Linguist / Semiotician (Remote, Unpaid Collaboration)

Overview

Communication is fundamental to human interaction. While spoken and written languages dominate digital communication, visual forms such as emojis, icons, and GIFs increasingly shape how meaning is expressed online. KomunIKON is an international volunteer initiative composed of contributors from different disciplines, including linguistics, design, software development, product development, marketing, and business development. At KomunIKON, we are developing IKON, a visual language based on icons designed to enable intuitive and cross-lingual communication. Our goal is to explore how linguistic meaning can be represented visually and structured into a coherent language system usable across digital platforms.

Our mission is to make communication more accessible for people who face barriers to written language, including individuals with limited literacy, language learners, and speakers of different languages who need a simple and universal way to express meaning. By combining linguistic research, semiotic design, and technology, we aim to build a visual communication system that can complement natural languages and support more inclusive communication worldwide. We collaborate remotely and asynchronously and value open communication, accountability, and teamwork. Learn more about our project: www.komunikon.com

About the Role

We are looking for linguists and semioticians passionate about semantics, semiotics, and visual communication, and eager to contribute to the development of the IKON language. Contributors will have the opportunity to participate in the conceptual development of the IKON language and contribute to discussions on visual semantics and icon-based communication systems.

Responsibilities

• Define visual representations of linguistic concepts
• Create descriptions and guidelines for graphic designers developing icons
• Conduct semantic, cultural, and semiotic research to ensure clarity and interpretability
• Support the development and organization of the IKON icon database
• Contribute to annotation and multilingual descriptions of icon meanings
• Participate in discussions on how visual language systems can support communication and language learning

About You

• You have an academic background or are currently studying in fields related to language and meaning, such as linguistics, semantics, semiotics (including visual semiotics), or visual communication systems
• You are passionate about language and communication
• You are curious about the potential of visual and multimodal language systems
• You are comfortable working in a remote and asynchronous environment
• You bring a proactive, organised, and collaborative mindset

Availability

Flexible. A few hours per week.

What We Offer

• The opportunity to contribute to the development of an innovative visual language system
• Collaboration with an international and interdisciplinary team of linguists, designers, and technologists
• Hands-on experience working on semantics, icon design guidelines, and multilingual annotation
• Participation in multiple projects related to visual language and communication systems
• The opportunity to contribute to publications or research outputs emerging from the project

How to Apply

If you are interested in contributing, please contact us at

https://www.komunikon.com/en/contact and include the reference to this position in your message.

Please also provide:

• A link to your CV
• Your LinkedIn profile (if available)
• A short paragraph explaining your motivation to participate in this volunteer project