Semiotics

From the discourse lesson , we know that Semiotics uses colour and other signs to communicate something. Those signs include Signifier and Signified signs. These are the basic building blocks for meaning-making. The other key concepts we examine within Semiotics include journey of the message from sender to receiver, intention, transmission and destination (with what result).
What the certain object in the picture signify?

The painting by Lucas Granach depicts Adam and Eve in Garden of Eden. The apple represents the Tree of Knowledge. Satan uses the apple to tempt Eve. Eve picks the apple and gives it to Adam. With this act Adam and Eve fall from grace in the eyes of God. In the picture the apple (which we call the “signifier”) is the fruit used to signify temptation (what we call the “signified”) . However, while the apple means temptation, some other fruit could represent the same idea. It is only because there is already a connection in our minds between the appearance of an apple and the idea of temptation. It is this connection that makes the picture successful in terms of communication. So there are numerous relationships that can exist between signifier and signified. One is that we can have the same signifier with different signifieds and we can have different signifiers with the same signifieds.
Apple mans Temptation

Apple mans Healthy
Apple means Fruit

Apple means Apple
Pomme means Apple
Apfel means Apple

Ref:
Sean Hall (2007), This Means This, This means That: A User’s Guide to Semiotics, London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics