COP Theme: SOCIETY
Key Terms: Gender, body image, gender and advertising, gender and the media, gender representation, gender and branding, consumer society.
Finding a variety of research sources when undertaking a project is crucial to understanding the history behind the theme of your work, as well as making your work more informative and to help make informative design decisions or analysis. Sources can come from written texts in the form of books, journals and magazine articles, and online resources such as websites, blog posts and e-books. Information could also be gathered from research visits, such as to museums and galleries.
Our task was to find relevant research sources for our chosen theme/quote, and to facilitate our methods of gathering these sources, which focus on speed, accuracy and reliability, as well as the physical content of the resources.
LCA Library:
1. Consumer Psychology (2010) - Catherine Jansson-Boyd.
"Many studies have found that both women and men do not believe that their current body form is attractive... Research has repeatedly found that physically attractive individuals are perceived by most to be socially more desirable than those that are perceived as being unattractive, something that is likely to have been reinforced by consumer societies".
Dr Catherine Jansson-Boyd is a consumer psychologist and a Reader in psychology at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, with a particular interest in how consumers evaluate products and consumer environments based on aesthetics. She has published a number of books based on her two main categories of research, being consumer psychology and aesthetic research. Her vast amount of research means she has years worth of experience and knowledge into the subject of consumer psychology and society, therefore making her a trustworthy source of research. Although, many psychological studies can be unreliable due to confounding variables, which can reduce the validity of the research and so must also be taken into consideration when using such resources.
2. Media, Gender and Identity - An Introduction (2008) - David Gauntlett.
3. Gender and the Media (2006) - Rosalind Gill.
4. Media and Society: Critical Perspectives (2004) - Graeme Burton.
Google Books (preview):
1. Advertising Cultures: Gender, Commerce and Creativity (2008) - Sean Nixon.
2. Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer: What Works, What Doesn't and Why? (2008) - Max Sutherland.
3. Putting on Appearances: Gender and Advertising (1988) - Diane Barthel.
Google Scholar:
1. Controversies in Contemporary Advertising (2013), Chapter 7: Gender and Advertising - Kim Bartel Sheehan.
2. Women's Studies in Communication: The Gender of Branding (2008) - J. M. Grow.
3. Journal of Consumer Research: Why do Brands Cause Trouble: A Dialectical Theory of Consumer Culture and Branding (2002) - D. B. Holt.
Websites:
1. webdam.com/blog/the-psychology-behind-the-brands-we-love
"Identity may explain why many of the best-loved brands communicate personality traits that consumers identify with or wish to emulate, such as being young, tech-savvy, wealthy, or sexy. If your brand doesn't resonate with your customer's real or desired identity, it's unlikely your brand will inspire love".
This blog post focuses on three concepts from psychology which many explain the reasons we love certain brands: emotional decision making, identity and social identity. It makes reference to Apple's 2006 'Get a Mac' campaign which suggested that the brands we buy signify the type of person you are, which in turn helps to form our identities. Published in April 2015, the post is still fairly recent, which increases the reliability of the source. However, it is not certain that the information collected came themselves from reliable sources. For example, one of these sources being a news article could be questioned, as information in such articles occasionally get manipulated by editors and journalists to imply a slightly different message than originally intended.
2. interbrand.com/views/examining-gender-roles-in-the-context-of-brand/
3. teddykw2.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/advertising-cultures.pdf
Jstor:
1. Gender Representations in Advertising: No Time for Change (2000) - Lena Slachmuijlder.
2. Putting on Appearances: Gender and Advertising (1988) - Diane Barthel.
3. Gendered by Design: How Woman's Place in Design is Still Defined by Gender (1999) - Sue Clegg and Wendy Mayfield.
Tuesday, 25 October 2016
Tuesday, 18 October 2016
OUGD401 - Analysis of Quotes
Society:
Jansson-Boyd, C. (2010) - Consumer Psychology. New York: McGraw Hill Education.
"Many studies have found that both women and men do not believe that their current body form is attractive... Research has repeatedly found that physically attractive individuals are perceived by most to be socially more desirable than those that are perceived as being unattractive, something that is likely to have been reinforced by consumer societies".
Key words: Gender, body image, gender and advertising, gender and the media, gender representation, gender and branding, gender and consumer society.
