This thesis is about cover illustrations of DVD movies as examples of visual communication. I have studied the cover illustrations of the three movies Gran Torino, Secret Window and As White As Snow. My research assignment has been to find out how the cover illustrations of DVD movies communicate in relation to the story. I have also been looking for what makes a cover illustration interesting and if the interest in itself is individually considered or if there are certain general rules regardless of the observer. To reach a conclusion I have been studying components in advertising pictures, visual communication and how the commercial producers use advertising to communicate with the observer. Semiotics, advertising and comparisons between the cover illustrations have been my method for analyze. I have come to the conclusion that cover illustrations are meticulously produced, and that every single part of them is important for the observers’ over all impression and interpretation of the cover illustration. The place of picture elements, colours, looks and occurrence of persons in the covers are striving to send a uniform message about the cover and movie. They also guide the observer in his/her interpretation of the cover and what kind of movie it represents, and they are components that make the cover more visible. What makes the cover illustration interesting is both something individual and something general. For example the occurrence of humans, looks, strong emotions and colours make the cover more visible and interesting in relation to others. The observers’ interest for the cover may be individual depending on the observer’s experiences and interpretation.

Wayfinding Design for Randomly Developed Areas: The Beltline Case Study proposes a wayfinding signage program for the new public transit project in Atlanta known as the Beltline. This program unites the Beltline with other transit options within Atlanta, such as MARTA, to form a comprehensive transit system. This program will be known as The Atlanta Unified Transit Program. My proposed signage program includes map kiosks, information posts and signs promoting the various levels of transit offered in Atlanta as well as information about the areas surrounded by public transit. The signage examples created for my thesis are prototypes that could later be applied to any location within the area serviced by public transit.

Sammanfattning Dagens globala samhälle innebär att många företag väljer att satsa på marknader i andra länder. Ett problem som kan uppstå är att kommunikationen missförstås av mottagarna och det därigenom blir en kostsam och misslyckad marknadssatsning. För att motverka problemet har vi undersökt vilka kulturella skillnader som finns mellan väst- och östvärlden och hur de påverkar uppfattningen av visuell kommunikation i form av logotyper. Arbetet syftade även till att öka förståelsen för vilka likheter och skillnader som påverkar hur visuella element så som färg, typsnitt, form och symbol uppfattas samt hur de kan betraktas som globala. Syftet med examensarbetet var att undersöka hur visuell kommunikation, i form av logotyper, uppfattas i väst- och östvärlden. I syftet ingick även att ta reda på vilka kulturella skillnader som påverkar vad vi uppfattar samt att undersöka hur de visuella elementen kan användas för att få logotyper att uppfattas som globala i både Sverige och Kina. Syftet har brutits ner i följande tre frågeställningar: Vilka kulturella skillnader påverkar hur visuell kommunikation uppfattas i Sverige respektive Kina? Finns det likheter/skillnader i hur logotypers visuella element uppfattas och används i Sverige respektive Kina? Hur kan de visuella elementen användas för att få logotyper att uppfattas som globala i både Sverige och Kina? För att undersöka ämnesområdet har vi använt oss av en kombination av tre metoder; litteraturstudie, intervjuer och konkurrentanalyser. Genom de tre metoderna angrep vi undersökningsområdet från flera perspektiv vilket ökar både tillförlitligheten och giltigheten av resultatet. Det vi fått fram som resultat är att fyra större kulturella skillnader påverkar visuell kommunikation. Vi har även sett att det finns likheter och skillnader i hur logotypers visuella element uppfattas och används i Sverige och Kina. Resultatet visade även att det inte finns några specifika visuella element eller riktlinjer för att få en logotyp att betraktas som global i Sverige och Kina. En slutsats vi dragit är att företag och varumärken behöver vara införstådda i vilka kulturella skillnader som påverkar uppfattningen av den visuella kommunikationen och hur mycket skillnaderna påverkar uppfattningen. Eftersom det finns likheter och skillnader i hur visuella element uppfattas har vi dragit slutsatsen att individens tolkning kan variera mycket men att personer inom samma kultur ofta har relativt lika intryck av de visuella elementen. För att få en logotyp att betraktas som global i både Sverige och Kina har vi dragit slutsatsen att logotypen bör följa samma riktlinjer som för en välgjord och kvalitativ logotyp. / Abstract The global society today leads to the fact that many companies choose to invest in other countries’ markets. One problem that can arise is that the communication can be misunderstood by the recipients and therefore risks of becoming costly and unsuccessful. To counter this problem, we have investigated cultural differences between western and eastern cultures and how those differences can affect the perception of visual communication in the form of logotypes. The work also aims to increase understanding of which similarities and differences that affect how visual elements such as colours, fonts, shapes and symbols are perceived and how they can be seen as global. The purpose of the thesis was to examine how visual communication, in the form of logotypes, is perceived in the western and eastern countries. The aim was also to find out which cultural differences that affect what we perceive, and to investigate how the visual elements can be used to get logotypes to be seen as global in both Sweden and China. The main purpose has been divided into the three following questions: What cultural differences affect how visual communication is perceived in Sweden and China? Are there similarities/differences in how visual elements in logotypes are perceived and used in Sweden and China? How can the visual elements be used to get logotypes to be seen as global in both Sweden and China? To examine this area, we used a combination of three methods; a literature review, interviews and a competitive analysis. With these three methods we tackled the area from multiple perspectives, which increases both the reliability and validity of the results. We have reached the results that there were four major cultural differences that affect the visual communication. We have also seen that there are similarities and differences in how visual elements in logotypes are perceived and used in Sweden and China. The results also showed that there are no specific visual elements or guidelines for creating a logotype that is perceived as global in both Sweden and China. One conclusion we reached was that companies and brands need to be aware of the cultural differences that affect the perception of visual communication. They also need to know to what extent it affects them. Since there are similarities and differences in how visual elements are perceived, we have concluded that the individual's perception can vary a lot, but that people within the same culture often have relatively similar views. To get a logotype to be seen as global in Sweden and China, we have concluded that the logotype should follow the same guidelines as for a well-made and high quality logotype.

