What’s up Dawgs! Today’s bone is a simple reflection.
I have thoroughly been enjoying my time in Visual Communications class. I believe, at times, a lot of the nuances of visual communication can be taken for granted. This is a mistake. This class has opened my eyes to what may be deemed as ‘obvious’. It has made me take a step back and really start processing the intricacies that go into a good design. My whole life I have seen or made different designs that I consider to be good, but I never really knew why. It was just a gut feeling. With this class, I have been able to view designs in a more concise way and actually have an understanding of why I and others are drawn to particular designs.
Let’s get to the nitty-gritty. I was a bit hesitant near the beginning of this whole adventure, but I decided to jump in headfirst and see what happens. I am glad I did. I have grown a deeper appreciation for the visual stimuli that we are bombarded with every day.
I have a feeling that this class could have been seen as shallow and simple. That could be further from the truth. I think this class speaks in a way that forces you to dig deeper. You are depriving yourself of something I don’t normally see in other classes and that is a sense of freedom, individuality, and critical thinking. I think this class has a deeper layer that is difficult to describe with only words. I’m going to try and describe this with the aid of an image.
This image is quite simple. It’s a square. You may think to yourself ‘this is a pointless square and adds no value’, but that isn’t the case. The square may not be outgoing, vibrant, or mystifying; but it does have a voice, does it not? What is the square trying to say? What does the square add? For me, I feel a strange sensation that is… still hard to explain.
It’s so simple, yet for some reason it makes me feel something that otherwise would never have existed.
Those various feelings and emotions involved with all visual communication is that deeper layer that we have been able to talk about in class.
I have, unfortunately, gone well over the class word count and I feel I might have to end this post quite abruptly…
For the future, I hope to keep diving further into that deeper layer of visual communication. It almost feels philosophical; and like philosophy, it’s likely that we will never be able to fully understand visual communication, but I’m happy to keep trying. The point is not to get to the bedrock, but the point is to keep digging.
You never know what that next layer could say to you, and at least for me, I want to figure out.
Anyways,
Chew on that bone for awhile, Dawgs.
Hey! I truly enjoyed reading your response, and I think your blog has some really great stuff. I agree with your idea on the importance of this class. I believe that it has changed the way that I view images, fonts, and even everyday things that I observe. Visual communication is so important, and it was a pleasure to read how you articulated it so eloquently.
Hi! Great blog post, I totally agree the course has been extremely informative, especially on how rhetoric and visuals affects how we view our society and the images that are marketed towards us. It has taught me to look more critically at the world around us and how simple objects change our perception
I enjoyed reading your post. You’re exactly right this class opening eyes to stuff that might often be overlooked. I just wanted to add that your analogy of the square. Before I took this class, I’m not quite sure if I would’v given that square a second thought. But now, I’m able think of a few ways of the intention the author had.
Rex!
First and foremost this is my first time visiting your blog this semester and I honestly was looking forward to finding yours. I am not disappointed! You’ve set your blog up so nicely, it has a great and interesting title and I love how each one is a “bone” super cool!
Anyway I agree that there were many lessons I would have thought were obvious before learning more about them. My favorite being the psychology behind color use. It’s exactly like you were trying to explain with the square. Colors can “say” so much more than simply “I am red”. Red can mean scary, dangerous, hot, romance and many other things. In life, and especially our group as communication majors, we need to constantly reflect on the deeper meanings and messages behind non verbal communication. Visual communication was not my strong suit before this class but I definitely think I am also broadening my horizons thanks to our class to a better understanding of what we say WITHOUT our words.
-Vanessa Parente
Hey, Nice blog post ! My blog post on the reflection of this course was quite similar to yours actually. Before taking this class I used to walk past a lot of art in the city but never really thought much and out it or stopped to analyze it. Now that i’ve taken this course I constantly find my self analyzing things a bit more and creating my own meanings and interpretations.
Amazing blog. Yes, this visual design class is quite complex and allows us to dig deeper into visuals in a way we may have never thought of before. I love how you example the square. It is so simple yet when you look at it, you are almost convinced into believing there is more to it than just 4 sides. That’s what this course is teaching us to do. Best wishes to you for the rest of the semester!
When it comes to visual designs. We always think its good. But its us doing the visual design and we have that gut feeling as if ” this is a great design” and goes through with it. It really does open your eyes as to how visual designs are and it does make you go deeper as to why visual designs are the way they are