The text is what is produced and read. So, where does meaning exist. We may also consider the notion of the text as containing elements relating to the medium of delivery. We say, then, that each medium of communication creates its own coding system. Semiotics then offers us a model to which we can begin inquire into the nature of communication, meaning, and interpretation.
Denotation refers directly to the object itself.
A badge refers directly to the social position of the person holding it. Connotation refers to values, ideas, attitudes, and feelings. When the badge is seen it may connote certain feelings larger than what the badge denotes. WWW Semiotics for Beginners by Daniel Chandler, defines semiotics as the science of studying signs and outlines some of the historical background for the development of the field. He provides a number of hyperlinks to identify various theoriticians who have worked in semiotics and includes a useful glossary of terms at the end of the piece.