MESS AGE 路 MEANING 路 MEDIA VISUAL PROCESS DIARY
CONTENT S Expanding on the knowledge gained from Symbol Systems, this Visual Process Diary explores signs and semantic conventions within communication systems and media.
Author & Creative Director: Morgan Brown Produced for educational purposes at Billy Blue College of Design CDC200A Message, Meaning, Media, Assessment 1: Visual Process Diary Š Morgan Brown 2014
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LECTURE The Science of Signs & Semiotics
LECTURE
LECTURE Signs, Symbols & Meaning
Activities Article Analysis Sign, Signifier, Signified Ways of Meaning
Activities Visual Grammar Emoji Tales The Save Icon Weasel Words
Sign, System & Language
ACTIVITIES Fairytale Instructions
The Science of signs & semiotics
semiotics se·mi·ot·ics noun (used with a singular verb) 1. The study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behavior; the analysis of systems of communication, as language, gestures, or clothing. 2. A general theory of signs and symbolism, usually divided into the branches of pragmatics, semantics, and syntactics.
Semiotics is an investigation into how meaning is created and how the meaning is communicated. Its origins lie in the academic study of how signs and symbols (visual and linguistic) create meaning. Semiotics is a way of seeing the world, and of understanding how the landscape and culture in which we live has a massive impact on all of us unconsciously. Everyone is a semiotician, because we all constantly, yet unconsciously, interpret the meaning of signs around us — from traffic lights to colours of flags, the shapes of cars, the architecture of buildings, and the design of cereal packaging.
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Nothing is a sign —unless it is interpreted as a sign
sign, signifier, signified
A SIGN ONLY BECOMES A SIGN WHEN IT IS PRESCRIBED WITH MEANING Sign: only becomes a sign when it is prescribed with meaning Signifier: any material thing that signifies, e.g., words on a page, a facial expression, an image. Signified: the concept that a signifier refers to.
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Engagement ring Diamond rings (sign/signifier) have been used for centuries as a sign of being engaged or betrothed. A ring is an unbroken circle, which many cultures understand as representative of eternity, signifying something that is never-ending. The ring itself signifies love, eternal commitment and loyalty.
sign, signifier, signified
Google Google logo/word is a sign — it is the sound the logo creates in our minds. The idea of what ‘Google’ is, for example, is signified. Google is a random invented word, there is nothing in the word that would suggest it is a digital search engine on the Internet. However, when you see the ‘Google’ logo (the sign) you automatically connect it to and the act of conducting an Internet search. For example: ‘Just Google it’.
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Policeman’s Hat The sign (being the hat), forms part of the policeman’s uniform. On its own, it’s just a hat. However in context, it signifies authority, power and law enforcement. Depending on your personal context, seeing this icon of authority may make you feel safe and protected, or on the other hand, uncomfortable, guilty and uneasy.
sign, signifier, signified
Disinfectant The potent smell of disinfectant can be read and understood as a sign, signifying a sterile environment, which in tern is associated with hospitals and medical practitioners. The smell can be interpreted differently by others, however to me; the smell of disinfectant has a negative stigma, associating it with illness, surgery, pain and suffering.
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Similes
Similes are a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared. Similes, are often used by writers, poets, and songwriters to add depth and to emphasise what they are trying to convey to their audience. Similes can be funny, serious, unpleasant, or creative. Useless as tits on a bull Extremely useless, to the point of absurdity, as bulls do not have milk producing teats. When used in context, this term is an effective way to express frustration, particularly when referring to a person who cannot do their job properly. Clean as a whistle The saying ‘clean as a whistle’ means to be as smooth and clean as a clear-toned whistle, meaning that the person or item has no imperfections or is not guilty. The origin of the saying is not really known, though it appeared in a number of writings from the 18th century.
