This article is concerned with the semiosis of the creative process in art research, putting an emphasis on the undergraduate final project of the Visual Arts' students in the University of Campinas (Unicamp). The legislation which rules this course requires students to present a poetic production, exploring some aspect of the contemporary visual arts, as well as a reflective text related to this work. We understand that the two productions are results of the same semiosis, but their manifestations are very different and indicate two different thought processes. From the different issues that this double production can trigger, the article is interested in how the theoretical approach relates to visual production, more specifically, how theoretical research collaborates to define or even redirect visual production. This process is seen as a sign process with several semioses relating in a complex way. In order to discuss this point, we use Charles Sanders Peirce's writings on semiosis; some writings about the relationship between semiotics and education, such as that by Donald J. Cunningham; as well as the studies of creative processes developed by Cecília Salles.