Visual vs Symbolic Language

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Visual Report

In this photo we see the subject of an older decorated veteran hugging a younger decorated veteran. The younger veteran has a prosthetic hand. The hugging mens' faces are expressing emotion. Behind the two men are two other men: one who’s uniform and posture suggests he is in active duty and one whom is older and probably retired, wearing a blue beret and tie. These men all have a collection of medals and badges on their uniforms and hats. It appears that they are gathered outside of a building, perhaps for a ceremony. There is the edge of a large American Flag that can be seen hanging on the left side of the frame. Also some sort of camera or audio equipment seems to be present in the background. The hugging men’s faces express emotion while the men stationed behind them carry stoic expressions.

           

Response/Feelings Invoked

-emotion

-nationalism

-sadness and grief

-pride

-evokes thoughts of the cost of war

-hug seen as a gesture of respect and gratitude

-veterans hand most likely lost in war

-the men are probably here in ceremony

Symbols

medals & badges – denotes recognition for service, honor

US Flag – denotes America, pride

facial expressions of hugging men – denote emotion

facial Expression of ben in background – denote stoicism, duty

prosthetic hand- denotes cost of war, can represent the human violence and casualty inherent in war itself.

camera equipment – denotes the media

camouflage uniform – denotes active duty

suit and tie uniforms – denotes veterans

The Underlying Compositional Structure Contributes to the Felt Theme

The underlying compositional structure of this image does well to express the emotion I get from viewing it. It is an emotional shot, and the complex mix of emotions – from sadness to pride is well represented by the central figures embraced in the foreground. The other elements, including the active duty officer, the American flag, and the media equipment in the background of the shot do a good job of establishing the many other aspects of war: Nationalism symbolized by the flag, media presence, tradition (observed by the various age of veterans in the shot and their medals,) are in the background, yet are present, contributing to the story of the gentlemen embracing in the foreground of the shot.

            Through the composition and framing of this shot, a lot of depth of meaning is achieved. Finally, it’s worth mentioning that the prosthetic hand of the younger gentlemen serves to exaggerate the emotional mood already present in the picture. This prosthetic can be seen as a symbol of the cost of war.

Meaning 2 Excersize

 

Interactions Between the 3 Levels of Meaning

image by Stuart Thursby

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SUMMARY

This Visual Communication piece works to merge the representational, abstract, and symbolic levels of meaning in an exciting and thought-provoking way.

REPRESENTATIONAL LEVEL

On a representational level, this image is in itself a ‘design’. We see familiar objects in the letters we recognize, but they’ve been assembled together compositionally to form a bigger picture than the sum of their individual parts. The impact of this is strong, because the designer did it well. Again, you could say that what is being represented here is an interesting design.

The impact this work has on the viewer, I would say, is that of pleasure and intrigue. Pleasure in seeing such a beautifully composed piece, and intrigue due to the process needed to decode the message within.

Through the 3 levels of visual meaning, the ideas of ‘typography’ and ‘design’ are being presented – the words, on a representational level, abstractly in the composition of the page, and symbolically through the letters used to compose the image, which ultimately express an idea.

ABSTRACT LEVEL

The understructure of this image is contrasting black and white lines weaved against a bold red background. The kinesthetic quality of this is quite arresting, providing a direct emotional impact. The juxtaposing black and white against the saturated red makes this image feel powerful to the viewer.

The abstract elements used to compose this piece help fulfill the representational level’s goal of providing a design. This is called functional abstraction. Through the letters, (or essentially, lines) and colors, a calculated and interesting design has been achieved. The abstract level is working with the representational here by showcasing the words ‘design’ and ‘typography’ in an abstract way.

It is interesting to see the symbolic elements at play here. They aren’t fully exposed and immediately read. Instead, the viewer has to follow the weave of the pattern of letters to decode the phrase “Design is Typography.”

Again, Typography and Design are presented here representationally, symbolically, and abstractly because the image makes the viewer ponder the concept of typography and how we use it as designers to communicate ideas. It should be noted that this image could have been made with any number of typeface, but I feel the designer chose Helvetica because of its more simplified, symbolic nature and how that lends itself to composing this very active abstract design.

SYMBOLIC LEVEL

Symbolically, the image uses letters to express its message. In fact, the entire piece is composed of letters, or symbols, to create the design. These aren’t just arbitrary lines that were used to create this piece, but coded symbols assembled purposely to express an idea. The idea that “Design is Typography” is essentially proven here by the very nature of this piece.

The impact on the viewer, on this symbolic level, is quite exciting because it’s advancing the symbolic level of typography to both an abstract and representational plane through the way that this piece was constructed. Imagine if all our sentences were composed in such visually remarkable ways, rather than simply laid out in plain fashion on a straight line.

MEANING 1 EXERCISE

REPRESENTATIONAL SKULL

This is a photo of an actual human skull. Photography of object create representations that are the closest we can get to actually seeing them in person. A real visual report of a skull is obtained through this representation. The image captures large amounts of detail, including facial bone structure etc. From this photo, one could study visual facts. Finally, the image of a real skull, is a powerful one for people because it evokes a variety of emotions.

ABSTRACT SKULL

Heer, the visual elements of the skull have been distilled to the point where we no longer see things such as details in the bone. It is also fake, a plastic model used to represent reality. The coloring is far from realistic, but in a sense adds to the mystic of the skull, emphasizing its 'supernatural' nature. By being an abstract, it can encompass even more meaning than the representational because it broadens the idea of a skull. One could read Death, Fear, Voodoo, or perhaps Fun from this abstraction.

    SKULL SYMBOL

    Here the skull is reduced to its ultimate simplicity. As a symbol, it has been reproduced many times throughout history. It is quick and easily recognized as a skull. The idea of the skull is broadened even more in its symbolic form. Different messages can be attached through this symbol, such as 'Danger' or even 'Death'. The use of the skull as a symbol has origins dating back to before written language. This speaks to the universality of symbolism.