Semiological Analysis of Communicational and Promotional Functions of Theatre Posters in Iran (Case Study: The 1950s Theater Posters)

The 1950s is noteworthy both in terms of theatre-related developments and the history of theatre posters in Iran. During this period, the theatre acquired a socio-political feature and found a greater audience. Tabriz was one of the principal centers of theatre in these ages. This period was also a starting point for designing theatre posters. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the semiology of the communicational and promotional functions of theatre posters in this decade. The main issue here is figuring out a significant relationship between the content of plays and the form of 1950s posters in Iran in terms of communicational and promotional functions. The research method is descriptive-analytical and historical. The data are brought together from the library materials. The theory and methods of semiology are put in use to analyze the posters and data. In the research process, 46 posters from the 1950s Iran have been introduced, studied, and divided into four main categories in terms of the type of sign system used. Then, using the purposive and quota sampling method, one sample was selected and analyzed from each categorization, the one which fully represented the semiological characteristics of it, and also its play was available. The results showed that the two sign systems used in the design of these posters were visual signs and textual signs. The former referring to the themes of the play was convenient in the representation of the main scenes and characters. These types of signs provide the communicational function for the poster. The latter was to promote and inform the public audience about the play. These types of signs provide the promotional aspect of the design. Among the posters with predominant visual signs within the formal space, 156 Abstract or posters with an equal share of visual and textual signs to a certain extent, the form of design is relevant to the content of the play, and the communicational function is determinant. On the other hand, among the posters in which the textual signs are predominant or those only made up of textual signs, the form of design is not necessarily relevant to the content of the play. So the promotional function of design is determinant.