This study evaluated photographs used in Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report in stories about biotechnology and food safety issues from the years 2000 and 2001. This study implemented a semiotic methodology to determine if the messages conveyed by the photographs positively or negatively communicated agricultural issues. This research found that the news magazines had a balanced number of positive and negative photographs. Data indicated that many of the photographs involved similar subjects and, therefore, could be promoting stereotypes. This research also examined the technical methods used by photographers and found that the majority of the photographs were taken with very similar camera settings. This study also found that magazines use a large number of staged shots as opposed to a more documentary style. This staging indicates that photographers have control in the messages communicated to the viewer of the photograph.

Graphic Design by definition, is conceptual, its birth and production process depends on the conceptualization of problems and solutions. This report will explore what role does conceptual art, and conceptual strategies, play in the applied arts or visual communications. Just as in conceptual art, in graphic design “…the aesthetics of the design is less important than the “product” it signifies; its meaning is more important than its appearance.” Strong examples of conceptual strategies will be described through the work of graphic designers Paul Rand, Allan Fleming, and Robert Brownjohn, who experiment with “defamiliarizing the ordinary” and advertising campaigns that have used a conceptual approach. / text

Mark-making captures movement and preserves gesture. Marks can reveal the motion behind their creation and convey thoughts through non-verbal, non-literal means.

My search for creative inspiration often leads to explorations in natural and built environments. Being physically immersed in an environment offers endless vantage points, as well as points of focus; allowing all senses to function as receptors of surrounding data. Observations stimulate thoughts and ideas, which inspire experiments. Projects are born, sometimes out of the smallest details. In a series of projects I explore the possibilities of using physical environments as primary source of inspiration and input in the creation of tools that function in design contexts.

Culminating with a dream, this project transverses theoretical and geographical boundaries with explorations into the message-carrying potential of video, sound, performance, print, and web. Stories and content are extracted from an autobiographical history of one small western town turned boomtown. That town, the center from which the project emerges, is Vernal, Utah.

I believe that aural and visual language can contribute and inspire one another. Sound evokes the emotions and the senses. It is a catalyst for our imagination. It can be combined with imagery for the purpose of communication, harmoniously or contrastively. Both have corresponding characteristics—color/timbre, brightness/pitch, length/duration, scale/volume, composition/rhythm—and thus provide ways of transforming each other back and forth as input and output. Computer technology has increased the ease of transforming and manipulating the two. In my thesis project, I explore sound visualization, sound/image transformation and combination.

A Comunicação Visual em hospitais tem o poder de tornar o espaço agradável e acolhedor, pois suas peças, quando dispostas de maneira planejada e sistematizada, podem formar um conjunto chamado de \"ambiência hospitalar\". Essas peças (placas, banners, totens, displays, fachadas etc.) cumprem funções de sinalização, identidade visual e transmitem informações administrativas e funcionais. O objetivo desta pesquisa é evidenciar que o ambiente hospitalar, por ser extremamente complexo, necessita de um projeto de Comunicação Visual com caráter multidisciplinar. A metodologia adotada partiu de uma pesquisa bibliográfica relacionada a diferentes áreas envolvidas com a Comunicação Visual aplicada ao tema hospital. Foram realizadas entrevistas informais com produtores e fornecedores, além de visitas de prospecção a hospitais. Não foi adequado fazer estudos de caso, por não terem sido autorizados registros fotográficos. Tendo sido necessário recorrer a fontes indiretas para obtenção de instrumentos de exemplificação, optou-se por um levantamento iconográfico, utilizando referências disponíveis em meios impressos e digitais para caracterizar os elementos da teoria. Dada a complexidade do tema, não existe uma literatura específica consolidada e, na literatura das áreas afins, os conceitos ainda são divergentes e incipientes. A contribuição desta pesquisa está na organização dos estudos na interface de Comunicação Visual aplicada a outras áreas, pois hospitais são organismos complexos, dinâmicos e flexíveis que exigem soluções que acompanhem e respeitem essas características. / Visual Communications in hospitals can make the space agreeable and welcoming, since, when arranged in a planned, systematic manner, the pieces can form an assemblage that is denominated as the \"hospital ambience\". These pieces (signs, banners, totems, displays, façades etc.) have signaling and visual identity functions and convey administrative and functional information. The purpose of this study is to show that the hospital environment, for being extremely complex, requires a multidisciplinary approach to Visual Communications. The adopted methodology was based on a review of the available literature related to different areas involved with Visual Communications applied to the hospital theme. Informal interviews were held with producers and suppliers, and prospecting visits made to hospitals. It was not appropriate to undertake case studies, since photographic records were not authorized. Since it was necessary to resort to indirect sources to obtain tools for exemplification, a decision was made to use an iconographic survey using references available in print and in digital media to characterize the elements of the theory. Given the complexity of the theme, there is not a specific consolidated body of literature to refer to, and concepts are still divergent and incipient in the literature of related areas. The contribution this research project can make is in organizing studies at the interface of Visual Communications applied to other areas, because hospitals are complex organisms that require flexible, dynamic solutions that not only follow, but also respect these characteristics.

