Five Principles for Visual Communicators

Principle 1 – Legibility

I understand legibility to be how ‘clear’ a piece of work is, or how well it does its job. This can be determined by several aspects: text, colour, size, content, vocabulary and more. What makes a visual communication legible? Depending on the form of visual communication (photography/illustration/graphic), how well it works depends on the ease of reading the text, and understanding the photograph/drawing/concept. Legibility is an important term to think about when producing a piece of work, questioning how well it will works in relation to the audience. Understanding your audience is a helpful way to determine the legibility of your work. I have chosen to evaluate particular adverts from two companies: NHS and Cadbury.

These NHS adverts are targeting male smokers. The text colour and type makes for easy reading on both adverts, as black is an obvious/opposite contrast to white, standing out from the background. I have shown one online advertisement and one poster. On the online ad the main statement is put in bold for biggest importance, and the text following in a smaller font size. The text is aligned and in small paragraphs for quick reading. A rhetorical question is used at the bottom of the advertisement as a link to further information. In terms of colour and ease of reading, both advertisements are definitely legible. The concept is almost a form of blackmail, threatening the audience of possible harm if they continue to smoke. The photography used is a very clever idea of using the cigarette as a phallic symbol. The photo draws your attention as it is unusual/unexpected yet clear to understand what it is showing. The concept is clear, but is it right?

This advertisement has a strong contrast of bold white text over a fairly dark purple background. It is simple and easy to read, with clear indication of the product through the photography and logo. The mixture from the chocolate egg is shown coming out of what’s recognised as a soap dispenser. The dispenser is related to hygiene and health, which avoids any indication of the food being unhealthy.

Principle 5 – Visual Hierarchy

Visual hierarchy is something I have rarely thought about, but something which could be useful to understand when taking photographs. In terms of photography, understanding visual hierarchy could help me in the ‘creation’ of a photograph, and its narrative. Where people will look first in any visual communication will depend on several aspects: The contrast in colour or brightness: what stands out the most? Where certain information or subjects are placed: centre/top/bottom etc? What’s in the foreground and background: looking at perspective. Visual hierarchy is mostly thought about in shops, when deciding where certain products should be placed on large and small scales. For example what part of the shop will it go, and what shelf will it be placed on. In supermarkets for example the prime place for your product to be is at eye level on middle shelf, as this is where people will be looking first. The same applies to any shop, if products are shelved in different heights the first place people look is straight ahead (eye level). Shops can be designed to enforce customers to look at certain products in priority by placing them nearer to the entrance or using lights and colour to make a certain area or product stand out.

In terms of photography there are several techniques which can be used to focus the eye straight to a certain part of the image. Take this Nike advert for example. The first place we look is at the red shoes, because they stand out from the otherwise black and white subject. The poster is advertising the sports trainers, and has been edited to make the product stand out by being the only subject in colour. We then relate the shoes to sport after seeing the badminton racquet and shuttle second. Finally we look at the text in the bottom left corner, which is positioned ‘out of the way’ on purpose. The combined use of photography, editing and text creates a narrative in the way we view this advert. I am inspired by such works, and will be thinking more about visual hierarchy in the future.

Research and Inspiration

Principle 1 - Through the ‘visual practice’ of observation, collecting, studying and exploring a subject, topic or theme, this will contribute to a deeper understanding of the subject.

I understand that research is an essential part of any work, or brief, and will help me to find inspiration and knowledge around a subject. As a photographer it is important for me to carry out a lot of ‘visual practice’, experimenting with camera techniques and different media and printing. Observation is my first method of research, finding out what already exists and gaining inspiration from contemporary work. I start by finding and collecting a variety of current magazines, and analyzing their layouts, content, typography, photography etc. Collecting material provides a physical understanding of what the product should, or could look like. In this case collecting magazines gives me a firm idea of the size, feel, layout order, and design aspects of a particular magazine. It is always useful to collect pieces of work, as well as just reading or viewing online. When exploring a topic or theme, such as Birmingham, it is important to collect both primary and secondary research. Secondary research could include reading books, and searching the Internet for information and history about the city. Primary research would involve going into the city, and exploring it in person, taking photographs and gaining personal opinion.

I have shown examples of my own visual practice from pages of my RVJ above. These

show the collections of parts of magazines, looking into the content, aiming to gain ideas for our own content. I have also shown a page displaying several photos that I have taken whilst exploring the city. Before having any idea of the content of the magazine, I wanted to explore parts of the city and take photographs of places/buildings/scenarios that could be of interest.

Principle 5 - An understanding and knowledge of ‘an audience’ should enhance and focus the communication.

Understanding our audience will help give an understanding of their interests and preferences, and therefore provide us with ideas for content. Knowing your target audience can be a difficult task, and will always need some research. It is important for us to understand who our magazine is aimed at before deciding on content and layout. A way of finding or defining our audience would be to interview a vast majority of people, of whom we believe to be our target audience. We would ask questions such as what they’re favourite contemporary magazine is, and what would be of interest to read about in our magazine. The answers would help us find our ‘competitors’, being the most popular with the same target audience, and therefore provide us with a basis of what attracts that audience.

Our magazine is aimed at younger to middle aged people (18 – 30), and centred more towards the male sex. We aim to provide a very exciting magazine, not too simple, but still being very aware of structure and legibility. Having this knowledge of who our magazine is aimed at allows a more direct thinking process into the theme of the magazine. It becomes more obvious on the colours to use, the photography, the illustrations etc. Without knowing the target audience the possibilities are too broad, leading to indirect research and development, possibly ending with no audience. 