Visualization is a lean tool and in order to strive to become a lean company applying the lean philosophy in all these parts of the organization is necessary. A company that does not understand the philosophy and culture behind lean production, even though applying lean tools, is not a lean business and has a long way to production excellence.   Implementing and becoming a visual organization means change which includes the organizational culture, collective attitude and beliefs. The difference between success and failure is about the ability to provide knowledge, information and to create prerequisites for participation and engagement at all levels in the organization with a clear and direct leadership.   In many companies communication is lacking sufficient and official channels, and the inadequacy in the information systems are usually due to functional thinking and strict boarders at all levels in an organization. New ways of communication are the result of process orientation, demanding new prerequisites for information systems which companies needs to develop and thus become more visual. Knowledge and information needs to become more accessible and objective in order for decision to be taken based on facts not be the result of interpretations of reality. Visualization enables people to see and develop an objective and common reality. It further contributes to the organizations ability for improvement and aligns the employees to fulfill the overall business objectives and strategies.   The Company in this case that wants to be anonymous will further be called Company X. Company X objective is to develop a visual communication system to increase the information sharing and flow throughout the organization. However, this is not an easy task and many companies lack sufficient prerequisites to carry out a successful implementation. The research result at Company X has in this study shown weaknesses in core areas as in clear and direct leadership, vision and strategy development and communication as well as a low level of knowledge transformation at all levels in the organization in order to create engagement for the change process which an implemetion of this kind is. / Visualisering är ett lean verktyg och i sträva att bli ett lean företag måste lean filosofin tillämpas i alla delar av organisationen, vilket är en nödvändighet. Ett företag som inte förstår filosofin och kulturen bakom lean produktion, trots att man tillämpar lean verktyg, är inte ett lean företag och har en lång väg från optimering av produktion. Förutsättningarna att bli en visuell organisation innebär förändringar som omfattar organisations kultur, kollektiva attityder och föreställningar. Skillnaden mellan framgång och misslyckande handlar om förmågan att ge kunskap, information och att skapa förutsättningar för delaktighet och engagemang på alla nivåer i organisationen, detta genom ett tydligt och direkt ledarskap.   Kommunikation på många företag saknar ofta tillräckliga och officiella kanaler och bristen på information beror många gånger på funktionstänkande och strikta gränser, på alla nivåer i organisationen. Nya sätt att kommunicera är resultatet av processorientering vilket krävs för att företag ska kunna skapa förutsättningar för informationssystem och bli mer visuella. Kunskap och information måste bli mer tillgängligt och objektivt för att beslut som är baserade på fakta och inte på tolkningar av verkligheten ska kunna fattas. Visualiseringen möjliggör för människor att se och utveckla en objektiv och gemensam verklighet. Detta bidrar till organisationers möjlighet till förbättringar och möjlighet för de anställda att uppfylla de övergripande affärsmålen och strategierna för organisationen.   Det studerade företaget som valt att vara anonymt kommer hädanefter kallas för Företag X. Företag X målsättning är att utveckla ett visuellt kommunikationssystem i syfte att öka utbytet av information och dess flöden . Men detta är inte en lätt uppgift och många företag har inte tillräckliga förutsättningar för att kunna genomföra en framgångsrik implementering. Resultaten från studien på företaget X visar på svagheter inom kärnområden som ett klart och tydligt ledarskap, utvecklandet och kommunikationen av vision och strategier samt en låg nivå rörande kunskapsspridandet på alla nivåer i organisationen för att skapa engagemang för förändrings process som en implementering av detta slag innebär.

