Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
verbal communication, literature, for visualization,
and for searching data on the web. Visual metaphors
are omnipresent in commercial messages. According
to Bertschi (2009), metaphor is a tool of conceptual
economy but also a tool of discovery of structures
within novel or unfamiliar situations. Metaphors
are often applied to enrich literary productions,
stimulate imagination and perception in works of
art, music compositions, stage performances, as well
as product design, marketing, and advertisements. It
also happens often that a metaphor helps to convey
meaning: a notion that has been defined and verbal-
ized in our language is given quite different meaning
when transferred into another language, alphabet,
and culture. Application of the visual metaphor may
eliminate such differences in the understanding of
concepts. Bertoline, Wiebe, Hartman, & Ross (2010)
stress the importance of the nonverbal method in
communicating information as “descriptions of
complex products or structures must be commu-
nicated with drawings. A visual image is formed
in the mind, reviewed, modified, and ultimately
communicated to someone else, all using visual or
graphics processes” (Bertoline et al., p. 4). Metaphor
is often seen an alternative way of expressing com-
mon sense, simplifying or stereotyping, but it can
serve for capturing a cognitive content to achieve a
new sense and valuable insights (Grey, 2000). Meta-
phors are a vital resource for the task of articulating
novel insights into the human condition or refining
old ones. George Lakoff, a UC Berkeley professor
of linguistics and cognitive science discussed how
Republicans could control House, Senate, etc., to
some extent due to the effective use of metaphorical
rhetoric. He argued that conservatives have spent
decades defining their ideas, carefully choosing the
language with which to present them, and building
an infrastructure to communicate them (Powell,
2003). For Lakoff, the development of thought has
been the process of developing better metaphors.
A computer graphics “Food for Thought”
(Figure 2) presents metaphorical presentation of
Figure 2. Anna Ursyn, “Food for Thought”(© 2010, A. Ursyn. Used with permission).
