Visual Communications - Episode One

VISUAL COMMUNICATION.
NOT WRITTEN,
NOT VERBAL.

¤ Has to be man-made. It's our way of communicating with other people.

Denotation: Literal meaning of a word. A dove is a dove, a bird.
Connotation: Associations connected to a certain word. A dove is a symbol of peace.
Pictogram: A picture that gives a message quickly. Red X means "No".

¤ Visual communication relies on context and culture.
¤ Visual communication is the communication through art; art comes in three categories, in order of most valued to less valued:
> Fine Art - Paintings etc.
> Commercial Art - Graphic design, advertising etc.
> Popular Culture - Clothing, video game, TV etc.
>> Sub-cultures - Purely about belonging to...

¤ Codes belong to a certain age group, someone who is 75 would not understand a CD cover made for teenagers (otherwise it would be pointless).

Semiotics: Study of MEANING.
Material Culture: e.g. iPods were made for the current generation.
Formalism: Looks at the formal elements: line, colour, shape, form etc.
Content: Denotation / Connotation.

¤ Cultural Critique
¤ Facial expression / body language

¤ Shannon & Weaver's Process Model of Communication ¤

Information Source -> Transmitter -> [Noise] -> Receiver -> Destination

> The same model could be applied to visual communications:

Client -> Designer Artefact -> [Noise] -> Media Outlet -> Audience

Details:
Client - The client of a job, the art director, etc.
Designer Artefact - The product.
[Noise] - Something that can interfere with the communication between your product/design and the audience. An example would be cultural difference, a person living in the USA may not understand Australian slangs used in an ad.
Media Outlet - The medium of which your product promotes to the audience, e.g. billboards, TV ad, brochure.
Audience - The target market, always design something in mind for ONE person.