This quote makes reference to those individuals who are perceived as being 'physically attractive', however this already poses a problem, as what we find attractive in an individual is subjective, a personal preference which is different for everyone. Therefore when portraying physical attractiveness of a person in design and the media this can be seen as a suggestion as to what the media believe constitutes as 'attractive' and is ultimately never going to be an accurate representation of body image. This is not only due to the subjectiveness of the topic, but also how this 'desired' body image is dictated by only a minority of organisations. By making reference to both men and women, this quote focuses on gender representation in branding and advertising, suggesting that men can also be accounted into this problem of false body image and expectations.
History:
Carr E. H. (1961) - What is History? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
"The history we read... though based on facts, is, strictly speaking, not factual at all, but a series of accepted judgements".
Key words: History and truth, representations of western history, graphic design history, visual communication and truth, modernism, postmodernism, conspiracy theories and the internet.
This quote focuses on trends and approaches towards graphic design throughout history. It questions the truth in the history of graphic design and advertising, claiming that nothing is fact, only judgements which have been accepted by society as fact. It looks at how truth is communicated through media forms and represented through graphic design, and ultimately how graphic design relates to history.
Culture:
Danesi, M. - Popular Culture: Introductory Perspectives. Lanham, USA: Rowman and Littlefield.
"Modern-day pop culture... is a mass culture, spread widely through the mass media and mass communications technologies. Pop culture would not have become so widespread without the partnership that it has always had with the mass media".
Key words: Popular culture, mass culture, mass media, mass communication, high brow vs. low brow, high culture vs. low culture.
Popular culture can be defined as "cultural activities or commercial products reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people" (dictionary.com/browse/pop--culture). This quote focuses on pop culture and it's connections with design, branding and advertising, specifically high brow vs. low brow design. It suggests how artistic value can be recognised, however many social problems are often overlooked; popular culture is extremely relevant to understanding today's society.
Technology:
Erik Spiekermann (2014) - Interview in Creative Characters.
"What I find very interesting is the movement of people who are savvy in digital design but are genuinely interested in analog techniques. It is now more than a passing trend; there must be a deeper motive why we are newly interested in the hand-made and the haptic, material and three-dimensional aspects of type and design".
Key words: Letterpress, print making, theory of craft, handmade graphic design, traditional print media, decorative typography.
This quote concerns the differences between contemporary digital design, and more traditional design and production techniques, such as handmade production and printing. It looks at the reemergence of handmade graphic design techniques and how this is taking design back towards it's roots, as well as considering the advantages and/or disadvantages of rapidly developing technology which is changing graphic design as a whole. What impact is this having on contemporary graphic design practice?
Aesthetics:
Vignelli, M. - Long Live Modernism: Massimo Vignelli Reaffirms His Faith in Form and Function. AIGA.
"I was raised to believe that, as a designer, I have the responsibility to improve the world around us, to make it a better place to live, to fight and oppose trivia, kitsch and all norms of subculture that are visually polluting our world".
Key words: Modernism, minimal design, functional graphic design, form follows function, kitsch.
Massimo Vignelli was an Italian designer, whose work sat firmly within the modernist tradition of design. As a very opinionated designer, he believed that we have a responsibility to improve the world by getting rid of any 'bad' graphic design. This quote also raises problems associated with subjectiveness. What Vignelli believed to be bad graphic design may be an example of good graphic design to another person. He believed that design must be timeless, however it is clear that design is not static, it is constantly developing with the times.
Politics:
Downer, L. (2015) - Political Branding Strategies: Campaigning and Governing in Australian Politics. Australia: Palgrave.
"More and more in Western democracies, branding is used by political practitioners as a strategy for campaigning and governing. Brands are crafted for parties, politicians and policies. Put simply, political branding sees parties and politicians borrowing concepts and techniques from the world of commerce".
Key words: Political branding, branding, advertising, propaganda, graphic design and elections, branding political parties.
This quote examines how design and media is used in propaganda and political branding. It concerns work such as Jackson Pollock's paintings which were being used as a weapon for the CIA, and raises questions such as, is it freedom of expression for the sake of art or expression for the sake of propaganda and weapon? It can be seen by some that these artworks lose their original meanings and then become images of revolution and political struggle, however it could be argued that this is essentially a part of their overall meaning, as graphic design continues to develop.
