This thesis seeks to shed some light on the study and practice of visual communication
across cultural boundaries, Using a semiotic approach, it examines how a selected
range of Western brand images that are promoted in the People's Republic of China are
'read' and interpreted by the local urban population. The case studies include symbolic
images, such as logomarks and logotypes, as well as iconic images such as
photographic material in advertisements. The political, economic and social context,
and cultural aspects, such as attitudes, values and various cultural codes, are
considered as influencing factors tha t affect the decoding of the meaning of visual
unages.
The research indicates that the intended and perceived meanings of a branding image
rarely match when there is a significant difference between the cultures in which the
image is encoded and decoded. While in a few instances the local population interprets
the Western brand images in the manner intended by the Western communicator, most
are interpreted differently. Some images are interpreted with a positive, albeit
different, connotation, others are seen as rather negative. In the worst-case scenario,
the messages are severely misunderstood and totally rejected by the readers due to
cultural incompatibility.
Rather unexpectedly, symbolic images, acknowledged as arbitrary and culture-specific
in nature, are more readily interpreted in a positive way and close to the intended
meaning than are the iconic images. The latter tend to be interpreted almost exclusively
in the reader's (rather than the author's) cultural context and thus may be prone to
misunderstanding or even rejection.
The thesis concludes that the challenge in communicating visually across cultural
boundaries is to recognise cultural differences, and draw on cultural compatibility to
generate shared meaning and avoid cultural clashes that cause negative interpretation
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/233970 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Fu, Linda, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Communication |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Linda Fu |
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