Interactions Between the 3 Levels of Visual Design

"The Rage in Placid Lake" film poster

Representational: The photo representation of a man on a motorcycle next to a signpost provides the representational level in this advertisement for the film "The Rage in Placid Lake." It is the only photographic form of representation in the image, and because reality is the dominating visual experience (Dondis), the viewer's attention is drawn straight to it. This makes the image seem surreal and unrealistic, as if the man just happened to ride up and be photographed in the advertisement by mistake.

Abstract: The forms in the writing of the title are abstractions of the letters. The font is abstracted to invoke the feelings the actual words are meant to employ; the word "Rage" is scribbled more vigorously than the other letters. The words "Placid Lake" are more organized, looking perhaps like abstracted buildings. I believe the blurred shape in the background of the image is supposed to be the actual Placid Lake (in the film, Placid Lake is the name of the main character); it is an abstraction of the lake because it has no color or any other signifier that it is actually a lake at all. It is also an abstraction of the boy's name, an abstraction towards symbolism.

Symbolic: Symbol is used everywhere in the image. The representational forms are symbolic of the plot and characters in the film. The abstract elements are symbolic of certain meanings as well. The signpost may be a symbol of confusion, misdirection, or a life path. The letters in the image are symbols used in the English language. This has the impact of relaying direct meaning. Punctuation are symbols; the quotation marks around certain sentences in the image mean that those are what people have said about the film.

Anatomy of a Visual Message: Levels of Designed Visual Information

Free City logo

Abstraction: This is the logo for the brand Free City. Free City apparel frequently features writing on it, with just the bird on it for identification. As explained by Dondis, "the process of abstraction is one of distillation" (71). The image of the bird in the Free City logo is an abstraction of an actual bird, distilled down to the traits of a bird that we recognize. Multiple visual factors have been removed so only the essential characteristics remain; only enough of the detail remains for it to be just recognizable. This is an example of abstraction towards symbolism; the bird is meant to represent a bird, but it is also a symbol signifying the brand Free City.

"Jaws" movie poster

Representational: The movie poster for "Jaws" shows a representational image of a shark. It is a fairly realistic rendering based on human perception and visual experiences. It is not highly representational, however; it is unclear exactly what kind of shark it is, and it is most likely an exaggerated representation. It undoubtedly has certain individual traits that set it apart from other sharks, as it was created for film. Though a fairly realistic image, this is not a completely realistic 3-dimensional model, nor is it a photograph. It is, however, a highly realistic painting of a creature that is very clearly a shark. A photograph may have been more scary because it would actually be real, but in a time before photo editing, a painting was scarier because the size and menace of the shark could be exaggerated.

"Pi" movie poster

Symbolism: The movie poster for the film "Pi" includes the symbol for the number pi rather than a written title. It relies on the audience's knowledge of mathematical symbols to decipher the title of the film. It also assumes that because it is the only thing on the poster, a person could reasonably conclude that it is meant to be the title. The poster uses scale to differentiate the title from the line "faith in chaos." The symbol for pi is simple and universally acknowledged, making it the perfect symbol to use instead of a title. In case there is any confusion as to knowing that this is a movie poster and not just a random advertisement for a mathematical symbol, it says on it that it is a film, and lists the director.