The signifier of a brand encompasses the concrete elements that characterize it, such as sounds (auditory representation), but also its writing and visual image. It is a distinct component of the signified, although the linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) demonstrated that they are interdependent and often mutually define each other. Thus, a linguistic sign results from the combination of a signifier and a signified, with a relationship between the two that is essentially conventional.