Jansson-Boyd, C. (2010) - Consumer Psychology. New York: McGraw Hill Education.
"Many studies have found that both women and men do not believe that their current body form is attractive... Research has repeatedly found that physically attractive individuals are perceived by most to be socially more desirable than those that are perceived as being unattractive, something that is likely to have been reinforced by consumer societies".
Key words: Gender, body image, gender and advertising, gender and the media, gender representation, gender and branding, gender and consumer society.
This quote makes reference to those individuals who are perceived as being 'physically attractive', however this already poses a problem, as what we find attractive in an individual is subjective, a personal preference which is different for everyone. Therefore when portraying physical attractiveness of a person in design and the media this can be seen as a suggestion as to what the media believe constitutes as 'attractive' and is ultimately never going to be an accurate representation of body image. This is not only due to the subjectiveness of the topic, but also how this 'desired' body image is dictated by only a minority of organisations. By making reference to both men and women, this quote focuses on gender representation in branding and advertising, suggesting that men can also be accounted into this problem of false body image and expectations.
History:
Carr E. H. (1961) - What is History? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
"The history we read... though based on facts, is, strictly speaking, not factual at all, but a series of accepted judgements".
Key words: History and truth, representations of western history, graphic design history, visual communication and truth, modernism, postmodernism, conspiracy theories and the internet.
This quote focuses on trends and approaches towards graphic design throughout history. It questions the truth in the history of graphic design and advertising, claiming that nothing is fact, only judgements which have been accepted by society as fact. It looks at how truth is communicated through media forms and represented through graphic design, and ultimately how graphic design relates to history.
Culture:
Danesi, M. - Popular Culture: Introductory Perspectives. Lanham, USA: Rowman and Littlefield.
"Modern-day pop culture... is a mass culture, spread widely through the mass media and mass communications technologies. Pop culture would not have become so widespread without the partnership that it has always had with the mass media".
Key words: Popular culture, mass culture, mass media, mass communication, high brow vs. low brow, high culture vs. low culture.
Popular culture can be defined as "cultural activities or commercial products reflecting, suited to, or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people" (dictionary.com/browse/pop--culture). This quote focuses on pop culture and it's connections with design, branding and advertising, specifically high brow vs. low brow design. It suggests how artistic value can be recognised, however many social problems are often overlooked; popular culture is extremely relevant to understanding today's society.
Technology:
Erik Spiekermann (2014) - Interview in Creative Characters.
"What I find very interesting is the movement of people who are savvy in digital design but are genuinely interested in analog techniques. It is now more than a passing trend; there must be a deeper motive why we are newly interested in the hand-made and the haptic, material and three-dimensional aspects of type and design".
Key words: Letterpress, print making, theory of craft, handmade graphic design, traditional print media, decorative typography.
This quote concerns the differences between contemporary digital design, and more traditional design and production techniques, such as handmade production and printing. It looks at the reemergence of handmade graphic design techniques and how this is taking design back towards it's roots, as well as considering the advantages and/or disadvantages of rapidly developing technology which is changing graphic design as a whole. What impact is this having on contemporary graphic design practice?
Aesthetics:
Vignelli, M. - Long Live Modernism: Massimo Vignelli Reaffirms His Faith in Form and Function. AIGA.
"I was raised to believe that, as a designer, I have the responsibility to improve the world around us, to make it a better place to live, to fight and oppose trivia, kitsch and all norms of subculture that are visually polluting our world".
Key words: Modernism, minimal design, functional graphic design, form follows function, kitsch.
Massimo Vignelli was an Italian designer, whose work sat firmly within the modernist tradition of design. As a very opinionated designer, he believed that we have a responsibility to improve the world by getting rid of any 'bad' graphic design. This quote also raises problems associated with subjectiveness. What Vignelli believed to be bad graphic design may be an example of good graphic design to another person. He believed that design must be timeless, however it is clear that design is not static, it is constantly developing with the times.
Politics:
Downer, L. (2015) - Political Branding Strategies: Campaigning and Governing in Australian Politics. Australia: Palgrave.
