What I Have Learned This Semester ...

First, I have found a significant improvement in my ability to understand visual communication. Throughout my academic life, this is the first time I have moved away from my comfort zone, however, not to find any discomfort. I have started understanding the “whyness and howness” of different visual media. Colors, motions, and music have started making sense to me. Or, I have started taking components of visual design as “motivated signs.”
Throughout the semester, I was struggling through the complexities of the uses of different technological tools. The theoretical discussions in both the books (Practices and Grammar) are quite familiar to me as these theories are interdisciplinary in nature and are explored in other fields too. But the real purpose behind theories is always improvements in practices, which I had to struggle through all the way to the end of the semester. But, even if it was difficult, it was rewarding as well.
Regarding the ideas learnt from this course, the first idea is that of questioning the notion of “one to one correspondence between image and reality.” Or, different theories of visual communication have challenged the idea that photographic reality is the exact reproduction of the external reality. Rather, photography always selects something by deselecting the others, thereby distorting reality and offering a partial view. Second important idea is the notion of social construction of meaning of visual communication. Meaning is not produced only by the producer, it is also mediated and sometimes even interrogated by the audience or the viewers too. Visuals can be powerful means of constructing reality. But at the same time the manipulation of it can be equally so in exposing the ideology behind the construction of certain meaning or reality. The manipulation of the cowboy ad powerfully demonstrates how meaning of an image can subverted through some creative manipulation. This is what we learnt through our digital remix subproject.
Similarly, I found Grammar of Visual Design particularly interesting as it takes us through both the theoretical and the practical aspects of visual communication. It offers us insights into understanding colors, shapes, motions, and modality of images. This book really provides practical guidance to both the beginners in the field and the experts. Their discussion of visual language in terms of (verbal language) linguistics is both insightful and sometimes highly technical. But I really enjoyed reading it. It’s true that we can understand visual communication if we approach it as having its own grammar similar to that of language. I found the ideas of sign, conceptual and narrative representations, color symbolism, and the positioning of the material in images quite useful for me to understand the basics of visual communication.
Even if technological tools almost frustrated me, I could learn a lot and use them considerably well to accomplish different projects of the course. All the software were new to me. I learnt little bit photoshop in the beginning, but since I had to use that again while developing website, I really have got good footing on it. Moviemaker was not that difficult to learn. But dreamweaver was really frustrating. But with a lot of help from Michael Hovan, I could learn some basic stuff about it. Now, I can say that I can use these tools when necessary.
Overall, this course has been incredibly useful for me.

My favorite song

Website

http://people.clemson.edu/~hpaudel

Materiality and Meaning

The writers now move from the visual signs and their abstract aspects to their material side. Like visual signs theselves, their materiality is also semiotic. They claim that “signs in their materiality are fully motivated” and the relationship between their materiality and their signification are not global, rather it is both specifically contextual and historical. However, the materiality also offers the visual communicators some opportunity to project their individuality or subjectivity.

Technology affects the production and reception of visual signs as it facilitates or limits the use of certain means of production. The writers divide these technologies into three categories as they relate to different historical periods and different epistemological standpoints.
a. Production: technologies in which representations are rendered in all aspects by human hands and hand-held tools like pen, brush, etc.
b. Recording technologies: “the technologies of the eye (and ear), technologies which allow more or less automated analogical representation of what they represent, for instatnce, audiotape, photography and film;
c. Synthesizing technologies: they “allow the production of digitally synthesized representations while remaining tied to the eye (and ear), these reintroduce the human hand via a technological ‘interface’, at present still in the shape of a tool (keyboard, mouse), though in future perhaps increasingly through direct articulation by the body.
This shift in the use of technologies also means the shift in the way the visual signs are perceived by the readers (viewers, audience). The idea of representation as reference has broken down and given way to ‘signification.’ It affects the modality of the visual images too. Like the material substance, the color also has different associations of meaning. It is also contextual and historical, but not arbitrary.

Movie

Liberty Leading People

Raphael's Painting

Modality is Social Construct like Truth or Reality

Like Janet and Beth, I also was puzzled about the meaning of “modality.” But later, when the writers discuss “modality” in relation to the “auxiliary verbs,” (linguistics) I could make sense to some extent. As with other chapters, we find the same kind of use of linguistic jargons which make very simple idea of credibility of visual communication really very complex to understand.
The writers’ discussion of modality markers and their varying meanings or degrees of credibility in different contexts helps us understand their point that “modality” itself or the markers of modality and their relation to reality or truth is socially constructed. I like the way they present their idea of social semiotic in terms of the distinct ways in which different fields like science, naturalism, and abstract arts assign different value to the same markers of modality. I think the writer’s main point in this chapter is that modality is always related to the values and beliefs of a group. The system of coding and decoding is different in different fields.
Chapter 6 is highly informative for me to interpret images. This chapter provides a good language to read and understand the meanings of differnet parts and aspects of images. The chapter became particularly interesting when I found it discussing the composition of images in terms of placement. That something at the top is supposed to be ideal and the ones at the botton real. In planning my website design, I was thinking on the same line. For instance, I was thinking of making a tourist look up to the wonderful, seemingly fantastic and ideal view of the beauty and grandeur of Nepali mountains and artistic buildings. On the other hand, I was thinking of making another man looking down at the other side to the site of poverty and hardships. But now the problem is that of new and old. If the things on the right connote new information and those on the left the old one, my plan won't be compatible with this model. Perhaps, I can utilize the concept of the round pictures where the central palce is taken by the most important. So, now I can present two pictures in bigger circles on the top right and the left bottom sides. However, I still not sure whether that works or not.

Final script