Forum: visual arguments are everywhere

[benmiller314]

For homework after lesson 9, I'm asking you to find and screenshot (if online) or photograph (if offline) an example of an argument being made through graphic or visual design. Then you'll post it here, along with answers to the questions below.

To be clear:

• By "design," I mean that some person made an active choice in its arrangement. A heap of clothes on the floor may have a lot of artistic potential to a photographer, but it's not yet designed.
  • By "in the wild," I mean that I expect you to come across some in the course of your routine travels around the web – or around your surroundings, if you're in a place where you get out into your surroundings. That said, if you need to search more actively, so be it; for one thing, you may need to pay more attention to ads that you've trained yourself to ignore. (But, to answer a question from class, yes, ads are totally fine.)
  • By "argument," I mean there should be an idea beyond the pure visual layout. The argument could be explicit or implicit; it could be serious or a joke. (Some claims are just X is like Y.) Often multiple kinds of claims will exist in the same artifact, and will interact. But you should be able to put it in words.

Once you've found a visual argument, post a picture of it here, and tell us more about the image:

• What is the argument it's making?
• How does the design function in terms of the vocabulary from the readings (gestalt principles, constrast/similarity, figure/ground)?
  • Update: given the longer readings this year, we can also talk through this vocab in class instead of on the forum. For now, focus on finding the images! We'll use those to ground the conversation.

[altrnate]

As we can see in this picture, rather than providing a political or social argument, this is giving a marketing argument on why this product is superior to others. First and foremost, this piece uses the LAW OF PRÄGNANZ in several different ways. First, we see the product brightly in front of us, with its bold orange. Second, the dark mountains help to isolate the product on its own. Next, we also see figures and ground being used. The dark mountains again help to make the product pop. In addition to this, we can see that the dark text contrasted with a white background so it doesn't get muddled in detail. Both of these help us to determine the product as the focal point. Finally, the claim the quote relates to the viewers past experiences, as those that they are marketing to have probably experienced wet boots after several days of skiing or snowboarding.

[arianakeith]

This is a Valentine's Day advertisement PetSmart has launched this year. When initially looking at this image you can see that the dog holding the heart shaped balloon is the focal point. We can tell from this, filling in information for ourselves to get understanding on the meaning, that PetSmart wants us to think about our dogs for Valentine's Day. Between the visual of the dog and the heart shaped balloon, we can conclude what the meaning is without PetSmart explicitly stating this is for Valentine's Day. The Law OF PRÄGNANZ is used here as well. This fundamental principle is all about simplicity. Simple images are said to be safer, as they take less time to process. There are distinct objects here that one does not need to heavily analyze to understand. The visual correlation of dog and hearts is made apparent, and that alone sends the message that PetSmart wants the consumer to be exposed to.

[josieharris1]

I found this Miller Lite ad on Twitter, which attempts to stab back at Bud Light for pointing out that Miller Lite is less healthy for using corn syrup in their beer. This ad is telling the consumer that Miller Lite actually contains less calories and less carbs than Bud Light, making Bud Light’s claims untrue. I think it has a mix of positive and negative aspects to it. While it’s simple, straightforward, and easy to understand, the Emergence idea of the Gestalt Theory proves that looking at parts of the ad may confuse the message. When I first glanced at the ad, I noticed the two cans of beer in equilibrium. Without analyzing the rest of the ad, I was unable to tell which brand was being promoted. This idea is also relative to contrast and similarity in that its primitive features are identical in the ad: there are no physical components that separate the two beers or brands. This ad also lacks contrast and a focal point, making it difficult to differentiate each part until the message is understood. That being said, its simplicity also adds to the success of the ad because it still makes an argumentative point, proving that their message was strong enough to be conveyed without an excess of visual components.

[taylorjenkins]

This is an advertisement for a Pittsburgh shoe swap. The focal point of this image seems to be the two sneakers and the clothing rack as they appear to be in the middle of the poster. The pointing of the shoes reminded me of the common fate Gestalt principle because they look like their pointing towards the QR code, which the designer of this poster most likely wanted viewers to scan. The colors in this poster - orange, black and blue - seem to form a similar theme throughout the piece. You can tell that the images of shoes and clothing help to enhance the message of what is being traded without having to explicitly read the entire message.

[jannawohl]

This example of a visual argument is an image I found related to child abuse. In this image, we see a little boy crying, showing that he is upset for some reason. There is an arm composed of a wide variety of mean words choking the boy and making him upset. If you look closely at this arm filled with words, we can see some of the words that are written, and some include: moron, fatso, worthless, fool, and spoiled brat. On this arm, written in white says, “Verbal abuse is still abuse.” Overall, the combination of the images and words in this image form the message that words affect people in more negative ways than they may think, and that people should think about what they say - just because one person does not think their words are offensive, another person might. The principle of contrast is demonstrated in this image, as there is a picture of a human as well as an illustrated hand composed of all words. Because the composition of the two subjects is completely different, they stand out against each other. Also, the viewer’s eyes are certainly drawn towards both subjects for different reasons- the boy is really cute and filled with emotion, while the hand is composed of words which is a very interesting and unique concept. I think this is a very simple yet effective way of presenting this argument.