"More and more in Western democracies, branding is used by political practitioners as a strategy for campaigning and governing. Brands are crafted for parties, politicians and policies. Put simply, political branding sees parties and politicians borrowing concepts and techniques from the world of commerce".
Key words: Political branding, branding, advertising, propaganda, graphic design and elections, branding political parties.
This quote examines how design and media is used in propaganda and political branding. It concerns work such as Jackson Pollock's paintings which were being used as a weapon for the CIA, and raises questions such as, is it freedom of expression for the sake of art or expression for the sake of propaganda and weapon? It can be seen by some that these artworks lose their original meanings and then become images of revolution and political struggle, however it could be argued that this is essentially a part of their overall meaning, as graphic design continues to develop.
Wednesday, 12 October 2016
COP Lecture Series: The History of the Image
A 20,000 Year Non-Linear History of the Image:
Lascaux Caves, France:
Cave paintings from the Lascaux Caves in France have been preserved from 20,000 years ago. These paintings include images of cattle and various other animals, people, shapes and patterns, which are believed to be a way for people living in the Stone Age to record their days, much like a diary. Other theories suggest these paintings were attempts to communicate with a higher power, such as a God.
Images and symbols from these Lascaux cave paintings have since been retained in art and design today. An example of this is Cy Twombly's 2001 painting, Lepanto Panel 8 in his use of colour, shape and pattern. In this way it can be seen as a way of connecting the 21st Century to 20,000 years ago.
Another example of this can be seen through Richard Long's 1989 'Red Earth Circle' which was created using sand and mud. This piece of work enabled a continuity between aboriginal art and western contemporary art, much like the connections between Stone Age cave paintings and some 21st Century artworks.
However, this artwork raised the problem of cultural appropriation, defined as
Cultural appropriation can be seen as controversial, particularly in art, when elements of a minority culture are used by members of another majority culture outside of their original cultural context, therefore seeming to diminishing the culture of it's identity.
Spiritual and Emotional Responses to Art:
Some works of art require travel to go and view, such as the Rothko Chapel, Houston, Texas which opened in 1971. On the walls are fourteen works of art by Mark Rothko, all painted black but with subtle colour hues, which vary depending on the lighting on each particular day. This chapel soon after opening became a place for international cultures to exchange religious and philosophical beliefs, a place of prayer, with some viewers displaying very spiritual and emotional responses towards the paintings.
However, it is argued that it may not be the case of the paintings themselves causing these types of responses. Is it simply the way the institution has framed the artwork?
The paintings displayed in the Rothko Chapel are laid out in an octagonal shaped room, where the walls are slightly darker (an off-white shade) and where the lighting is subtly dimmer than the rest of the rooms in the gallery. Because of this it is argued by some that it is in fact the institutional framing of particular works of art in galleries that create these emotional responses. Are these responses brought on through a sense institutional authority, whereby we behave in a way we think we are expected to behave rather than produce our own natural responses to the artwork?
Take the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci for instance. Millions travel to the Louvre in France to view this iconic painting. Is this painting simply meaningful because of it's essential characteristics as a painting or is it because of the queues of people waiting to see it that creates it's meaning?
The Mona Lisa is the only piece of artwork protected behind bullet-proof glass. Again, is it the gallery that creates this importance because of the way it has been presented? Does displaying the artwork behind bullet-proof glass give the painting it's meaning?
Viewing Artwork in the Digital Age:
In the world of mobile phones, cameras, video recorders and the internet, it is a lot easier now to view artwork, in particular for free. However, this poses the problem of stealing and recycling artwork already created.
For example, Marcel Duchamp's 1919 piece of work 'LHOOQ' is a reproduction of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa whereby he drew a moustache and beard over the painting and renamed the title, which if pronounced in French sounds like "she is hot in the arse" (elle a chaud au cul). Works like this are becoming increasingly more common in the world of the internet, but is this not degrading the authority of art, in particular it's institutional authority?
Another example is Banksy's 2013 Mona Lisa Mujahideen, which show how these works of art are becoming commodities - such graffiti walls being knocked down for the sake of being placed in galleries. Again, this diminishes the authority and meaning of such pieces where it almost becomes no longer graffiti, as it is no longer a piece of free art on the streets to be enjoyed by everyone.