Development of Creative Thought and Structure in Illustration and Graphic Art

Principle 2: Getting Rid of Assumptions

Starting with a fresh perspective. It appears to be important for any artist or designer to have the confidence to challenge normal conventions and habitual mindsets by approaching problems and situations with an open mind. Creatives must have the courage to take risks, challenging the unknown by thinking up new/different ideas and not being too self conscious about how they might work out. I believe this principle is asking for us to produce a variety of ideas around our project. At this stage variety and diversity is more important than quality. Although there will be a substantial amount of research from the group around the project looking at the normal conventions of a magazine, it is up to us to put a twist on these conventions to create a unique, interesting magazine that will intrigue our target audience. I will need to approach this task without concentrating on 'the normal' expectations, but thinking of layouts and designs which I have never seen before that may prove of interest to the audience. There are several ways of visually displaying these ideas in my sketchbook, and this is something i need to investigate and improve on. It is useful to think about similes, analogies and metaphors when generating ideas by associating objects that seem dissimilar.

Yuko Shimizu (work above) is a Japanese designer, a perfect example of an artist who works with an open mind and uses the idea of similes, analogies and metaphors in her work. The above examples are very sexual, challenging the conventions of hidden nudity/sex and the boundaries on which this can be expressed. Yuko has used many phallic symbols in her work, mostly in the top piece, whereby the sea creatures are portrayed as the male sex organ. The work is quite shocking, yet inspiring in the way she is visually communicating a point of view. I am interested in using visual representations (similes/metaphors) in my work, and take great inspiration from this artist.

Principle 4: Developing Ideational Fluency

The key word in this for me is 'Fluency'. Being fluent with working your creative mind and generating ideas upon ideas. My brain works best when it's focused on the objective of a task and has gone deep into the mindset of creating ideas and developing on these ideas, constantly moving forward asking questions and giving a variety of answers. A general term of 'once you start, you can't stop'. Starting is always the hard/feared point in life; will you do well at it? what if you don't enjoy it? How will you approach it? The concept is like reading a book. There is an uncertainty about picking up a new book and beginning to read it. However after the first few pages your mind begins to 'connect' with the book, and you will begin to understand what's happening, and predict where it may be progressing. Once this barrier is broken, and you are confident with the situation, the brain is able to open up and be free to explore. In relation to the task of creating a magazine, once the first few ideas are out of your head and on paper, you are able to develop on these ideas. Bringing new thoughts to mind, releasing new space. A good way of doing this is to use tools such as classification, brainstorming and mind mapping.

Above is part of a double page spread mind map from my RVJ of ideas of possible subject themes for the magazine. On this page I have wrote and linked as many ideas that came to mind based around Birmingham. This page has given me a large base to work from, providing a broad spectrum of things to include in our magazine, and a direction towards the target audience. This was a good starting point to get ideas flowing, and decide in the group what we believe to be the best theme to base our magazine on. I find mind mapping to be a very productive method of keeping the brain working. It is also a very helpful way of making connections between subjects which didn't seem possible, or as clear before.  

Reflective Visual Journal

Principle 1: Draw. Work by hand.

The idea of drawing to record and experiment with ideas is a useful, yet daunting way of communicating for a photographer such as myself. Most of my previous practice has been very practical, as i have mainly used my camera to experiment with ideas and possible compositions. I understand how drawing is able to release ideas from the mind onto paper, and is a quick way of expressing thoughts to develop, and visually see put into practice. 'Drawing is thinking, not making pictures'. This comment is an interesting one to think about when using my RVJ, as i will be drawing for my own benefit to explore and create new ideas, not to create 'art',  rough sketches not perfectly drawn objects. It will be important for me to not be self conscious of how my drawings look, but to allow myself to get out of the mind set of creating perfect work, and move on from mistakes or the overall appearance of my sketch work. I have done little drawing in the past, therefore i am not expecting myself to provide any amazing sketches at first. 

The above examples of sketchbooks show how drawing is used as a tool for generating ideas, and can be used for problem solving and creative play. The top example looks as if the artist is exploring possible ways/compositions of showing the girl looking at what appears to be a scary monster. It is clear to see the artist has sketched several drawings to find out how the girl should be sitting, where her arms should be, what her facial expression is, etc. There is also a couple of sketched ideas of what the scary creature will look like. The bottom example shows whole drawings of possible subjects, surroundings, or compositions. I am inspired by both pieces of work, by the idea of 'letting go' on the page, and drawing every possible idea that comes to mind. From a photography perspective I understand how I can use drawing to find out the best compositions and ideas for a photograph before actually capturing it. I will be drawing several sketches for ideas on photos for the project, and design ideas for the layout of the magazine.

Principle 5: Cultivate Reflective Practice

It is important to always reflect on your work. Asking questions, evaluate, compare/connections, contrasts etc. Using both parts of your brain is essential to keeping a general direction of work, without drawing lots of ideas and not developing from any. I understand that evaluating your playful drawing/sketches is something which needs to be done. Without concentrated thought, the sketches turn to interesting visual pages without any idea of whats actually going on. The use of text helps to explain the detail behind the sketches, and how you wish to develop. A contrast of the mind, from 'letting loose' on the paper to serious consideration of what it is saying.

Above I have shown an example cycle of the process which should be thought through when using my RVJ. The example of a sketchbook above shows an artist reflecting heavily on their sketches. There is a balance of sketches and text on the page, most likely explaining what their intentions are, and how they would like to develop. When creating my own sketches for either photographs or magazine design, I will be reflecting on my work all the time, asking myself questions as to how it can be improved, and what could be changed.