Iconography has the capability to memorialize and guarantee one's place in history; iconography can also provide powerful insight into human culture, and explore social and cultural values in a visual manner. Iconography can incorporate information about group identities, allegiances, religious affiliations, propaganda, and acceptance within both modern and ancient societies. By studying a specific iconographic figure, the Central Mexican god Tlaloc, as a visual representation of a belief or identity, we can glean a greater understanding of the cultural transmission of iconographic symbols. The substantial use of this icon, in both Central Mexico and the Maya region, reveals iconography as capable of being catalogued and traced over space and time to interpret meaning. With these goals in mind, this research project focuses on the iconographic representations of the Central Mexican god Tlaloc in the Maya region. It was during the Early Classic Period (A.D. 250-550) that Tlaloc transcended the boundaries of Central Mexico and was adopted into Maya ideology. During the Late Classic Period (A.D.550-900), a 'Maya Tlaloc' was established and used to express ideologies depicting warfare and ritual activity. The adoption of Tlaloc imagery among the ancient Maya ultimately holds significant value to understanding Maya ideology and religion as well as facilitates an understanding of wide-scale interactions with Central Mexico.

In this study I look at the music video Heaven and Hell by YE, formerly known as Kanye West. The video contains references to Christian religion and fine art. My aim with this essay has been to identify these references using a visual analysis with theory based on ideas of Erwin Panofsky. I did this by studying iconographic symbols, light and color as well as the connections these have in the music video. After this I used Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of cultural capital and taste to decode the meaning of these references. My findings point towards YE’s usage of references to Christianity and fine art as a way to invoke a sense of trust and high cultural capital.

This paper will discuss the creation of my artwork, which has been inspired by my experiences and understandings of Catholicism and its icons. I will consider how iconography works in art, its influence, and how and why I have created this artwork dealing with my beliefs. I will also refer to the works of contemporary artists Duane Michals and Michael Wesely to help explain my exhibition, which I have titled "Doubting Thomas: The Testaments."

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This study has examined what design principles help make more understandable UI icons and what aspects are most important when understanding the functionality of UI elements. Prior to this study, 15 UI icons representing items and actions were drawn asstudy subjects together with a prototype game to provide game context to the testers.Through applying surveys, think-aloud, playtesting, and interviews, 10 participantswere included to see how their unique backgrounds impact their understanding ofvideo game icons. Their age; country of origin; gaming habits, genre, platform, andgame preferences; and game development experience were considered to see if therewas a connection between cultural backgrounds and icon understanding. The results showed that the group was fairly homogenous, yet still had a unique set of expectations, preferences, and understandings of the icons which indicates that background impacts how people understand UI icons in games. However, with a small sample, this was merely the beginning of a discussion on how interpretation and cultural differences can be used as a lens to study how people understand video game icons that are relevant to video games. Further, this could help UI/UX designers better understand universal and culture-specific references in order to understand how their users make assumptions about symbols which in turn could help improve the user experience.