Alex Gordon has worked as a cultural analyst and semiotician for 20 years. He is the founder and CEO of Sign Salad, a cultural insight agency specialising in semiotics and language analysis. He has led cultural insight projects across five continents for global blue-chip brands in sectors including food and drink, retail, technology, healthcare, luxury, automotive, financial services, pharmaceutical, personal care, and travel and leisure. Before setting up Sign Salad, he established the semiotics and cultural strategy division at Flamingo. He has a PhD in semiotics and identity politics and is a visiting fellow at Bristol University's Department of Marketing.

Sound complements visual stimuli reinforcing messages of sadness, release, energy; at other times it tells us whether a character is good or bad and those feelings can stay with us. When used strategically, music can have a substantial creative impact.