Academic Skills - (TASK 1) Reflective Practice

In 750 words, we are required to write an essay of our own understanding about visual communication and cultural meaning with supporting materials.

Essay on Visual Communication and Cultural Meaning

Introduction

Over the years, humans all over the world have individually developed unique methods of communicating with each other and also with other species as well. This individually developed methods of communicating are often of non-verbal communication where no words are used, few examples are using symbols, colours, body language and even eye contact etc.

Psychologist Albert Mehrabian demonstrated that 93% of communication is nonverbal.

The special subject of the greater part of the task contained in this essay is a reflective writing on "Visual Communication and Cultural Meaning;" and before giving to any comments on the attention of the subject it will be useful to offer the reader a few definitions of the terminologies of this topic, and on its importance by providing supporting reference materials of different sources.

What is Visual?

Visual "From Latin visus which means sight. Relating to seeing or to the eyes. Something you look at (such as a picture, chart, or film etc.) that is used to make something more appealing or easier to understand.

What is Communication?

It is the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information or to express ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else.

What is Cultural?

Of or relating to a particular group of people and their habits, beliefs, traditions, etc.

What is Meaning?

The thing one intends to convey especially by language.

Defining these terms individually what I can understand and deduce is that Visual + Communication has for its objective the vast realm of importance to Cultural + Meaning.

According to Stuart Hall, all images are both encoded and decoded. They are encoded in the production process and in the placement within a certain cultural setting. They are decoded by the viewers/ readers. Therefore, we could agree with the statement “- Communication is culture, culture is communication.”

When words and images have equal status within all media of communication, the cultural cues that define a society [will not only be more efficiently passed from one generation to the next, but within this generation, here and now, diverse cultures will be able to understand each other a little better.

THE POWER OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

(Figure 1. Source www.junkwire.blogspot.com)

What immediately strikes in the mind looking at the picture (figure 1) above? Does it validate the truism of the famous adage which states "a picture is worth a thousand words?" Is a picture really worth a thousand words?

Living in this present age of multimedia and mass communication, the answer would be yes, absolutely!

However, upon taking closer observation and using a little more thought process, one can deduce and suggest different meanings from just looking at the single picture above.

Truly what we see has a profound effect on what we do, how we feel, and who we are because people think using pictures.

Dating back to millions of years of evolution, studies find that humans are genetically wired to respond differently to visuals. For example, humans have a natural affection for images of wide, open landscapes, which arouse an instant sense of well-being and contentment. Psychologists hypothesize that this almost universal response stems from the years our ancestors spent on the savannas in Africa.

(Figure 2. Sunrise Tree-the worlds natural landscape photography. Source www.10Wallpaper.com)

John Berger, media theorist, writes in his book Ways of Seeing (Penguin Books, 1972), "Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak." Therefore, it is not unexpected that it is much easier to show a circle than describe it.

(Figure 3. Infographics. Source www.billiondollargraphics.com)

As an undergraduate graphic art and design student, I have always been fascinated about the powerful influence of visual media. Study after study, has proven that graphics have immense influence over the audience's perception of the subject matter. It is also noteworthy of the power of visual communication that people remember a good 80% of things they see as compared to 20% to that they read and 10% of what they hear which makes it a powerful tool when dissipating information most effectively and quickly with little chance of misunderstanding and breaking cultural boundaries.

I understand that learning graphic design as a discipline is powerful because of the ability of graphics to cause influence and effect change. And any graphic designer who properly wields this intelligence has a powerful advantage over their competition. Allen Ginsberg, poet and author, stated, "Whoever controls the media — the images — controls the culture."

References:

Mike Parkinson. 2014. The Power of Visual Communication. [online]. Available from: http://www.billiondollargraphics.com/infographics.html [Accessed 14 October 2014].

Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 2014. Visual - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. [online]. Available from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/visual [Accessed 14 October 2014].

Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 2014. Communication - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. [online]. Available from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communication [Accessed 14 October 2014].

Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 2014. Cultural - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. [online]. Available from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cultural [Accessed 14 October 2014].

Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 2014. Meaning - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. [online]. Available from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meaning [Accessed 14 October 2014].

Professor Erkki, H. (2003) VISUAL COMMUNICATION AND SEMIOTICS

Arts. Available at: http://www.infoamerica.org/documentos_pdf/jacobson1.pdf [Downloaded: 14 October 2014].

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP. (2004) The Power of Visual Communication
. Available at: http://www.hp.com/large/ipg/assets/bus-solutions/power-of-visual-communication.pdf [Downloaded: 14 October 2014].

Help Me. 2000-2014. Help Me. [online]. Available from: http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=69138 [Accessed 14 October 2014].

UK Essays. November 2013. Visual Communication More Effective Than Verbal English Language Essay. [online]. Available from: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/english-language/visual-communication-more-effective-than-verbal-english-language-essay.php?cref=1 [Accessed 14 October 2014].