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Light as a feather Used to refer to someone’s weight, implying they weigh next to nothing and could be easily lifted. Cute as a button Adorable, cute, charming, attractive, almost always with the connotation of being small, and therefore extra cute. Snug as a bug in a rug When someone gets in a very comfortable and safe position or place. Often associated with small children, when they are wrapped up in bed, in a pure state of comfort, warm and cozy. Tough as nails Used to describe someone or something that is totally hardcore intense
Metonym
From the Greek, ‘change of name’ is used as a figure of speech to add poetic colour to words to make them come to life. Metonyms are generally used in developing literary symbolism i.e. it gives more profound meanings to otherwise common ideas and objects. A word that denotes one thing but refers to a related thing, for example Washington is a metonym for the United States government. Other examples include: Dish Refers to an entire plate of food/meal. In context: ‘She’s planning to serve the dish early in the evening’ She wears the pants Pants referring to status/ the boss/ the person in charge in a marriage or family. Based on the idea that men are traditionally in control and wear trousers. She works with newspaper Newspaper stands to represent a group of journalists and editors working together to churn out news items. Ears: Refers to asking for someones attention. In context: ‘can you lend me your ears’. Hand: Refers to asking for help. In context: ‘can you give me a hand’
Wheels: Representative of a c one. In context: ‘he has a nice
car, particularly a nice e wheels’
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Metonym A metonym is mainly used for reference, and employed to represent something it is closely associated with. For example ‘Wall street is in crisis’. In this example Wall Street represents the American financial world, much of which is located on this famous New York Street. Similarly, Hollywood is used as a metonym for the American film industry because of the fame and cultural identity which is associated with it. Hollywood lies within the district of Los Angeles, California, which is the epicenter of film studios and movie stars.
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SILVER FOX sil路ver路 fox路 (metronym) 1. An attractive older man. Generally, one that has gray hair and is often desired by younger women. 2. Sexy older men that maintain their physique, that have gray hair and are the classiest guys around. 3. They have style, money and a 20 year old girlfriends 4. George Clooney (textbook example), need I say more.
This term demonstrates the use of silver as a metonymic association with age, (the greying hair of an older man) and a metaphoric association with a fox, an animal, to demonstrate animalistic sexual impulse. The term itself describes men who specifically seek sexual attention, as an animal is only guided by instinct. Also, this word was probably coined using a fox because it can easily be associated with a cougar, the female version of the silver fox.
Article Analysis
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British penguins given ‘uppers’ for winter blues UK penguins are being medicated for depression due to gloomy weather. Just like us, birds feel the effects of the weather as much as we do! Summary word: Trick (noun) A cunning act or scheme intended to deceive or outwit someone.
Source: News Limited Net work, 8 Februar y 2014
Sign, system & l anguage
Is there a grammar of vis communication
visual nication?
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The need to tell and hear stories is essential to the human species, second in necessity after nourishment and before love & shelter. Millions survive without love or a home, almost none in silence, as silence quickly leads to narrative, and the sound of story is the dominant sound of our lives. The heart of any society is the desire to communicate. Through communication we have developed language, which plays a vital role in producing and exchanging meaning. Our world has been constructed through the communication of human experiences, recorded through story (visually and verbally) which continues to evolve with time.
rder to k the rules have to know rules
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elements and techniques Communication requires language. That language can be oral as in the spoken word, it can be gestural as in sign language, or it can be visual as in design. You must understand the language to be able to effectively communicate using that language. The same goes for visual language. Design elements are like letters and words. By adding design principles and applying them to design elements, we form visual grammar. The way we construct these elements like the layout and composition, can significantly influence the meaning constructed and read off that image. Visual language is created through the use of the following elements and techniques: Relationship between elements Objects Structure Mood Texture Social distance Composition Depth of field Focus Shape Colour scheme Body language Image Perspective Symbolism
In br yo th
Visual Grammar examples
Super Size me Hero image suggests a satirical nature and implies that this man’s story/lifestyle choice is the main focus of the documentary. The fries stuffed into the mouth imply the film is about fast food. Colours are bright and bold and representative of fast food giant McDonalds, indicating the documentary has a direct relationship with the company, their services and their products. Text is bold and dominate, strengthening the ‘super sized’ food subtext. Hell and back again Visual imagery plays a vital role in portraying the context of this film. The images and colours used suggest a serious tone — a sober recount of the soldier’s war experiences. The clever use of reflection perhaps indicates that the story focuses on both sides of this man’s life and the repercussions of war ( juxtaposition of family life, verses the isolation of life on the battlefields).
Caribbean Creation Colour creates an immediate tone, suggesting a bright and cheerful nature. The choice of colours is fresh, energizing and invigorating — an indication as to how one may feel when consuming the product. The placement of the Malibu bottle dominates and becomes the focal point for the poster. The artistic placement of the fruit creates a fun and amusing character to represent the product — perhaps suggesting that Malibu is the life of the party, providing, fun, entertainment and laughter to the consumers. There is a mystic sense of feeling brought to the audience, which suggests drinking this product will revitalize your mood, taking you away to an exotic place. Drinking Malibu will immerse you in the belief that you are actually in the Caribbean!
The placement of the title ‘Hell and back again’ successfully splits the image and assists the audience to understand the nature and plot of the film.
Inside Deepthroat This poster is extremely powerful. The minimal use of graphics strongly suggests that the documentary has explicit sexual content.
