Who we are
Dr Alex Gordon CEO
Alex is the founder of Sign Salad and has conducted semiotic analyses across four continents for a range of global FMCG, alcohol, telecoms, luxury, technology, automotive, travel, pharmaceutical, sports, leisure, and public sector brands.
He was previously Head of Semiotics at Flamingo International and has a PhD in Semiotics and Identity Politics. Alex is a Fellow of NIECI (National Institute for Excellence in the Creative Industries), writes a regular column for canvas8.com, and is part of the Courvoisier Observer Future 500 Network.
In a former life he played in the Miles Davis quintet, scored a century against Australia at Lord’s, and solved crimes alongside Philip Marlowe. In his future life he scores the goal that wins the world cup for Scotland. In his present life, however, his wife and three kids just roll their eyes at him, and join him on the trampoline.
Joël Du Bois Project Director
Joël has led semiotics projects in the UK, the US, China and Europe for brands from body wash to pet food. With a mixed Belgian and Malaysian background, he has always been attuned to how cultural differences affect communication. In an attempt to bridge these differences he has spent time working in Singapore, France and China, as well as learning French and German. Just to keep things simple, he’ll soon be getting married to his fiancée Nazia with ceremonies in Bangladesh and the UK.
Joël previously worked in qualitative research at an influencer marketing agency, focusing on the fine art market, and has also worked in graphic design and copywriting. He did his MPhil in European Literature and Culture at Cambridge and his undergraduate degree in French and German at Oxford.
Andrea Basunti Senior Semiotician
When it’s dark, cold or snowing outside, Andrea reminds us that there are warmer places by putting on the tropical sounds of Seu Jorge, Fela Kuti or Cheikh Lo. He was astonishingly quick to volunteer for a recent project in Brazil. Andrea previously worked at The Ingram Partnership and at Interbrand, developing brand architecture, positioning and creative identity for clients in sectors as diverse as financial services, automotive and telecoms. He has been published in Marketing and Admap on branding and semiotics, and has a degree in Marketing & Semiotics from the University of Turin and an MSc in Media & Communications from LSE. A native Italian speaker, he is fluent in Brunello di Montalcino and Alba white truffles, while also working on his Brazilian Portuguese to understand his wife Claudia’s family better – or perhaps to sing Seu Jorge songs more convincingly on the guitar. We’re still not sure if his love of Brazilian music or his love of Brazilian women came first.
Dr Michael Bloomfield Senior Semiotician
Michael has worked on a broad range of projects at Sign Salad, from the cultural meaning of DIY and hair straighteners to the semiotics of American beer and Australian pharmaceuticals. He brings to his work an enduring interest in the cultural and cognitive aspects of human creativity – whether deep in our Palaeolithic past or in today’s creative industries – and somehow has found the time to complete a book on the subject in the last year, aiming to establish the core principles of creative thought in science, art, technology and business.
Michael’s PhD was on the Anthropological Semiotics of Religion in the UK. He developed a set of creative thinking methods stemming from his studies, and prior to joining Sign Salad he set up Creative Intelligence International, a company which ran creative thinking workshops for the corporate sector. Before that he says he was in a rock band, but that was a long time ago.
Dr Natalie Edwards Semiotician
Natalie joined Sign Salad after having previously worked in marketing for the healthcare and education sectors. Her PhD examined recent negotiations of gender and sexuality in British media and culture, and allowed her to explore her interest in critical theory and the cultural construction of identity. When not analysing advertising images or considering the impact of societal change on textual production, she tries to improve her (very) rusty Spanish and work through the Wagamama cookbook that her partner tactfully nudged her way last Christmas. She likes martial arts a lot, and can definitely kick higher now than she used to.
Mark Berg Director of Operations
With a background in broadcast journalism where he worked for flagship programmes including BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme and World at One, Mark went on to hold senior roles in the public relations and public affairs fields. Along the way he also served as chief executive of a leading housing charity and for the last four years has run his own successful communications consultancy. Mark brings to Sign Salad the business, management and organisational skills he’s developed in his wide-ranging experience. His role is to ensure that the organisation runs smoothly and has in place the systems that will accommodate its growth trajectory. Mark’s career pays homage to the old adage that variety is the spice of life – sadly his wife won’t allow him to apply this to his personal life. At leisure he’s a devoted father of four with a keen interest in eating and current affairs.
Donna Evelyn Office Administrator
Apart from handling the daily running of the office, Donna also brings a touch of art world glamour to Sign Salad. A hardened multi-tasker, she studied for her degree in Art History from Birkbeck while simultaneously working full-time in a number of art galleries, photographic agencies and fashion firms. We suspect she was also taking beautiful photographs and riding a unicycle at the same time.
If a film was made about her life, she would want Morgan Freeman to narrate it.