[BenA03]

Above is an image that I thought demonstrated design principles well, which I found, ironically, while reading through Smashing Magazine's articles on design principles.

This is an advertisement for a JavaScript library called Kendo UI. We can tell it is an advertisement from the "30-day free trial" button, which most people would associate with the eventual purchase of some product or service.

Something I found interesting about this ad is that all the "important" features are in white. The description of the library is in white text and the name of the company and product are in white. Notably, the "30-day free trial" button, which the advertisers want you to notice and click on the most, is the strongest cluster of white throughout the image. This relates to our discussion of similarity, since the advertisers likely want us to associate the positive description of the product with the name of the company and the button we can click on to buy the product.

To keep the foreground text clear, the background is blue, which makes sure the background does not obscure the text we are supposed to read.

[MikeBailey412]

I found this advertisement for the NHL Skills Competition on the Penguin's Instagram. I'd say the main focus of this is Sidney Crosby in the center of the image. The Penguin's social media team wants the fans to know that he will be participating in the skill competition. I'd say that they are arguing that Sidney is such a good player that you don't want to miss him showing off his skills in the competition against all of the other great players. The Gestalt principle of Focal Points stands out to me in this image. Again, Sidney is the primary focal point. Since he is the biggest thing in the image and it contrasts well with the white background, your eye is immediately drawn to him.

[jordanmarch]

I found this Adidas advertisement which is promoting "Adicolor". What caught my eye was the bright blue background and the model in the center of the image. The orange of the model's top contrasts the light blue background, which draws viewers' eyes to the focal point of the image (the model, their top, and ultimately the Adidas logo in the center). I found the text at the bottom to be compelling. The "main character" point requires a sort of understanding of internet culture and what exactly it means to be the "main character". This is an ideal version of the self and someone a person wants to be. This ad argues that if you wear Adidas's Adicolor, you will achieve becoming the main character, and combines visual and textual elements to market their product.

[lks50]

I noticed this graphic design while shopping at the Free People store on Penn Ave. The assortment of visual images/advertisements were displayed above the brand's activewear line, Free People Movement. In Steven Bradley’s article, Design Principles: Visual Perception And The Principles Of Gestalt, he explains how Gestalt’s Theory relates to proximity. He claims “when elements are positioned close to one another, they are seen as part of a group rather than as individual elements.” The images I found “in the wild” have meaning separately, but when they are placed together the meaning changes. When they are positioned close it exaggerates the feeling of movement and functionality that the design is trying to convey.

[kellenapp]

I use chocolate sauce for cafe mocha's in the morning, and I tend to like Ghirardelli more than Hershey's so I saw this in my fridge and decided to use it for this discussion. I guess the point/argument of this is to convince people walking by the shelf of chocolate sauce that they should choose this brand. In contrast with other brands, Ghirardelli makes the bottle bright red whereas Hershey's (and most brands) make the bottle brown, because chocolate is brown. This most likely is to make Ghirardelli stand out and be the first brand seen by a shopper, this kind of makes the bottle a focal point if you think about it. Looking at the design alone, it's honestly kind of ugly. It feels like they took a stock photo of a brownie and a milkshake with cocoa sauce on them and plastered it onto a red background. The "CHOCOLATE" doesn't stand out very much, white on red isn't contrasting enough (in my opinion at least). On the bright side, the actual Ghirardelli logo is navy which does contrast with the red well and helps it stand out. The eye relates the brownie and the milkshake because of their proximity, and because they are both food even though they are separate things. Overall, it's not my favorite design.

[juradodiego]

I get a lot of my groceries through Target specifically Target Same-day Delivery. It's a time saver. When I opened up the application this morning I had one focus - ordering cat food. But I was bombarded by these types of Valentine's Day advertisements. However, the word "Valentine" is only present on one of the products in the advertisement, and yet through the colors of the image, and the products used in the image I understand this is a Valentine's Day advertisement. Not only that, it invokes a call to action. It states "There's still time" with an intended emphasis on still - targeting a specific group of people who may forget it's Valentine's day net week. The use of Red, Purple, and Pink invoke a warm comforting feeling. Further, each product showcased serves a secondary purpose: camera, reminds me of memories; flowers, remind me of love; a mug, coziness, and finally chocolates represent gifting.

