DECODING BILLBOARDS SIGNS AND SYMBOL: A LINGUISTIC SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF VISUAL CULTURE IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Billboards function as the primary visual communication method in Pakistan that forms societal understandings by uniting linguistic and semiotic elements. The research studies the methods which billboard advertisements exploit signs alongside symbols and language features to transform behavior patterns by strengthening societal stories also while reflecting social and political environments. Through a semiotic study based in language the research explains how different text features combine with pictures alongside color themes together with brand position to build meaning in cities. The research examines the techniques advertisers employ to communicate with different audience demographics through Urdu and English alongside several regional linguistic variations. Public engagement obtains its shape through investigation of cultural symbols as well as religious motifs alongside nationalistic imagery. The research establishes that Pakistani billboards are shaped through the effects of gender representation together with power structures and globalization processes. The study researches the hidden and revealed messages found in billboards to reveal the fundamental semiotic patterns that control visual communication throughout Pakistan. These findings add to the comprehension of social identity formation through combined linguistic and visual signs in shaping consumer trends and cultural ideologies in developing media frameworks