring to the meaning can the product establish contact with external things, in order to achieve the function of the product. Just as a circle is without any reference to the object, there is no meaning of an external connection. It cannot constitute a symbol by itself; but when a round button is used as a product element, it can give people a soft and intimacy in form. The hint has a rotation function; if the top surface of the circle button is a slightly concave arc surface, people associate with the operation mode of pressing with a finger through association, so that the product element shows a certain significance and can be As understood by consumers, the semantics of the product symbology are formed. Second, the semiotic nature of product elements should also be reflected in pragmatic features. Pragmatics is the study of the relationship between people and symbols. The function of product symbols is the connection between products with extensive meanings and the external environment, and the most important is the connection between products and people, that is, how people use the products. A reasonable use of the product can make the product meaningful. For example, the design of cans is precisely through the use of changes in the way, for a specific time and space under the people to create a reasonable way of drinking water, the pragmatic meaning of product symbol language is also here. 2. Semiotic Analysis of Product Structure Structure is the way in which several elements are related and interact with each other, that is, the structure of the product system is the order in which the various elements within the product system interact. The semiotic characteristics of the product structure are first reflected in the relationship between product elements, ie, the characteristics of product linguistics. It is precisely because of the organic structure relationship between elements and elements that elements can be used as media related objects to exert their connotation and extension in the symbol system. Products can form systems and achieve specific functions. The semiotic significance of product structure is also reflected in its own semantic features and pragmatic features. The symmetrical structure of the product itself can give people an equal, balanced and stable sense of the semantics. The spiral structure design can create the use of rotation. The semantics and pragmatic relationship of product symbols can be clearly designed through a rational product structure. 3. Semiotic Analysis of Product Functions The function is the external meaning embodied in the product system, and it is the order and ability of the product as the media-related product and the external environment that are linked and interact with each other. Function as the symbol of the product's purpose, as the ultimate goal of the design, is the deep structural relationship of the product symbol system, and the function must be achieved through the surface structure of the product symbol system - product elements and structure, so the function of the product system is through The connotation of the meaning of the product symbol represents the extension of the symbol meaning of the product, and its realization process is exactly the process of the product symbol's interpretation of the associated product. It is also the process of the symbolization of the product in people's mind. The expression of product symbol meaning is often complicated. Too direct expression will make the product semantics lose its complexity and become shallow. It is expressed too vaguely and its meaning is difficult to be interpreted and accepted. So the designer must be based on the specific The status quo and choose the appropriate way, so that the function of the product system can be understood by the majority of consumers. Third, the symbolic process of product system design The process of product function realization is the process of product symbol system transformation from surface structure to deep structure. Any product system must start with different objects, establish certain structural links between the objects, and produce the established results through this connection. The system process is the object (element)-internal connection (structure)— - External relations (functions). Functions are the result of the interaction of elements and structures. This process of action is the process of symbolization of human consciousness. The symbolic system also functions through (intermediate associations → object associations) → interpretation of related objects. The explanation is that the symbolic system is based on media associations and object associations. Based on the functional manifestation. Contrary to the process of symbol interpretation, the process of forming the product symbol system is a transformation from a deep structure to a surface structure. That is, in the process of designing, the functional target of the product is often determined first, and then the structure and elements of the product are determined. For example, in the design of wooden chairs, the functional goals of the product should be determined first according to the user and the use environment; secondly, the structure and elements to be used, that is, the design scheme, should be determined. Factors that must be taken into account in designing a project include structural relationships such as modeling, construction, and connection, and material characteristics such as materials, processes, scales, colors, and ergonomics. Structural and elemental changes can all diversify programs. The process of system design is to be Choose the optimal solution from a variety of options. The design of the product symbol system is very complicated. Different consumers have different meanings and usage methods from the same product. That is, the role of the product symbol in the process of relating to the external environment is difficult to accurately position. . Like Philippe Stark's "Juicer Sharif" lemon juicer, he had a description of his own description: "For me, it is mainly a small sculpture, not a family with a substantial function. The real purpose of its existence is not to squeeze millions of lemons, but to have a new door-to-door son-in-law and mother-in-law talk about something after dinner." The meaning of a juicer is clearly between the specific environment and the user. complicated. The significance of product system design is also the use of systematic thinking and product symbols as material media to create a more rational and diversified lifestyle in a complex cultural environment.