The thesis examined whether there is a distinct boundary between art and advertising. The collected data showed how art and advertising are linked to each other and also differ from each other, in particular through the latter half of the 1900’s. What was happening in society came to have great impact on what happened in art and advertising. In postwar Germany, capitalism realism evolved from the German pop art where the art was removed from the art gallery and placed on the streets where the people were, in an era that was characterized by a gap between the rich and the poor. Capitalism Realism went on to advertising which at the time was using the techniques of subliminal persuasion and later turned into a post-modern advertising. The study included examples of artists who collaborate with advertising, where advertising has worked artistically and how the artist became a trademark. The study also showed that there are strong objections in the art world to working with advertising, but not vice versa. Advertising seems happy to work with arts.

With the help of image analysis and scent theory, we have made an analysis that explains how the perfume smells in advertising. There are many different factors that play a role in our perception of smell by image. We have found that using the connotations we can get a sense of the scent. What helps us along the way, the colors, the women and the environment. From this one different conclusions are mad and we create a scent sensation.

Thesis (M.Des.)--York University, 2008. Graduate Programme in Design. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-61). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR38805

Media use of hurricane graphics to apprise populations vulnerable to severe weather provides a persuasive demonstration of the importance and complexity of visual communication. Surprisingly little research, however, has explored how audiences interpret weather graphics. This study examined whether the general public and the National Weather Service share a common understanding of selected weather related terms and meaning of a NWS informational graphic. Using a coorientation model, general public responses to a questionnaire were compared to definitions prescribed by the NWS. Additionally, the public were asked questions to measure trust of the NWS as a credible and reliable source of severe weather information. Selected broadcast meteorologists were surveyed to measure their opinions of the NWS as well as to measure their perceptions of how the general public would respond to questions relating to knowledge of weather terms and graphics. Results revealed discrepancies between the intent of such graphics and audience interpretations. While the vast majority of respondents recognized the Tropical Cyclone Track Watch/Warning Graphic and understood much of the information it conveyed, study respondents did not seem to remember or understand the meaning of the terms Watch and Warning. While these terms or conditions are only one aspect of the graphic they represent critical information for populations at risk. Additionally, the results of this study indicate that weather forecasting professionals' perceptions of the public's understanding of the graphic are inaccurate. Results also show respondents generally rate the NWS as a reliable and competent agency but they do not consistently rate their local weather providers as well. Weather scientists' foremost concern may be the accuracy of their forecasts, but they also must consider the accuracy of the perceptions of those forecasts if they are to be effective in warning populations at risk of severe weather. These results have sobering implications for both governmental and private sources of emergency communication.

