Saturday, November 6, 2010

Word and Image in Design

Photo Link: http://obamashirts.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/obama-retro-time-for-change-t-shirt/


 
Words and images often combine together to give out a message. Some designs uses the technique of additive combination and interdependence to produce a certain effect. Interdependence means, as Scott McCloud says in “Understanding Comics,” that words and pictures go hand in hand to convey an idea that neither could convey alone, while additive combination is the use of words/images to elaborate images/words.
In the words are taken out of the image of the t-shirt on the left, for example, we would not know what Obama, the person in the image, would be saying (message). By having the words, it directs to us a message that we all notice at one glance. And if we took out the picture of Obama, then we would not know who is saying the phrase. In this case, the two rely on each other to fully get the message out. Additive combination is also used here through the colors and background images. The colors red, white, and blue, for example, enhances the idea that it’s related to the nation of America, while the stars represent the part of the U.S flag.
Words work with images to achieve a goal to attract the attention of their viewers. Some images may not need words at all because it can stand alone to convey its messages, which goes the same for words. But in some cases, words and images work together in a design setting that quickly allows us to establish the message. Designs in society often uses imagery and words to convey their meaning, but also uses just words or just imagery to deliver their purpose. In the design world, there is a variety of ways to deliver a message, but it depends on how effective the message can be sent out through the methods.

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