Abstract Expressionism:
Jackson Pollock was an American painter typically seen as the pioneer of abstract expressionism in the 1940's. His paintings were produced through flicks of paint onto paper or canvas which were very gestural and strategically placed.
This art movement was then banned by social realists, claiming that it had no real value or meaning as a piece of art, and that it was a limitation on people and art. For example, Roy Lichtenstein's 1965 'Red Painting' was a response to Pollock's work, suggesting it as a cultural weapon due to funding Pollock was receiving from the CIA for the use of his art as propaganda.
This raises the question as to whether or not his artworks were freedom of expression or simply expression for the sake of his funding? Do such artworks then become images of revolution and political struggle? Meanings are lost and changed through this process of using art as a weapon.
Viewing Art in the Digital Age (2):
The use of art as a symbol for something or as propaganda is enhanced through the use of the internet in the 21st Century. For example, Jean Jullien's 2014 Peace for Paris illustration became an unofficial symbol of solidarity between people at the time of the Paris terror attacks. It shows how an automatic, spontaneous moment of expression can be reused through the internet until it eventually becomes known as a symbol for a major world event or crisis. The same can be said for photographs, paintings, etc.
This shows how throughout history, image making can be used to bring something to life or even seen to preserve it, and how the development of the internet has impacted the ways in which we now view art.
Lascaux Caves, France:
Cave paintings from the Lascaux Caves in France have been preserved from 20,000 years ago. These paintings include images of cattle and various other animals, people, shapes and patterns, which are believed to be a way for people living in the Stone Age to record their days, much like a diary. Other theories suggest these paintings were attempts to communicate with a higher power, such as a God.
Images and symbols from these Lascaux cave paintings have since been retained in art and design today. An example of this is Cy Twombly's 2001 painting, Lepanto Panel 8 in his use of colour, shape and pattern. In this way it can be seen as a way of connecting the 21st Century to 20,000 years ago.
Another example of this can be seen through Richard Long's 1989 'Red Earth Circle' which was created using sand and mud. This piece of work enabled a continuity between aboriginal art and western contemporary art, much like the connections between Stone Age cave paintings and some 21st Century artworks.
However, this artwork raised the problem of cultural appropriation, defined as
- 'the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of another culture'.
Cultural appropriation can be seen as controversial, particularly in art, when elements of a minority culture are used by members of another majority culture outside of their original cultural context, therefore seeming to diminishing the culture of it's identity.
Spiritual and Emotional Responses to Art:
Some works of art require travel to go and view, such as the Rothko Chapel, Houston, Texas which opened in 1971. On the walls are fourteen works of art by Mark Rothko, all painted black but with subtle colour hues, which vary depending on the lighting on each particular day. This chapel soon after opening became a place for international cultures to exchange religious and philosophical beliefs, a place of prayer, with some viewers displaying very spiritual and emotional responses towards the paintings.
However, it is argued that it may not be the case of the paintings themselves causing these types of responses. Is it simply the way the institution has framed the artwork?
The paintings displayed in the Rothko Chapel are laid out in an octagonal shaped room, where the walls are slightly darker (an off-white shade) and where the lighting is subtly dimmer than the rest of the rooms in the gallery. Because of this it is argued by some that it is in fact the institutional framing of particular works of art in galleries that create these emotional responses. Are these responses brought on through a sense institutional authority, whereby we behave in a way we think we are expected to behave rather than produce our own natural responses to the artwork?
Take the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci for instance. Millions travel to the Louvre in France to view this iconic painting. Is this painting simply meaningful because of it's essential characteristics as a painting or is it because of the queues of people waiting to see it that creates it's meaning?
The Mona Lisa is the only piece of artwork protected behind bullet-proof glass. Again, is it the gallery that creates this importance because of the way it has been presented? Does displaying the artwork behind bullet-proof glass give the painting it's meaning?
Viewing Artwork in the Digital Age:
In the world of mobile phones, cameras, video recorders and the internet, it is a lot easier now to view artwork, in particular for free. However, this poses the problem of stealing and recycling artwork already created.
For example, Marcel Duchamp's 1919 piece of work 'LHOOQ' is a reproduction of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa whereby he drew a moustache and beard over the painting and renamed the title, which if pronounced in French sounds like "she is hot in the arse" (elle a chaud au cul). Works like this are becoming increasingly more common in the world of the internet, but is this not degrading the authority of art, in particular it's institutional authority?
