Thursday 17 October 2013

OUGD501- Study Task 1

Task

Find a piece of design and write a contextual and social analysis on it, based on the Shannon and Weaver model.



By Noma Bar 


The advertisement above is a good example of entropic communication because they are designed to evoke a response from the people who choose to take a side on the issues being suggested. The left image illustrates the topic of women in the military and issues of wether they are capable of fighting for the country. Where as the right ad, suggests women can contribute equally and add value to the military by offering something more than brute strength.

Although elements of the design have been stripped back it still contains high levels of information by challenging the audiences point of view. It cleverly creates two view points by flipping the image on its head to offer alternative meanings. This contributes to the notion of entropic communication because it requires more thought to decode the message as well working on a sub-conscience level that breaks or extends specific conventions. 

The image shows an outline of two navy blue tanks and a red helicopter encased in a white dome. The familiar objects and choice of colour are used to facilitate understanding through convention. It could also be suggested the placement of colour affects the desire to communicate on a personal level by targeting the sub-conscience. The tanks are aiming at the helicopter which suggests the enemy, this is reinforced by the red colouring which symbolises danger.When flipped, the red could be seen to signify seduction and temptation. The transmitter may be trying to communicate to both sides of the audience, targeting opinions.

The advertisement was designed to be displayed as seen above with the instruction to take a photo of one side of the design the viewer agrees with and tweet it. The system engages the target audience and works as a  method of feedback. The Shannon and Weaver model has no means of recording success which suggests this design effectively communicates to the audience. 

No comments:

Post a Comment