Post 3

This week in class we discussed various concepts and definitions in design.  Visual Communication is the ability to evaluate, apply, and create conceptual visual representations.  By examining the history and trends in design across culture, we can gain an understanding of the meanings of images and objects, and their relation to lifestyle, product and consumption.  Semiotics is the study of meaning, beginning with language and branching toward symbols and what they symbolize in design.  Meaning can be direct, inferred, metaphorical, or carried by association.  This allows for meaning to be communicated through symbols, movements and images, such as gestures that signify an intention, logos that signify their respective corporations, accessories that indicate ones status, and clothing that signify the era.  In index symbols and trace indication, meaning is communicated through deeper inquisition, as in a shadow that signifies the object, streams of hair to signify wind, and coffee stains on documents to signify an office environment.  The Information Theory allows us to analyze the process of communicating information in more depth—the sender must discern the message and the channel and ascertain a means of encoding the message while considering the problem of noise, for the receiver to decode and interpret.  The Information Theory, however, may not be a sufficient model for all means of communication, as communication is often a simultaneous and dynamic process rather than a linear process.  Despite this, it is highly relevant, especially in visual communication, as an image or object is not animate and cannot change.  The Information Theory also highlights the importance of acknowledging and dealing with noise.  All information that is transmitted faces the noise in the environment, in the persons involved, and in other areas.  Naturally, people tend to interpret things through the mindsets and paradigms they have been raised with and accept.  Furthermore, the brain strives for order and predictability, avoiding cognitive dissonance—we may ignore information that is contrary to our beliefs or paradigms, yet connect very strongly with material that further affirms and proves them.  All this is necessary to examine and consider in visual communication.  Below are examples of symbols that rely heavily on semiotics and interpretation, intentionally employing techniques of cognitive dissonance (disrupting normal thinking patterns) and culture jamming (disrupting and challenging mainstream culture).

The camel from RJ Cigarettes is depicted in a state of chemotherapy, pointing a finger at what the industry and product really do.

The Starbucks Coffee logo is replaced with symbols for American currency to expose the lucrative business and mega corporation.

An ad for what seems to be a cologne called "Obsession" that has a muscular man staring down his pants, alluding to what men are obsessed about, and what products they buy to feed their obsessions.