Professor Tigran Simyan of Yerevan State University visited the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts at the Cyprus University of Technology (Limassol) in May 2026.
The Dean of the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Professor Evripides Zantides presented the structure of the Department, the main areas of activity and departments, as well as the work of the research laboratory on semiotics and visual communication.
During his stay, Professor Tigran Simyan also served as an external observer and provided feedback to students in the introduction to semiotics and visual communication exam. The students presented practical projects based on the principles of Dadaism and Blackout Poetry. Particularly, students isolated individual words from the original literary text, crossed out all “superfluous” words, formed new poetic or philosophical texts and sayings, and then visualized them as artistic compositions. This creative work demonstrated an applied approach to semiotics and graphic design, showing the process of transition from a symbolic sign (text) to an iconic one, as well as ways to complement an iconic sign with new visual elements and meanings.
During the visit, Professor Tigran Simyan also became acquainted with the university’s infrastructure and spoke with design students with deep expertise in visual semiotics, as well as PhD researchers in the Semiotics and Visual Communication laboratory. The exchange of experience has become an important driver of the expansion of analytical tools for analyzing visualizations of the Armenian epic, a key research area for Armenian scientists.
The visit to the Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts at the Cyprus University of Technology was also fruitful, as it is expected to expand the range of cooperation through new research projects, conferences, and three-level training programs for undergraduates, postgraduates, and faculty.