A Comunicação Visual em hospitais tem o poder de tornar o espaço agradável e acolhedor, pois suas peças, quando dispostas de maneira planejada e sistematizada, podem formar um conjunto chamado de \"ambiência hospitalar\". Essas peças (placas, banners, totens, displays, fachadas etc.) cumprem funções de sinalização, identidade visual e transmitem informações administrativas e funcionais. O objetivo desta pesquisa é evidenciar que o ambiente hospitalar, por ser extremamente complexo, necessita de um projeto de Comunicação Visual com caráter multidisciplinar. A metodologia adotada partiu de uma pesquisa bibliográfica relacionada a diferentes áreas envolvidas com a Comunicação Visual aplicada ao tema hospital. Foram realizadas entrevistas informais com produtores e fornecedores, além de visitas de prospecção a hospitais. Não foi adequado fazer estudos de caso, por não terem sido autorizados registros fotográficos. Tendo sido necessário recorrer a fontes indiretas para obtenção de instrumentos de exemplificação, optou-se por um levantamento iconográfico, utilizando referências disponíveis em meios impressos e digitais para caracterizar os elementos da teoria. Dada a complexidade do tema, não existe uma literatura específica consolidada e, na literatura das áreas afins, os conceitos ainda são divergentes e incipientes. A contribuição desta pesquisa está na organização dos estudos na interface de Comunicação Visual aplicada a outras áreas, pois hospitais são organismos complexos, dinâmicos e flexíveis que exigem soluções que acompanhem e respeitem essas características. / Visual Communications in hospitals can make the space agreeable and welcoming, since, when arranged in a planned, systematic manner, the pieces can form an assemblage that is denominated as the \"hospital ambience\". These pieces (signs, banners, totems, displays, façades etc.) have signaling and visual identity functions and convey administrative and functional information. The purpose of this study is to show that the hospital environment, for being extremely complex, requires a multidisciplinary approach to Visual Communications. The adopted methodology was based on a review of the available literature related to different areas involved with Visual Communications applied to the hospital theme. Informal interviews were held with producers and suppliers, and prospecting visits made to hospitals. It was not appropriate to undertake case studies, since photographic records were not authorized. Since it was necessary to resort to indirect sources to obtain tools for exemplification, a decision was made to use an iconographic survey using references available in print and in digital media to characterize the elements of the theory. Given the complexity of the theme, there is not a specific consolidated body of literature to refer to, and concepts are still divergent and incipient in the literature of related areas. The contribution this research project can make is in organizing studies at the interface of Visual Communications applied to other areas, because hospitals are complex organisms that require flexible, dynamic solutions that not only follow, but also respect these characteristics.

A logo is a vital part of any company’s visual identity. The following report exploreshow logo design got affected by the recent age of digitalization. The report helpsoutline essential parts of successful logo design for current and future mediums. Sincecompanies want to hire designers or agencies who work based on research andsuccessful methods, this study helps create a generalization of good logo design that iseasy to implement. Our research confirms the notion that design is a science and not an art, since logosare strong when they fulfill their intended purpose and follow specific guidelines.With the help of gathering both quantitative and qualitative data, we found out that theprimary change of logo design through digitalization was done because of the mediumof which the logos lived. The specific elements that changed were that logos nowfocus more on logo marks and have solid and memorable colours. Further, we sawthat logos had to be distinct and unique to work in the overly saturated digital market.At the same time, logos had to be responsive and have the ability to be showcased in asimple way for it to be ready for any medium it could be thrown against. By analyzing some of the most successful logos of all time such as Apple, Adidas,and Nike this report gets an understanding of the part their logo had in making theirbrands successful. Which is also complemented by insightful interviews with industryprofessional designers who helped develop logos and brands for companies such asBurger King, Netflix, and Audi. All this together helped outline a valid understandingof what makes a good logo for the digital age.

I believe that spoken and written languages are verbal and visual expressions of cultures. Language is used to convey and sustain values and the belief system of people. Arabic is a language of complexity and formal beauty that is being disregarded and pushed away by its own native speakers. It is losing its value in the Arab world. In other words it is dying. Both the written and spoken language is being affected. As the world is interchanging, integrating, and becoming closer, there has been a strong impact on many societies, threatening their original culture. Arab cultures are abandoning the rich tradition of the Arabic language to universalize communication. My thesis investigates the relationships between typography as both a visual form of language and play as a mechanism to help children become more familiar and intimate with their native language.