MAPPING THE COCONSTRUCTION OF MEANING

Located in the nexus of visual communication and intercultural communication, the research covered visual communication and meaning-making theories, social construction and constructivist theories, theories about cultural differences, and theories concerning communication patterns, in particular communication networks. Integral theory provided the foundation for developing two new models. The data demonstrated that groups’ communication patterns were projected into the gestalt of the visual maps, and the coconstruction of meaning was not found in the individuals’ personal frames, but in the communication pattern between them — not in the elements of the visual map but in the gestalt. The cocreated meaning was confirmed in a self-organized seating constellation that mirrored the hierarchy of the groups to each other and exposed, subconsciously, the roles individuals had played. Data suggested a paradigm shift into polyculturalism with transcultural communication forms, and the potential multipositionality and contextuality of cultural hybrids, leading to the hypothesis that culture has become an available design.