“Visual communication relies both on eyes that
function and on brain that makes sense of all the sensory information received”
(Lester, 2006, p.1). Visual communication is based on the vision. The vision
helps people to see and also interpret the visual aids, which are the two
dimensional images that includes signs, photos, figures, graphic designs, web
designs, illustrations, typography, the varieties of colors used, symbols,
charts, designs, drawings, paintings, diagrams, charts, delineation and also drafts.
For example, the photo below:
The photo shows the different types of colors used
to create the image. Human’s vision can see the difference of the types of
color, such as the shelf is pink in color, the sofa is yellow and the wall of
the room is painted with blue paint. When a person says that the wall is blue,
it is because they learn the different types of color. Every visual
communication gives messages to the audiences or the viewer. Therefore, there
are benefits of studying visual communication.
The first visual communication which
exists is the drawings or symbols in the cave which are drawn by the people a
long time ago.
As the human societies developed over
time, the existence of ideograms [symbols or sign which represents an idea or a
particular thing] helps people in learning meanings of drawings or images.
Eventually, the ideograms are replaced
by the alphabets. Soon after that, the written communication existed, such as newspapers.
Nowadays, visual images are everywhere, from
televisions, newspapers, magazines, photographs and also drawings.
These visual images are worth many messages to
convey to the audiences. Moreover, the visual images can be inserted with
slogans or captions to make it more interesting for the viewers.
The visual communication has improved
time over time. Nowadays, the usage of visual communication improved through
the social networks such as facebook, twitter and instagram. These social
networks help people to communicate, share photos and videos. Moreover, there
are even people who advertise their business through the use of social network,
such as facebook.
In this modern society, the visual communication
can be seen everywhere. Children’s books, the magazines, and school text books
are already been improved by visual technologies. These books have been
inserted with sorts of pictures and words to make the children learn easily.
According to Lester (2006), the images which are combined with words are seen
as more meaningful and also powerful. Most of the visual images nowadays are
combined with words, where the images are inserted with captions or edited with
words which therefore give messages or meanings to the viewers. For example, the image below:
The photo above shows the image is
combined with words. Through this, people can understand more about the image
and they can interpret the image with depth. Lester, (2006), stated that "In the relation between a photograph and words, the photograph begs for an interpretation, and the words usually supply it. The photograph, irrefutable, as evidence but weak in meaning, is given meaning by the words. And the words, which by themselves remain at the level of generalization, are given specific authenticity by the irrefutability of the photograph. Together, the two then become very powerful; an open question appears to have been fully answered." (Lester, 2006).
The study of visual communication can
help improve the visual technologies which are increasing. People in this
modern era, mostly children, they are more into books which has beautiful
colors, which are interesting and also attractive. For example, below:
Nowadays, most of the people remember more
about the things that they see rather than the things that they hear or read. The
figure below shows the percentage of how much people remember things.
.
Seeing makes the brain think and
remember. However, reading helps people to develop their brain with theories
and facts. Though, when people hear sounds or voices, they tend to forget them
easily. Perhaps, people will remember the things that they hear for seconds or
minutes only [if the sounds or voices are not repeated].
In conclusion, even though all visual
communication is subjective, the study of visual communication in depth will
help people in improving the visual aids around the world. Thus, by having the
education of visual communication, it can help people gain knowledge in
understanding, creating and generating meanings or messages towards any method of visual communication which can provide information, educations, or even persuasion towards people.
References
Lester, P.M., (4th ed.)., (2006), Visual Communication: Images with messages, p.1-2, Cencage Learning, USA
Lester, P.M., (2006), Syntatic Theory of Visual Communication, Retrieved from http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/viscomtheory.html, 12/09/2012.
Srikumar, L.P., (2009), Visual Communication, Retrieved from http://www.srikumar.com/education/education_courses/visual_communications.htm, 12/09/2012.
The primary purpose of this question was to test your ability at understanding questions. Unfortunately, this entry does not satisfactorily answer why we study visual comms if the interpretation of the visual world is subjective.
ReplyDeleteThe lesson learnt here is that you must really know what the question is asking for and how to answer it FIRST before attempting to write. And if you are still not sure how to answer it, you must research and research until you get it. If you are able to consistently do this throughout the semester, will do well for this module's assignment.
Note also that if you conducted more specific researches in relation to the question, your answers will also be more specific and directed to the question.
Nevertheless, a good effort made.