Communications and Media, Term Paper Example

Introduction

Visual communication is a form of communication, which passes information via visual aid. In this regard, it depends on vision fully. There are many types of visual communication; they include graphic design, signs, colors, symbols, typography, illustrations, and drawings among others. The advertisement image in this paper communicates the health issues. It shows how infections attack children from those who touch or take care of them. The advertisement comes from manufacturers who are marketing a protective product. It is advertised on newspapers.

This advert falls in the theory section in that there are no clear texts seen. It uses the modern technology, and therefore, it is a current advert. It easily conveys a message of danger to the audience. The target audience of this image is the whole public. It assists the illiterate to get the massage easily. It easily catches the eye of an individual. This visual content attracts more attention than verbal content. This superiority of visual advert does not mean that verbal information is not essential in that they all serve to communicate the same idea differently. Those who advertise using visual aid has to be careful in planning and executing the two types of content.

Pictures are known well for superiority over words in communication and learning. The superiority of visual communication holds whether the task is meant for short-term or long-term memory. It also holds whether the information is meant for recall response or recognition purposes. The dual coding theory of paivio (1998) is the leading justification of picture superiority. Visual memory is long term unlike the long-term verbal memory, which fades with time and has limited capacity.

Description

From the image given an observer will see the danger of holding a child with infected hands. The hands are full of all types of insects is stretched as if to lift the lying baby. The baby though looks not scared of the hands, although this was expected. Besides the baby is a bottle of some liquid product that is probably being marketed. The writings beside it are not visible though. This illustrates a major challenge in management of digital image. The insects in the hands were fixed to suit the objective of the advert. With the present power of computation of both software and hardware, the ability to store more complex data types such as images has been improved. A human mind in this image can easily identify it.

Interpretation

In normalcircumstance, an observer is interested in scenesorobjectsshown in theimage. Fromtheimage, we identifysomefewinterestingandimportantelements. Thebaby, handscarryingsomeinfectionstretchedoutandtheliquidcontained in thebottle.Thisrepresentstheparticipants in thisimage. Theplacewherethebaby is lying is not a participantalthoughithelps to showthescenewheretheactivity in theimage is takingplace. Thisimageis framed of mediumdistanceviewed from theside. Theobserveris allowed to viewthemainpart of theimage. Theimage is able to givetherole of theactorandthedefinedgoalshown by theparticipants through their relationship.Theimagefinallygives a meaningthattheliquid in thebottleuse is to disinfectthehand that has someinfection to avoidfurtherspread. Themainobjective is to protectyoung children who are morevulnerable to infection.

Evaluation

The effectiveness and cost of the advert is evaluated before any visual advert is made to bring new customers or build its brand strength. The main feature to look at in the evaluation of the visual advert is pictorial and text. The advert should meet its purpose, looking at the image used it meets the business purpose. The message is simple and clear, memorable and easy to comprehend, although it may look scary on the first glance. The target audience identified in the sense that it shows that all individuals close to babies must disinfect their hands specifically. The message is clear although the written words are that clear which may pose a challenge to the firm by its competitors. The design of the advert stated that the elements match the overall message in the image. There is no confusion made of any other meaning or interpretation of the advert. The advert does not have a headline though to cover its objective.

Theory

Visual communication theory study is a multi dimensional and multi-disciplinary effort. People writing on this came from film, cinema studies, mass communication, anthropology, architecture, philosophy, linguistics, education, art and semiotics as well as other fields. This brings many viewpoints, which is a good insight because it comes from many fields. It is a problem though to those who teach visual communication because of lack of a common theory. This does not mean that there should be one main theory in this field, however, it would be easier to order an undergraduate program, or curriculum if there were important theories to be covered from various disciplines.

There are two types of theories on visual communication: sensual theories and the perceptual theories. Sensual theories include ecological, gestalt and constructivism. Perceptual theories are cognitive and semiotics. Gestalt theory focuses on how the mind sees wholes out of the elements that are not complete. According to Gestaltists, things are interfered by what is surrounding them and where they are found. The principle of gestalt focuses on how similar elements in appearance grouped together as a whole. The eye takes in visual stimuli and the brain arranges them to coherent images. Things are grouped according to proximity and contiguity, common fate, continuity and similarity. The brain works such that what one sees is modified according to what has been seen in the past and what is to be seen. Constructivism focuses on attribution of eye movement and active perception. Human eyes are always in motion as the scan images. Therefore, the size, photo placement, and its content in a newspaper page and its color are important. Ecological theory focus real world environment, it looks at shadow cues, and depths that do not need the use of brain. On perceptual theory, semiotic focuses on the use of signs. Signs used to take the place of sounds, images, words, objects, and gestures. Signs can be indexical, iconic, or symbolic. Cognitive perceptual theory gets into a conclusion by a mental process and not a light structure object witnessed.

Summary

Pictures are known well for superiority over words in communication and learning. It is widely used in advertisement and entertainment. Visual communication theory study is a multi dimensional and multi-disciplinary effort. Cognition and perception are important components of an image used in advertisement. Interpretation of a picture is based upon our experience and knowledge. The images used should make sure that its components are clear.