This article examines human perception in order to establish which aspects of the process could be used to inform models that represent meaning in artificial artefacts. Human perception is analysed from two approaches that we initially differentiated as organic and functional. Both are necessary and largely determine how an intelligent subject interacts with the objects that surround it and, as a consequence, how it behaves in the world. Both facilitate the emergence of meaning from what is perceived. Finally, we will establish the relevance that these considerations could have for the decision making process of artificial artefacts.