Blog Seven -- McCloud

What I found especially interesting about the McCloud comic piece was that his argument and literal text contradicted themselves. While McCloud views images and text as potentially equal forms of communication, the images he includes in his comic are highly ambiguous without the accompanying words. Society has become increasingly technological and thus, more accepting of images. In fact, one might be hard pressed to find a website or digital interface that is not supplemented by or reliant on visual images. Unfortunately for McCloud, this particular comic-format only rebutted his argument. Without the text, the images seem relatively meaningless.

For the most part, I agree with McCloud's theory; words and images are equally poignant forms of communication. However, images must be used much more consciously and carefully to establish clear rhetoric. Visuals require more personal interpretation than text. Thus, ambiguity arises. When an image is very expressive and explicit in its meaning, then it can standalone. The comic worked well to solidify this, I believe.

Blog Six -- Birdsell, Groarke, and Blair

"Visual images can, of course, be vague and ambiguous. But this alone does not distinguish them from words and sentences, which can also be vague and ambiguous. The point that visual images are frequently vague and indeterminate cannot, in view of the demonstrable indeterminacy of verbal expressions, show that images are intrinsically less precise than spoken or written words..." (Birdsell and Groarke 310).

Symbolism goes hand-in-hand with rhetoric (also known as communication). Thus, communication relies on symbols to create arguments. Symbols can incorporate letters and words as well as actual images. It stands to reason that an individual can decipher arguments through any sort of symbolism, though the real meaning may be somewhat vague. A certain degree of ambiguity exists with any form of communication; interpretation is highly dependent on the reader's personal understanding and experience. However, one might argue that visual arguments are more prone to misunderstanding than written ones.

"The meaning of a visual claim or argument obviously depends on a complex set of relationships between a particular image/text and a given set of interpreters" (Birdsell and Groarke 313).

Blog Five -- Arnheim

Qualities as a Sign:

"An image serves merely as a sign to the extent to which it stands for a particular content without reflecting its characteristics visually...[T]hey operate as mere references to the things for which they stand" (Arnheim 138).

A prime example of how this company logo functions as a picture is through the text. Letters are nothing more than abstract representations. The letters themselves do not reflect an actual object, but symbolically represent a greater meaning. Text is human constructed and interpretive. Letters are not arbitrary, but consistently and deliberately used symbols; they carry a synonymous meaning amongst viewers. The audience, pending their knowledge of the English language, easily understands the name of the company through letters.


Qualities as a Symbol:

"An image is symbol to the extent to which it portrays things which are at a higher level of abstractness than is the symbol itself" (Arnheim 139).

The faucets and hardware images are directly related to the store's focus. After all, it is called "Decorative Plumbing and Hardware Association." However, they are meant to be more symbolic of the decorative, uniqueness of this company's products. They are works of art, as opposed to everyday objects. The faucets are morphed into uncommon shapes and the hardware has a particularly interesting geometric shape. By using these images, the company's intention was to display their benefit over competition. Their abstract message is that their products are more individualized and design-focused than others'.


Qualities as a Picture:

"Images are pictures to the extent that they portray things located at a lower level of abstractness than they are themselves. They do their work by grasping and rendering some relevant qualities--shape, color, movement--of the objects of activities they depict" (Arnheim 138).

Abstractness is important to an image's function as a picture. While the company is a plumbing and hardware specialty store, the faucets and accessories are direct representations of this. However, the four images also create a more "whole" picture by depicting the initials of the store: "DPHA." The imagination helps to create a complete portrayal of the "DPHA" letters, though the objects alone do not represent this. To create a complete picture of the store name, all objects are needed.