Form as Language
Exploring possibilities of symbolic forms as a visual language to make communication universally accessible This study focuses on understanding and testing visual forms as a method to share knowledge and information or interact with a large cross-cultured audience. The applied projects involve representing, perceiving and interpreting a new set of visual system for communicating specific ideas within specific context.
Applied Project: Reach Out A need or situation based simple visual system to help make communication better between victims and first responders during disasters. Creating a visual language that serves a social purpose. Communication System Diagram
Social
Inquisitive
Question
Habitual
Informative
Interact
Gestures
Emotional
Learn
Entertainment
Marks
Expressive
Transfer Knowledge
Body language
Visuals
Influence
Sounds
Expressions
Behavior
Linguistic
Writing Systems
Non-linguistic
Spoken Words Ease
Stress
Icons
Photographs
Natural
Artificial (technological)
Visual Communication System for a stressful situation
Proposed visual system
Man (m)
Panic
Woman (w)
Scared
Clothes (m)
Injured (m)
Clothes (w)
Injured (w)
Dead (m)
Dead (w)
Despaired (w)
Despaired (m)
Devastated (m) Devastated (w)
?
?
Confused (m)
Confused (w)
! Water
Air
Fire
Electricity
Lonely
Danger
Hazard
Stop
Need
Need water
Cold
Hot
( ) ( ) ( ) (x) Safe
Save us (m)
Save us (w)
Unsafe
E Comfort
Shelter
Evacuate
Disabled need evacuation
Medical
Disabled
Rescue
Emergency
Talk
Injured man need medical
Cold need clothes
Applied project: Visual Music Communication System Diagram
Social
Inquisitive
Informative
Visual
Expressive
Audio
Sounds Gestures
Marks
Symbolic
Other formal systems
Knowledge
Iconic
Indexic
Photographs & Real drawings
Combination of iconic & symbolic
Body language, Expressions & behavior
Linguistic
Non-linguistic
Spoken Words Natural
Writing systems
Decode
Artificial (technological)
Interaction
Development of systems
Better empathy
Signs
Blues
According to Thomas Sebeok (2001), signs is something that stands for something else. There are three types of signs. Icon: sign form which simulates its referent in some way, index: sign form which establishes a contiguity with its referent and symbol: sign form that stands arbitrarily or conventionally for its referent.
Classical
Country Electronic Hip-hop Abstract form
Visual Music
Abstract form and color
Expressive form
Realistic form
Realistic form and Abstract form
Realistic form, Abstract form and color
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Creating a visual system to test both, accessibility and effectiveness, on a cross-cultured platform taking music genres as a commercial or entertainment need. Experimenting with visual elements to create both indexical and symbolic forms to represent different music genres.
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97
Comparative Analysis On the right is a comparative result of the survey that was conducted with a variety of cross-cultured people. The numbers in the comparative results indicate which form best represented the genre for the survey takers.
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51
51 92
14
43
Final forms in actual size
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95
97
95
46 97
25
94
21
79
83
82
56 67
GRA 690: Spring 2015 Advanced Visual Communication Design Studio IV
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Student: Megha Parashar Instructor: Mookesh Patel