“Images are no longer just representations or interpreters of human actions. They have become central to every action that connects humans to each other… as much reference points for information and knowledge as visualizations of human creativity” -Ron Burnett
- Abstract & Representation
- An image will always be a mixture of abstract and representation. Using intrinsic messaging of abstract form can influence a photograph composition’s messaging potential.
- Image Modes
- Mode- the form of an image’s representation
- A designer might choose to represent an idea by using photographs, illustrations, or a hybrid.
- Semiology and Stylization
- The designers goal is to invent a specific graphic language- an internal logic of positive and negative relationships, an emphasis on curved or angular forms, and an integration of line and mass.
- Illustration
- The choice of illustration over photography opens up tremendous possibility for transmitting information. An illustration can be concrete, objective, or realistic in how it presents it subject.
- The Medium is a Message
- The language of the tool has a powerful effect on an illustration’s communicative value, not just on its visual qualities relative to other elements in a design solution.
- Graphic Translation
- Depicts subjects in a literal way.
- Strategies for Composition
- Designers often forget they are not bound by the realities of arrangement imposed by the scene they are rendering.
- Mixing Image Style
- Creating contrast among visual elements is key to surprising, refreshing, and enlivening layouts.
- Narrative Interplay
- Putting photographs together increases their semantic power and creates narrative or storytelling.
- Metaphor
- A designer may present an image that means something else entirely, refers to a much broader concept, or combines concepts to evoke a third concept that is not explicit in either of the combinations.