Another example is Banksy's 2013 Mona Lisa Mujahideen, which show how these works of art are becoming commodities - such graffiti walls being knocked down for the sake of being placed in galleries. Again, this diminishes the authority and meaning of such pieces where it almost becomes no longer graffiti, as it is no longer a piece of free art on the streets to be enjoyed by everyone.
Abstract Expressionism:
Jackson Pollock was an American painter typically seen as the pioneer of abstract expressionism in the 1940's. His paintings were produced through flicks of paint onto paper or canvas which were very gestural and strategically placed.
This art movement was then banned by social realists, claiming that it had no real value or meaning as a piece of art, and that it was a limitation on people and art. For example, Roy Lichtenstein's 1965 'Red Painting' was a response to Pollock's work, suggesting it as a cultural weapon due to funding Pollock was receiving from the CIA for the use of his art as propaganda.
This raises the question as to whether or not his artworks were freedom of expression or simply expression for the sake of his funding? Do such artworks then become images of revolution and political struggle? Meanings are lost and changed through this process of using art as a weapon.
Viewing Art in the Digital Age (2):
The use of art as a symbol for something or as propaganda is enhanced through the use of the internet in the 21st Century. For example, Jean Jullien's 2014 Peace for Paris illustration became an unofficial symbol of solidarity between people at the time of the Paris terror attacks. It shows how an automatic, spontaneous moment of expression can be reused through the internet until it eventually becomes known as a symbol for a major world event or crisis. The same can be said for photographs, paintings, etc.
This shows how throughout history, image making can be used to bring something to life or even seen to preserve it, and how the development of the internet has impacted the ways in which we now view art.
COP Lecture Series: Visual Literacy - The Language of Design
Visual Literacy - The Language of Design:
The premis of this lecture was to understand the meanings of visual communication and visual literacy, and how these are used in design.
Aimed at answering the question - why is this not just an apple?
As a young graphic designer, it is a part of my job to communicate - we need to be able to communicate ideas and concepts effectively to various audiences in a range of different concepts. So visual communication and visual literacy are important aspects of this.
(1). Visual communication is defined as 'the process of sending and receiving messages using type and image'.
This is based on a shared understanding of signs, symbols, gestures as well as objects, which can be affected by audience, context, media and method of distribution.
(2). Visual literacy is defined as 'the ability to construct meaning from visual type and image', created through interpreting images of the past, present and other cultures to produce images that effectively communicate a message to an audience.
Principle one:
This can be used as a global system for communication as a result of social and cultural conditioning. For instance, a toilet sign can be correctly read even if it is in another language purely based on universal signs, symbols and representation. This includes certain colours, forms and the context in which the signs are in which we have learnt through social and cultural conditioning when growing up, therefore creating a universal language to enable designers to work creatively.
Principle two:
Visual syntax refers to the pictorial structure and visual organisation of elements, which represents the basic building blocks of an image that can affect the way in which we read it. These elements include, framing, format, colour, weight, composition, manipulation, etc. (principle six).
Visual synecdoche:
This term is applied when a part of something is used to represent the whole or visa versa.
The main subject is substituted for something that is inherently connected to it, however this only works if what the synecdoche represents is universally recognised. In this case, it would be the Statue of Liberty.
Visual metonym:
A symbolic image that is used to make reference to something with a more literal meaning. For example, a yellow taxi or cab. Through association, the viewer makes a connection between the image and intended subject, however unlike a visual synecdoche, the two images show a close relationship but are not intrinsically linked.
Visual metaphor:
This is used to transfer the meaning of one image to another. These images may have no close relationship but conveys an impression about something unfamiliar comparing it with something that is familiar, for example, the big apple.
Such associations with the word 'apple' include those along the lines of health and well-being which were used in a New York ad campaign to attract people to the American city claiming that it is good for their mental and physical well-being, a fresh new city, hence being known as 'The Big Apple'.
Principle nine:
The premis of this lecture was to understand the meanings of visual communication and visual literacy, and how these are used in design.
Aimed at answering the question - why is this not just an apple?