Lighting plays a fundamental role and creates two individual scenes/atmosphere. The morning glow in the top image suggests a new life and fresh beginnings. This artistically contrasts with the bottom image, which portrays a negative connotation, suggestive of the emotions and feeling experienced by the solider whilst at war (depression, isolation, survival).
The dominant red lips act as the hero image. The extreme close up is somewhat invasive and without text, this image would still portray a very strong message, whilst still setting the tone for the film. The use of red is passionate, penetrating, potent and seductive — a strong indication of the films contents.
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S AVE ICON
While the floppy disk might seem old-fashioned, we all associate it’s meaning to ‘save’. Even if an actual floppy is no longer the storage medium of choice, the familiarity of the icon ultimately becomes much more important than the original ‘logic’ behind choosing that symbol. This is a solid example of what semioticians call the arbitrariness of the sign: it doesn’t matter what label (or image) we attach to a particular concept, as long as everyone in a given community is in agreement on what that symbol means. We’re fond of trying to find logic in those associations (often after the fact), but logic is, in this context, far less important than continuity.
UNSAVED
Our challenge — redesign the ‘save’ icon communicating it’s meaning in a timeless form. Not as simple as it sounds! Finding a unique representation of an existing icon and maintaining the integrity of it’s meaning, without being ambiguous, is bloody difficult! When I think about ‘saving’ I associate the meaning with preservation, keeping something locked away in a safe place, protected and secure.
SAVING
The underlying inspiration for my design was an airtight container, acting as a vessel to save and preserve the contents. I chose a geometric hexagon to represent the container — why? The hexagon is one of the geometric shapes that occur in nature. Found in the formation of honeycomb it is associated with bees and their co-operative, hard working natures. When you think about the painstaking hours you spend on creating a document, like the bees, it’s important to know your work will be saved somewhere safe. Could this icon be an effective way to communicate the action of saving — Absolutely, if everyone agrees!
SAVED
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Emoji tales
Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills share the honor of being the first Australian explorers to cross the continent from south to north — though they paid the ultimate price for their triumph. Their expedition was one of the largest, best equipped and most elaborate in 19th century Australia. However, both men failed to return to Melbourne, perishing from exhaustion and starvation at Cooper’s Creek in North Queensland. With an extensive library of Emoji, this task was quite easy to create. As a team we created a detailed visual account of Wills and Bourke’s expedition.
WEASEL WORDS
10x WHITER 10x BRIGHTER 10x MORE BULLSHIT
It’s a widespread belief that weasels suck the yolks from bird’s eggs, leaving only the empty shell. This belief is the basis of the term ‘weasel words’, used to describe statements that have had the life sucked out of them! Haven’t they ever! Weasel words are everywhere and commonly used in advertising in attempt to manipulate us into buying ‘the new, improved, authentic packet of traditional, hand cut chips, made from real potatoes’
These words are passive, overworked and generally reflect lazy writing. Weasel words are added to make a statement sound more legitimate and impressive but which are in fact unsubstantiated and meaningless.
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Some common (and overworked) weasel words: 1. Aunt Bessie’s Home Style, oven roasted potato chips. ‘Home style’, goes hand in hand with the commonly overused ‘hand cut’ potato chip.
5. Smiths ‘Original and Best ’, same Great Taste, classic crinkle cut chip, with 25% less saturated fat. This packet is busting with weasel words!
2. Maid Mountain, pure squeezed orange juice. Pure squeezed orange juice — opposed to what? Unnaturally squeezed?
6. Ultraceuticals, Real skincare, real results. Real results — don’t forget to read the fine print ‘Individual Results may vary’.
3. Farm Fresh (caged eggs) I especially love how these eggs are promoted as being ‘farm fresh’ yet they are still your average, run of the mill caged egg!
7. Cheetos natural cheese flavored puffs I’m sure there is nothing ‘natural’ about cheese puffs!
4. Nivea Extra White, 10x Whitening 10x more than what? It sounds impressive, but where is the evidence?
WEASEL WORDS
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100% ‘NATURAL’ vanilla flavor (Beaver butt is ‘natural’ right?)
There are SO many great examples, especially when it comes to marketing food! I am extremely conscious of what I consume, and tend to buy 100% pure and organic products. If it comes in a wrapper, chances are its no good for you. Most people probably wouldn’t eat these products either if they understood the ‘real’ ingredients, however thanks to weasel words, the truth is beautifully sugar coated.
This is yet another example of how food is perverted and manipulated — especially when the word ‘natural’ is used.
