Fernande Saint-Martin’s Semiotics of Visual Language helped me understand how abstract shapes and contrasts can communicate specific emotional states. Her ideas reinforced that meaning doesn’t rely on literal imagery but emerges through the tension between forms, tones and negative space. This has directly informed my flag designs, especially the use of stark black voids, fractured shapes and uneven contrasts. Saint-Martin’s writing strengthened my confidence that abstraction is not just aesthetic but a valid semiotic tool for representing the fear and urgency of walking through night-time non-places.