Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
AGAIN
,
ILLUSTRATION
doesn't limit the designer in terms of inventing space and combining dis-
parate elements that would otherwise be empirically impossible. In contrast to the Munich poster
(left), the style is painterly and representational, but the space is no less abstract.
Cyr Studio
United States
Illustration
The choice of illustration over photography opens up tremendous possib-
ility for transmitting information. The designer is not only unencumbered by the limit-
ations of real-world objects and environment but also given the potential to introduce
conceptual overlay, increased selectivity of detail, and the personal, interpretive aspect
of the designer's visualization—through choice of medium, composition, and gestural
qualities. As with all types of images, an illustration can be concrete, objective, or
realistic in how it presents its subject, or it can become abstracted and symbolic; the
designer can add details that normally would not exist in a real scene or can exaggerate
movement, texture, arrangement, space, and lighting. Choosing illustration for image
presentation, however, means potentially sacrificing a kind of credibility or real-world
connection for the viewer. Despite the fact that most audiences realize that a photograph
might just as easily be manipulated and therefore made misleading, the audiences will
still instinctively respond to a photograph as though it were “reality.”
The power of il-
