“A picture is worth a thousand words” a phrase made popular in the 1920s by Fred R. Barnard, to describe the use of drawn and photographic images in advertising. In this module I will be putting this to the test by looking at how images of all forms can be used to tell a narrative. Images are not simply photographs they can be illustrations, sketches, logos, icons and much more. I will also explore how data can be turned into diagrams to help people visualise what that data means and represents. I will also be using a method from the renaissance where apprentices, learned from master painters by copying their work to understand the process and develop their skills. I will do the same by creating my own versions of icons, so I can move on to creating my own unique set for my own project.
The start of this week’s lecture focussed mainly on some general housekeeping at the start of the new semester. We looked at what the semester was about and what would be expected of us. We discussed the final deliverables and what was required from our research blogs (like this one) and professional behaviour.
For the first six weeks of the semester we are looking at illustrative means of communication, like how icons make up interfaces or how photographs can add meaning to a webpage. While illustrations can stand alone, they are very often part of other products and can enhance them massively.
We looked at how the combination of images can tell a story and form a narrative. As well as how juxtaposing images can make new stories possible. A juxtaposition is the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect, according to Oxford languages definition. This can be a very powerful story telling tool like in this famous piece by Rene Magritte named “The Son of Man”
Source (https://www.singulart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/https___blogs-images.forbes.com_chaddscott_files_2018_10_12.-Son-of-Man-1200x1575-1-780x1024.jpg) Last Accessed 03/02/23
In this image Magritte places an apple right in front of a man’s face, their is no obvious link between the two objects, in fact this image could not happen in real life as the apple would fall to the ground. However, this is not important, what is important is how juxtaposing the two pieces the man and the apple together creates a new story. This particular painting has actually allowed people to read it in a number of ways with some linking it with Christianity (the apple being what tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden) and the man being tempted by the apple. While others have said the apple obscuring the man’s face is to do with the anonymity of the modern business man and the need to conform to fit in with society. For me, this painting shows the power of juxtaposition in how by placing two contrasting objects together Magritte has enabled multiple new narratives to be formed, that neither image alone could achieve. While my work is not art, and has a brief I can look at ways in which juxtaposition can help communicate a narrative I want to tell.
Whilst scrolling on Instagram I also found this piece about how the logo for Bluetooth technology was created.
In the first century, there was a Nordic king named Harald Bluetooth, so the designers of the logo combined the Nordic letters for King Harald and created the Bluetooth logo. I find this ingenious and is something I can look at when creating icons of my own, do old languages offer some symbols that could be used to convey a new meaning? Does the name I chose have something relevant from which to base an icon or logo off? All useful questions for me to keep in mind while thinking about my own designs.
We spoke about a number of illustrators who had created recognisable work, for major companies or for their own projects. One piece of work stood out for me it was an illustration by Paddy Donnelly. In truth it looks very simple, several children out at sea on the word raft, while one child is left behind trying to create the word raft on the beach. However the narrative this illustration holds is so much deeper, the child on the beach is dyslexic and therefore cannot manage to find and assemble the correct letters to create the word raft and join their friends. The brilliance of this illustration is how it communicates this narrative without words, you can see what is happening and how, the child’s dyslexia is hampering them in a day-to-day situation. As someone who has Dyslexia myself I get a lot of personal meaning from this. However, I can also be inspired by how a simple idea, properly executed can convey so much meaning, and this is something I would like to explore in my own work. For me, this illustration, goes even further than telling a thousand words it conveys a feeling, one that is almost impossible to describe in words but in an illustration is immediately understandable.
Source (https://lefft.com/dyslexia-beach/dyslexia_beach.jpg) Last Accessed 03/02/23
Diagrams can also tell stories, and can weave a narrative. We can use diagrams to see so much, they can give us information at a glance. If we look at a line graph of business income we can see immediately whether it is doing well or not. We don’t need words or even numbers, the shape of the diagram tells us all the story we need to know.
One man that took this idea and made it into something quite special was Nicholas Felton, who for ten years tracked his everyday life. He collected the data on where he was, what he was doing, who he was with etc. and created an annual report which turned all this data into diagrams. Somehow he made the data form his own life tell a story and become art, these reports are incredible although the data within them is nothing special, in truth it is irrelevant to basically everyone. However, it is how the data is presented that is the key, and what gives it meaning and for me a certain artistic quality. Here is a snapshot of his final report:
