The 70s was–in essence–an initial stage of recognition for Zeigler as she began the construction of a semiotic index of the urban environment, one that contested practices of the dominant culture regarding land usage. This process had begun in the late 60s and early 70s, first in Illinois and Germany, was further explored in the mid 70s in Alberta, and in the later 70s in Ontario and British Columbia.

The majority of artwork from this period was carried out in the media of printmaking and photography.   With a strong background in drawing and painting, and having avidly taken photographs since she was very young, Zeigler was compelled to combine aspects of these modes of representation into single images. When introduced to developing and printing photographic images in the 70s, she began to collage and montage images she had taken. In printmaking (etching, lithography and screen printing), she was able to subtly explore and shift image content through drawing.

By incorporating photo etching and photo lithography into her print work, it was possible to carry an innovative visual dialogue among these media further, to consider their varying histories, and to consider issues of objectivity and subjectivity. Additionally, in her work in print, she was able to increase the scale of her images to sizes that in the mid-seventies were not yet widely explored by artists working soley in photography.

By the end of the seventies, she began to question further the coupling in society of scientific and technological innovation with unbridled capitalism. Accordingly, she felt a need to understand aspects of the relationship between evolving nature and culture on more complex levels and from additional perspectives.