WHAT IS VISCOSITY?
Viscosity helps us navigate complexity, uncertainty, and the messy realities of the present.
Let’s talk about NOW!
DAY 1
wednesday may 20
10:00–11:30
workshop
Applied Semiotics 101
Not included in the 2-day pass. Additional ticket required.
Chris Arning
13:00–17:00
workshop
From Molecules to Meaning: How Biosemiotics insight can help us innovate for our changing world
Not included in the 2-day pass. Additional ticket required.
Noël Theodosiou,
Yogi Hendlin, Emanuela Bove
DAY 2
thursday may 21
9:00–9:30
registration
9:30–9:45
welcome
9:45–10:40
key note
TBA
TBA
10:40–10:50
tech break
10:50–11:10
Viscous Materiality
Synthetic nature: how brands communicate biomaterials across U.S.
Maximino Matus Ruiz, Akvile Amada Sataite
11:10–11:30
Viscous Materiality
From Fluid Pattern to Sticky Icon: The Viscous Semiotics of the Vichy Checks
Anne-Flore Maman Larraufie, Clara Boudeau Dinant
11:30–11:50
Viscous Materiality
Detergent Gel and the Viscous: Beyond Barthes, Toward a Material Semiotics
Giacomo Festi
11:50–12:15
coffee break
12:15–12:35
substance of care
The curious case of mental wellness in digital India: navigating a viscous irony of thick centeredness and thin novelty
Rajan Luthra
12:35–12:55
substance of care
The Suspension of Time: Viscosity and the Semiotic Fantasy of Eternal Youth
Asbjorg Dunker
12:55–14:25
lunch
14:25–14:30
sticky ideas
Revert To Gender Type: How Old Feminine Ideals are Making a Comeback
Ashley Mauritzen
14:30–14:35
sticky ideas
Running Men
Siddhant Lahiri
14:35–14:40
sticky ideas
How Berghain Democratized Semiotics Better Than Semiofest
Ania Chyl, Ela Konopińska-Dudek
14:40–14:45
sticky ideas
The Stickiness of Jokes: Why Humor Won’t Modernize Twice
Liwa Sun
14:45–14:50
sticky ideas
Sticky, Viscous Prices: The Method for Charging More That Only Semiotics Understands
Cameron Shackell
14:50–15:15
coffee break
15:15–15:35
digital gooey
Heat moves fast and slow: How ‘hot takes’ shape our culture today
Nimesh Nambiar
15:35–15:55
digital gooey
Viscosity in Design: Friction vs Habit
Henryk Klawe
15:55–16:15
digital gooey
Viscous Worlds: Swamp Sublime, Jelly Ontology and the Afterlife of Metaphysics.
Jędrzej Kacper Latecki
16:15–16:40
coffee break
16:40–17:25
(Newtonian) Ethics between solid and fluid
Semioethics Panel
Luca Marchetti
17:25–17:45
closing plenary
20:00–22:00
SOCIAL DINNER
Not included in the 2-day pass. Additional ticket required (coming soon)
DAY 3
friday may 22
9:00–9:20
WELCOME & INTRODUCTION
9:20–10:15
KEY NOTE
TBA
prof. Michał Krzykawski
10:15–10:30
Coffee Break
10:30–10:50
thick culture
Death Rituals in a Godless Age: Inherited Structures and Fluid Meanings
Isabelle Kostecki
10:50–11:10
thick culture
How Morals Move: A Viscosity Framework for Understanding Moral Force
Maitreyee Patki
11:10–11:30
thick culture
TBC
11:30–11:50
thick culture
Game’s gone: a semiotic collision between modern football’s accelerated trajectory and the future no fan wants
Rafał Hydzik
11:50–12:20
Coffee Break
12:20–13:50
Parallel Workshop sessions
Viscosity Test: How do cultural codes and themes “stick together”?
Joshua Glenn, Ramona Lyons
12:20–13:50
Parallel Workshop sessions
Feel Viscosity: Unlock Intentional Innovation through Sensory Semiotics
Coco Wu, Megan Bourner-Powell
12:20–13:50
Parallel Workshop sessions
Entangled Meanings: Quantum Leaps in Semiotic Thought
Klara de Witt
13:50–15:50
lunch
15:50–16:10
Viscosity Applied
What Creates Semiotic Viscosity? Not All Signs are Created Equal
Chris Barnham
16:10–16:30
Viscosity Applied
The Four-Phase Model: A Chinese Framework for Understanding Cultural Viscosity and Transformation
Jiakun Wang
16:30–16:50
Viscosity Applied
Making Meaning Stick: How Semiotics Builds the Memory Structures Behind Byron Sharp’s “Mental Availability” and Explains Why Some Brand Cues Become Culturally Viscous
Sarah Johnson
16:50–17:10
closing remarks
DAY 4
saturday may 23
10:00–13:00
tba
Client Bootcamp
Not included in the 2-day pass. Additional ticket required (coming soon)
TBA
14:00–16:00
tba
Social Activities
TBA



SEMIOFEST PORTO 2024 Photography © Adoro Dias Felizes
WHAT IS SEMIOFEST?
A CELEBRATION OF SEMIOTIC THINKING
SEMIOFEST is a global conference for those curious about society, culture, and the ways they evolve. Promoting applied semiotics across both commercial and academic fields, it brings together leading thinkers from around the world. It provokes thought and meaningful perspectives on what may seem familiar or obvious.
WHERE IT WILL TAKE PLACE?
After visiting cities from London and Shanghai to Mexico City, Semiofest now comes to Warsaw.

