OUGD401 THE LANGUAGE OF VISUAL CULTURE. VISUAL LITERACY

Visual communication is all about sending and receiving messages using type and image. The message must be able to be understood however, otherwise it isn't communicating any message well. Visual communication is also the shared understanding of signs, symbols and objects.

This is an example of shared understanding of signs and symbols. This is a Turkish toilet sign, and although I don't speak Turkish and have never been to Turkey, I know this is a sign for toilets due to the simple illustrations, that can easily be recognised worldwide, due to common similarities in toilet signs across the world.

Visual communication is also affected by audience, context, the media and the method of distribution, as some people are more likely to understand certain messages depending on their age, and their sense of humour maybe.

Visual literacy is "the ability to interpret, negotiate and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image." It is the ability to construct meaning from images and type. It is interpreting images of the past and present from a range of different cultures, as you must consider what came before and what surrounds us.

This is the logo for the "Catholic Church's Archdiocesan Youth Commission", which wasn't looked at too carefully before it was commissioned, and looks a bit dodgy, especially with all the past controversy about the few minority of Catholic priests committing sexual acts with minors.

Visual literacy is also images that effectively communicate a message to an audience, as we become experts within our practices, this message becomes clearer more frequently, and the message can become more complex. Visual literacy is also based on the idea that pictures can be read. This links back to the toilet sign photograph I have included earlier. Even though I couldn't read the text on the sign, the illustrations themselves told me that it was a sign for a toilet. All that is necessary for any language to exist is an agreement amongst a group of people that one thing will stand for another. This is also the same with the toilet sign, and as well the fire exit sign.

This is the fire exit sign that is used around Europe and other parts of the world, including New York and Canada. This sign is very simple and works across the world as the text can easily be changed into different languages, and works because different countries have agreed to use this sign nationwide, so that everybody has the same understanding of what it means. This will also help people in emergencies when they're in different countries and don't speak the language. They will always recognise this sign.

However, two images can also mean the same thing, such as these symbols for Christianity.

The fish symbol and the cross symbol both reference Christianity. The cross is what most people associate with Christianity, as they believe Jesus died for them on the cross, however Christians prefer the fish symbol, when Jesus performed one of his miracles, as it isn't a constant reminder of his death. These images may be very different but both mean the same thing.

The symbols for Christianity aren't the only things that mean the same thing. Symbols can be manipulated very slightly, just by changing their colour for example to mean something very different. For example if we take the cross symbol above, and shorten the vertical line, this makes a plus symbol used in maths.

If we change the colour of the cross to white and give it a green background, then this changes the meaning of the cross to be for First Aid.

If we change the background colour to red we get the Swiss flag. Very similar design but completely different meaning.

If you extend the cross to fit the whole area, and move it to the left a little bit, then you get the flag for Denmark.

Moving the cross back to the centre and reversing the colours, the country changes again, this time to England.

This shows that one symbol, in this case the cross, can mean so many different things just by changing one small thing each time, whether that be colour, scale or organisation. This shows that symbols are cultural and international, not just localised.

Another cultural understanding of design is that pink typically refers to women, and blue typically refers to men. The link between pink and women is really strong, however the link between blue and men is less strong, due to so many other colours such as green, which could also refer to men.

This is best explained using a typical toilet sign. Here the man in blue and the woman is pink. This makes you immediately think that the blue is mens and the pink is women's toilets, especially with the woman wearing a dress. However if you swap the colours over this makes you question which person is for which toilet, as you so strongly relate one image to that certain colour, that when this is changed, you begin to question whether the image alone means the same as it did before the colour change. 

Being visually literate requires an awareness of visual syntax and visual semantics and the relationship between them. Visual syntax is the pictorial structure and visual organisation of elements It is the way we 'read it'. You can have the same elements, but how you present or organise them, and how you photograph or light them changes how you feel and react towards it. Visual semantics is the way an image fits into a cultural process of communication. It is intangible elements we can't control, but can acknowledge and understand. Visual semantics is the way images are received and understood, which is beyond your control, however it is the designers job, and everyone involved in producing it's, is to ensure people understand the message, and is received the same as the designers meant for it to be.

The logo for "we love UK made products" is a prime example of when a message is communicated incorrectly, due to the designers not researching current logos of a similar style, to ensure their logo isn't controversial or looks similar to other logo's. Here the logo looks very similar to that of the British National Party, or BNP. This is unfortunate, as this isn't at all what the initial logo is for, and BNP is a very controversial political party, not one that anybody would be happy to join without consideration.

This is a photograph of an apple. It is not an actual apple as you cannot reach out and touch it, if you did all you'd find was a screen, and it has most probably been photoshopped as you cannot find apples as perfect as this that haven't been modified digitally. The apple is a sign for Apple products, it is Apple's identity. Apple, and this apple, signifies quality, innovation, creativity, design, lifestyle, everything that identity represents. 

If you but a large apple (left) next to a small apple (right), you see the apple on the left as being the big apple, which makes you think of New York City and the Statue of Liberty and yellow cabs, everything that you associate with the big apple, or New York City. 

VISUAL SYNECDOCHE

A visual synecdoche is when a small part represents the whole, for example a large green apple represents New York City, or the Statue of Liberty represents New York City as well. The small part almost replaces the whole of the place it is representing. This only works however if the connection is universally recognised.

VISUAL METONYM

A visual metonym is linked to a specific place but not unique to it. It is linked to it but doesn't represent it, for example yellow cabs are linked to New York City, however they are also used in other major cities within America, so are linked to New York City, but don't represent it as they are also present in other cities. 

VISUAL METAPHOR

A visual metaphor is used to transfer the meaning from one image to another. For example New York City took the image of a big, green apple and it's meaning, which is crisp and fresh, healthy and tempting, and applied it to New York City in the 1970's to give it a positive, new name, to help reinvent itself, as previously it was known for having a lot of bad crime. "Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent." - The incomplete manifesto for growth.