[anayoungblut]

I play lacrosse and like to keep up with current seasons, so I tend to see a lot of posts like the one above advertising a game schedule. The main heading reads "TV SCHEDULE" and the size of it would be considered a primitive feature; it is the largest textual element on the graphic, thus it draws the attention of viewers first (dominance). The words "Duke Women's Lacrosse" above "TV SCHEDULE" are much smaller and the different font is easily overlooked in comparison to the simple, bold font of the larger heading. The main focal point of this design are the three Duke players taking up the entire bottom half of the graphic. Although they are the largest element of the design, they do not contribute to the argument, which is to draw viewers to watch the four season games that will be broadcast on the ACC Network. The only positive addition the three players make is a break up of the entirely blue and white color scheme. Above the three players are the four teams the Duke will play whose games will be shown on TV. Each school logo (Yale, Pitt, UVA, and UNC) is shown in white and does not contain any of the school's respective colors. Despite the lack of coloring or university name, the logos are recognizable on their own.

I do think the argument is obvious: to encourage viewership of ACCN broadcasted season games. That said, the two biggest flaws in this graphic are the coloring and proportions. The entirely blue and white scheme makes it easy for viewers to see the entire image rather than focus on any of the individual textual features. The only indication of hierarchy in the textual elements is size of font. Finally, the large players on the bottom half of the graphic distract from the text at the top, which inherently detracts from the argument of the piece.

[Asher-Goods]

This is an informative graphic that promotes a speaker event for two speakers this past Wednesday. When looking at this picture, the first thing that drew my attention was the two faces of the speakers in the center. They appear to be two older distinguished lads. The next thing which I focused on was the heading "An Evening with Dennis Ross and Ghaith Al-Omari. From these two things, we can draw that this is a speaker event. This would be a good example of emergence. The minor details are then noticed upon further examination. The graphic uses symmetry and order with the two geometric maroon shapes which border the top and bottom of the image to draw attention to the center picture. The use of common regions can be examined when looking at how most technical information is found within the red regions. Additionally, the two speakers' headshots sit snuggly together and parallel which makes them appear more closely related than the other elements within the image.

[skygel]

Scrolling through Instagram I came across this ad for Jack's Flight Club. The graphic is advertising the discounted flights you can get by using their website. The ad is simple and not too busy or flashy. The ad features the word "Hawaii" in large letters in the middle of the picture. The background photo could then be assumed to be Hawaii. In a slightly smaller font the price "$600" is slashed out with the new price "$109" in a different color next to it. This is to show a comparison between the original price of a flight to Hawaii compared to the price you would pay when using Jack's Flight Club. Next to the prices, it states "Round Trip" indicating that the prices shown for flights would be round trip flights. On the top middle of the graphic, there is the logo for Jack's Flight Club. Overall this graphic is used to argue how much money you could save on flights when using Jack's Flight Club over competitors. Overall I think the simplicity of the design makes the information easier to digest along with grabbing the viewer's attention with bold letters in the middle of the graphic.

[michaelpacifico]

I was on Instagram looking at a page called "teenageengineering", which is a music instrument company. But the reason why I went on the page because they were also selling a computer PC case, which peaked my interest since I like computer stuff. Then I saw this Instagram post, which I think are both a musical instrument and speaking built-in one. And given the arrangement of the wooden figures gives off this orchestral feel, that makes me believe that you'll be able to produce high quality audio from these wooden blocks. Another interesting thing about this post is that it lacks any words so it makes the product the solo focal point, allowing the product to speak for itself.

[bst20]

My Instagram feed is often filled with different graphics whether its related to social justice, international issues or just random sponsored posts trying to sell me a product. Here's on Instagram post that I had saved a little while ago and I just recently came across once again. This image appears to utilize both Gestalt's concept of reification and the Law of Prägnanz. While the image isn't necessarily similar to that of the panda graphic example given in the article for reification it still gets an idea across by letting in the viewer fill in the gaps. This graphic is clearly targeted towards an American audience to raise awareness of gun violence and make the argument that everyone should feel safe in houses of worship, schools, and grocery stores. It doesn't outright say that its spreading awareness about gun violence and mass shootings but when directed at an American audience it doesn't need to. Because we unfortunately are all to familiar with the issue so even just seeing the images of the school, worship place and the grocery store we know what the creator's message is. Secondly the image also uses the Law of Prägnanz in its simplicity. It doesn't bombard the viewer with information and just keeps the image simple and to the point, enough to get the message across.

[ChrisTroina]

The image I found is meant to advocate against litter to show that turtles are unable to tell the difference between jellyfish and plastic bags. The image uses symmetry to show this by having the same amount and similar layout of the jellyfish and the plastic bags, with your view being guided towards the text in the middle. Because it is entirely blue it also shows how similar they can be, but it also means that it stands out less.