As a young graphic designer, it is a part of my job to communicate - we need to be able to communicate ideas and concepts effectively to various audiences in a range of different concepts. So visual communication and visual literacy are important aspects of this.
(1). Visual communication is defined as 'the process of sending and receiving messages using type and image'.
This is based on a shared understanding of signs, symbols, gestures as well as objects, which can be affected by audience, context, media and method of distribution.
(2). Visual literacy is defined as 'the ability to construct meaning from visual type and image', created through interpreting images of the past, present and other cultures to produce images that effectively communicate a message to an audience.
Principle one:
- Visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate and make meaning from information that is presented in the form of an image.
This can be used as a global system for communication as a result of social and cultural conditioning. For instance, a toilet sign can be correctly read even if it is in another language purely based on universal signs, symbols and representation. This includes certain colours, forms and the context in which the signs are in which we have learnt through social and cultural conditioning when growing up, therefore creating a universal language to enable designers to work creatively.Principle two:
- Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be read.
For example, instructional pictures using sign, symbol and representation to create this universal language for communication.
Principle three:
- Visual communication is made up of symbols whose meaning results from their existence in particular contexts. The conventions of visual communication is a combination of universal and cultural symbols.
Other examples include changing the colour and form of the symbols. A green cross would now represent first aid and a red cross would represent the Red Cross Charity. However, we stretch the form of the cross using these colours and they become flags of countries such as England and Denmark.
Visual literacy is not static, it continues to develop!
Principle four:
- The basic premise of visual literacy is that for any language to exist, an agreement must be created amongst a group of people that one thing will stand for another.
This then leads on to the idea of visual semantics and principle five, being:
- Being visually literate requires an awareness of the relationship between what is called visual syntax and visual semantics.
Visual syntax refers to the pictorial structure and visual organisation of elements, which represents the basic building blocks of an image that can affect the way in which we read it. These elements include, framing, format, colour, weight, composition, manipulation, etc. (principle six).
For example, an egg could represent various things such as Easter, new life, growth, food, etc but frame it in a different way by adding an egg-cup and we now recognise it specifically as a boiled egg.
We create these representations through emotional and physiological responses, and this shows how presentation and layout are important aspects of design.
We create these representations through emotional and physiological responses, and this shows how presentation and layout are important aspects of design.
Visual semantics refers to the way an image fits into a cultural process of communication. This includes the relationship between meaning and form, and the way meaning is created. Elements of visual semantics includes, cultural references, social ideas, religious beliefs, recognised symbols, etc. (principle seven).
Principle eight:
- Semiotics is the study of signs and sign processes, also known as semiosis. Indication, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification and communication are also parts of this.
Semiotics is closely related to the field of linguistics which studies the structure and meaning of language, and also studies non-linguistic sign systems, visual language and visual literacy. Elements of this include, symbol, sign, signifier, metaphor, metonym and synecdoche.
For example, Apple (brand).
It's symbol would be the logo - it symbolises an apple,
the sign would also be it's identity, as it is a sign for apple products,
and it's signifier would be the brand itself, as it signifies innovation, creativity, design and lifestyle.
Other associations when put into context: So why is this more than just an apple?
Visual synecdoche:
This term is applied when a part of something is used to represent the whole or visa versa.
The main subject is substituted for something that is inherently connected to it, however this only works if what the synecdoche represents is universally recognised. In this case, it would be the Statue of Liberty.
Visual metonym:
A symbolic image that is used to make reference to something with a more literal meaning. For example, a yellow taxi or cab. Through association, the viewer makes a connection between the image and intended subject, however unlike a visual synecdoche, the two images show a close relationship but are not intrinsically linked.
Visual metaphor:
This is used to transfer the meaning of one image to another. These images may have no close relationship but conveys an impression about something unfamiliar comparing it with something that is familiar, for example, the big apple.
Such associations with the word 'apple' include those along the lines of health and well-being which were used in a New York ad campaign to attract people to the American city claiming that it is good for their mental and physical well-being, a fresh new city, hence being known as 'The Big Apple'.
Principle nine:
- "Work the metaphor. Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent. Work on what it stands for" - Incomplete Manifesto for Growth, Bruce Mau.
So why is this not just an apple? It is a picture of an apple.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)