I find the marketing of ice-cream particularly amusing: Fat free, guilt free, sugar free, real dairy, homemade, traditional recipe, thick and creamy, real flavor, worlds best, new and improved, original recipe.
Here’s the rub … you certainly won’t see ‘beaver anal secretions’ on your food labels, and you probably won’t see ‘castoreum’ either. All that has to be listed is ‘natural vanilla flavor’, because, after all, beaver anal secretions are natural.
But the icing on top of the cake goes to ‘natural vanilla flavored ice-cream’. I wonder how many consumers know that the vanilla flavouring in baked goods, ice-cream and sweet treats generally comes from the anal excretions of beavers!
Anal secretions from beavers, smell, ironically, like vanilla. These secretions, called castoreum, may be used as vanilla flavoring in baked goods, pudding, chewing gum and more.
THE N ATURAL EFFECT
CLICK TO PL AY: ‘The Natural Effect’
I had to share this comical (yet serious) video with you. Thought you were safe when buying ‘natural food’? Think again! This parody video exposes the secrets of food label marketing and why more than ever you need to read the ingredient panel on everything you buy.
Source: Colquhoun, J. February 2014 (Filmmaker) Food Matters & Hungry for Change http://w w w.foodmatters.tv/
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FAIRY TALE INS TRUCTIONS
The task: Create a set of IKEA instructions to replicate a scene from Jack and the Beanstalk. Thankfully, I have had extensive experience in putting together flat pack furniture. Besides the cursing, and the painstaking hours it takes put a room together, thankfully the instructions are generally well considered and easy to follow. Putting together instructions to ‘build a beanstalk’ in just 6 steps appeared to be a simple task, however maintaining simplicity and legibility was the most challenging aspect of this task.
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SIGN SYMBOL S & MEANING
Meaning occurs in the in between a message and i
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nteraction t’s audience How we attach meaning is really important and often, (without realising it), meaning is prescribed for us. From an early age meaning is embedded in us, via personal experiences, teachings, cultural background, economic standing, values and knowledge. It is because of this; messages are decoded and interpreted in different ways depending on the viewer’s personal context. As designers we have to understand all cultural meanings. We cannot assume that something has one meaning, as different people can interpret the underlying connotation differently. Effective communication depends on some sort of shared cultural understanding.
Throughout this course, I have learnt a lot about interrupting signs, symbols and meaning. I don’t think I quite realised just how in-depth the studies of semeiotics is! It’s a really interesting topic and I am looking forward to digging deeper throughout the semester to strengthen my knowledge, as understanding semiotics will be a vital element in becoming a good visual communicator.
REFERENCE
IMAGE REFERENCE Bloudoof-Indelicato, M. October 2013 News Watch, National Geographic. Beaver Butts emit goo used for vanilla flavoring [Online] http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/10/01/beaver-butts-emit-goo-used-for-vanilla-flavoring/ Accessed 26 February 2014 Rebloggy.com Stoat Weasel [Online] http://rebloggy.com/post /snow-cute-animal-stoat-weasel-ermine/45461830686 Accessed 26 February 2014 Top Documentary Films, Super Size me (poster image) [Online] http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/super-size-me/ Accessed 2 March 2014 IMDB, Inside Deep Throat (poster image) [Online] http://w w w.imdb.com/title/tt0418753/ Accessed 2 March 2014 IMDB, Hell and Back Again (poster image) [Online] http://w w w.imdb.com/title/tt1748043/ Accessed 2 March 2014 Pin Penguins 2010 11 Season Schedule Pittsburgh Wallpaper [Online] http://w w w.picstopin.com/1920/-penguins-2010 -11-season-schedule-pittsburgh-wallpaper Accessed 15 February 2014 Gaughran, T. July 2012 Babble.com – George Clooney [Online] http://w w w.babble.com/babble-voices /sweetney-spice/silver-foxes-stars-who-prove-that-going-gray-is-sexy/ Accessed 20 February 2014 1Zoom Car Wallpapers – Black Audi [Online] http://w w w.1zoom.net /Cars /wallpaper/339080/z1360/ Accessed 2 March 2014 DIOP GmbH - Hospital Corridor [Online] http://w w w.diopgmbh.com/fileadmin/templates /diop/images /hospital_hygiene/krankenhaushygiene.jpg Accessed 2 March 2014 VIDEO Colquhoun, J. February 2014 (Filmmaker) Food Matters & Hungry for Change [Online] http://w w w.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/must-share-comical-video-the-natural-effect Accessed 22 February
CDC200A Message, Meaning and Media: Assessment 1: Visual Process Diary © Morgan Brown, March 2014