Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
important and highly effective method for introducing contrast. Very textural, linear il-
lustration, for instance, will contrast richly with photography—which tends to be con-
tinuous in tone—as well as with flat, solid graphic elements. It's important that, while
the different styles being combined contrast with each other decisively, they also share
some visual qualities. Similar to how these other decisions radically affect communic-
ation (as well as compositional quality), the decisions a designer makes regarding im-
age types—icon, symbol, textural drawing, lush photograph—affect communication as
well. Each kind of image brings certain associations with it. Photographs are associated
with documentation or assumed to represent reality. They are concrete, pure, environ-
mental, and reliable. Illustrations are perceived as “created” and personal, readily show-
ing their method of creation; they evoke fantasy, display impossible or ideal situations,
and portray their content in a subjective way—even if they are naturalistic. Icons, sym-
bols, and translations distill and simplify complicated, abstract ideas; they are most of-
ten associated with diagrams, navigation, and identification. The designer must com-
bine image styles selectively to support a given purpose, using the qualities of each to
appropriately convey intended messages and interact with each other in a unified visual
language that assimilates their differences as part of their logic.
This concise (yet by no means comprehensive) table compares the same pair of subjects presented
in various combinations of image mode. Evaluate each pairing for similarities, as well as disparit-
ies, in visual form; which combinations produce the most unified visual relationships, and which
have the most contrast? Then consider which combinations might also be the most useful for com-
paring related concepts, and which offer the richest interplay of concept.
Real, Unreal, and Otherwise
Media and Methods