This dissertation is a micro-analysis of one particular type of communicative practice, the "mise-en-scène communication," which emerges as people talk and build scenery in their everyday work experiences in a theater consulting company in Taiwan. This dissertation engages in interaction analyses of participants' naturally occurring talk and face-to-face interaction in the set design meetings. Three findings are documented. First, mise-en-scène communication is multimodal. The participants use visual representations to communicate. These visual representational tools include architectural drawings, scale models, miniature props, and 3-D models and animations. The use of visual representations and communicative resources of language, gestural and postural conduct, the material surround, and physical objects enable the participants to visually communicate, envision, and construct scenes in and through talk and interaction. Second, mise-en-scène communication concerns three key organizing, work practices of creating an entirety of the theatrical space, including the scene-setting practice, the staging practice, and the measuring practice. This study finds that in these three major mise-en-scène practices identified, the theater artists express and formulate scenes and dramatic ideas in their talk. At the same time, they also frequently turn to bodily conduct as a source of insight into configuring, expressing, and formulating dramatic scenes. Third, the architectural drawings, the scale models, the props in miniature, and the computer simulations of theater space provide a material, perceptual field, which shapes embodied interaction systematically performed within it. The architectural drawings enable the participants to project the perceivable space through language and bodily behaviors. The miniature model and objects in a set create a full stage of symbolic communication in which scenes are arranged and dramas are spoken and created. Moreover, the theater artists manage to use language, gestures, and semiotic resources of the computer program, Maya, and its design interface to communicate and build 3-D scenes together. This research concludes that the plurality of channels exists in human communication. The micro-analysis of mise-en-scène communication reveals such a communicative process in which the participants draw on multiple modalities to visually construct theatrical meaning out of the set of visualization objects. / text

Today’s society is characterised by the production of massive amounts of information— freely transferred—and instant access to knowledge. This current overproduction of data is translated into complex diagrams to enhance the clarity. Nevertheless, it is commonplace in information design practice to find diagrams that are not communicating the intended messages. The act of conceiving the diagram takes place during conceptual design. This can be where misleading analysis and superfluous information organisation actions may lead to ill-conceived conceptual design, and therefore to ill-conceived diagrams, i.e. overloaded, unintelligible and disorganised. Existing tools for conceptual design of diagram creation do not properly meet design practitioners’ needs in that they tend to be excessively time-consuming to implement. This indicates a need for the exploration of new design methods focused specifically on the conceptual design stage of the process of designing diagrams. This practice-led thesis presents one such possible design method, i.e. MapCI Cards, aimed at guiding experienced graphic and information design practitioners in the preparation of complex diagrams. MapCI Cards presents a collection of guidelines that make use of prompts and questions, in order to assist the conceptual design stage of diagram creation. The use of the proposed design method does not guarantee the production of outstanding outputs. The purpose of MapCI Cards is not to create aesthetic design; rather, it is to increase an understanding through guided content analysis and organisation of the information to be conveyed. Lists, draft diagrams, mind-maps and sketches are some of the possible resulting outputs of using the MapCI Cards. In short, the cards assist the development of the conceptual idea of the potential final diagram that will be developed in the prototype design stage. The first stage of this research investigates how complex diagrams organise information, using the London Underground diagram as a case study. Analytical relational surveys are used to explore diagram creators’ decision-making processes. Sets of studies of diagram structures (Walker, 1979a; Tufte, 1983), design processes (Wurman, 1989; Jones, 1992) and information organisation (Wurman, 2001; Shedroff, 2003; Roam, 2008) are examined and combined. After this, the data collected are analysed using qualitative visual methods, and rearranged to develop the content in MapCI Cards. Two pilot workshops are designed as the revising and optimising methods. Then, five self-documentation cases drawn from practising information designers in the UK are conducted to test MapCI Cards within professional practice. The performance of the proposed guided approach to conceptual design is measured through an interpretation model, and key informants’ insights are used to delimit its conditions and limitations.