SEMIOTICS- the study of signs and their meanings and messages (known as umbrella term)
Visual and verbal - everything can be a sign, we read these signs to get through our day to day lives. Formalizing an informal approach to semiotics. - Can be used,learnt or adapted.
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Visual designs ;- Actions or visuals that use no words.(hand gestures, facial expressions, signs that contain no words, attire) Though they don't all mean the same things as there are different cultural dialects.
This image is for recycling. It’s known worldwide as the symbol of recycling through its understanding in shape and color. This sign communicates that certain parts of a product are allowed to be reused. Green is known as ‘eco friendly’ color and is often used as a positive enforcement. The arrows symbolize that a product can be reused or remade into another product.
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Happy
Poker face
Shocked
Sad
Sorrow
These are all pretty simple. The circle represents a head and the lines represent the mouths and the dots or curves often eyes. These are a simple way of expressing visually our realistic expressions. Facing up is usually positive, facing downwards often means upset.
INDEXICAL- direct or causal effect. If you look at something it causes what it says (eg, smoke=fire) a direct association or causal effect of something.(eg shadow=a light) , (eg= red traffic light=stop)
Bones - association that there was a living thing attached to it. Reminds me of a once living being. Rotting and dead, brings sadness to an individual after the passing because bones associate it with death and passing. Also brings the associations of danger and fatal consequences if possibly used in a sign like for example;
The usage of bones have always been a warning to us humans throughout history; and it doesnt exactly have to be stuck on a 2D image. If you were to see bones on the floor you would get out of the general area.
An example is a food shop or a take away, when smelling food, you often get hungry and your mouth makes saliva to begin breaking down food. The association with a good smell makes your body react without actually seeing the food and you react based on senses. It can also make you think of the food the smell reminds you off, even if you haven't seen what exactly it is. For example, If you were to smell bacon you would assume its bacon or a bacon based dish, but in reality it could be something completely different. The smell of food would also make you cycle your mind through the different things that it could be, it can also create a craving.
Seeing smoke or smelling smoke is automatically an assumption that there is a fire nearby, and the stronger the smell the more alert you become that its near you. Your first instinct is to investigate where the fire is and what has caused it before getting to safety or alerting someone.
METAPHOR:- When you use say something to stand for something else. Transferred use of a word, phrase or image.
Visual metaphor: The comparison that plastic waste is affecting our planet. The plastic bag looks like an ice glazier from afar but upon closer look, it is replaced. The rise in plastic waste equals the ice glaziers lowering and the levels of water becoming higher. It shows the dangers of our continuous behavior and that the plastic is slowly replacing our nature.
Its a very smart play of verbal metaphor how Its hard to distinguish the plastic bag from the ice berg. The idea of putting a plastic bag instead of an ice berg shows the viewers just how serious the situation is and how the use of similar visual properties tricks the viewer to look at the tip of the ice berg before falling down to the rest of the bag and making them realize that all of it is actually a plastic bag.
RHETORIC- The art of persuasive writing and art. ’ a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.’
Banksy, being a very political person has been persuading the public with his controversial pieces. The ‘peace dove’ above, is a piece that starts a conversation and demands opinions and not one point. The idea of clashing the peace dove with a bulletproof vest and a sniper target contrasts the two and questions the public in order to receive multiple opinions. The iconic white dove often represents the symbol of peace, and putting a bulletproof jacket on it with a sniper target can give us the idea of the disruption of peace, or that peace must be protected. There is no writing or any form of idea to give us any answers on what Banksy wants us to think of as I think that is up to everyone’s interpretation, which is why I think his pieces of work, especially this one, are a perfect example for the rhetorical art statement piece.
VISUAL SIGNS:-
Visual signs communicate through color, shapes, text and symbols. these signs holds relations to the history of symbols and meanings. These visual signs are used to communicate actions .
Visual signs can go above physical icons and be body language, emojis and often natural warnings (i.e colors )
Word image association-
After studying the icons that I have drawn, I compared them to the person sitting besides me to see what kind of similarities we both have when it comes to visual images. Turns out , out of 24 we both drew 14 of the same icons. The top three things that i have learnt about word image association are…;
Many of us are influenced by movies and the old films to interpret an idea in a certain way just like the light bulb example. The idea of realizing a sudden idea and shedding light on it is equivalent as to turning on a switch and the light shedding its light onto the room.
Visual language is incredibly important when having a conversation through text. It helps it interpreted in specific ways that we want without any confusion or misunderstanding.
Metaphors and indexical signs help to understand the world around us and understand the different meanings people come up with. Visual signs allow us to cross language verbal barriers globally.
Warning future generation about ‘DANGER’ -
Poisonous frogs on the rainforests usually have bright, neon colours as a warning sign for other predators that it is dangerous and fatal if attacked. The concept of using bright colours in relation to nature's design could be a good way of designing concepts of ‘danger’ to the future generation. We could use the patterns of a frog and colours. Using scale is also important because despite the frog's small size,it is fatal and deadly. The idea of this image is that despite the need and want to have,own or even touch something - we have to hold back because it is dangerous and could be fatal.
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