“The way we think, what we experience, and what we do every day is very much a matter of a metaphor” (Lakoff and Johnson).
For one to be able to discuss and properly analyse graphic elements – one has to start to define different conceptual terms. The way that we could analyse graphical elements is clearly described by Richard Hollis (1934). Hollis – an influential British graphic designer, who has worked as a magazine editor, a book writer and a teacher. As Hollis suggests in his book “About Graphic Design”, “there are three aspects of visual communication always present:
1. Social: Who made it, and for whom? Why and when?
2. Technical: How was it made? What were the tools and materials used? What was the process?
3. Aesthetic: What was the cultural environment, including the current fashion or influence on style?”
Therefore, by dividing visual communication into components, one can get information about a given graphical element and for whom the given element is appointed. As a result, we are able to define the period of time when it was made and the reason for it. Similarly to this, other concepts can be regarded as essential functions of graphic design too. Their purpose is to inform, identify, present and promote. From the listed functions, one can perceive the main goal of graphic design – communication. This follows the notion that graphic design’s content subsists in messages. This is so because, messages are physical: they consist of an alphabet and/or images. It is possible to declare that an alphabet and/or images are “encoded”. The alphabet is a unit to record language. One of the first things we start to learn in life is the alphabet. The elements of the code (letters), gives us ability to transmit the message. The same process can also be applied to images. Like the alphabet, images are also signs, that carry meaning and reflect to viewers their own experience of the real world.
Signs, in a form of images or an alphabet, surround us everywhere. They can be seen in interfaces, books, posters, etc. What is more, they can emerge in a form of a logo, pictogram and emblem. They come out, in different forms that we communicate with. However, the main communication tool stays a written form and only a dead language never changes. Languages, like cultures, influence each other. Several main factors that drive this influence are migration, occupation and globalization. In modern times, one cannot deny that the Internet and New Media does the biggest influence on our language and behavior towards communication. In addition to this, society is one of the biggest shapers of language too. This is so because, cultures are formed by society where every cultural entity becomes a semiotic sign. Culture becomes a collection of symbols that represent present times. Nowadays, the language expands with the new media and technology. New words are created to name the things. Given this, the New Internet Language becomes a tool to navigate through it all. To name few, automatic replies, new structures of communication and abbreviations are some examples. In my opinion, we are creating a new “figurative language” as a system of symbols for communication. With a new symbol language we are able to express emotions, tell a story and give navigation.
We used to write how we speak and now we speak the way we type. The increasing amount of the use of acronyms and abbreviations leads one to question modern society: are we getting mindless or is this a trend, in fact, an example of human evolution? Are we getting back to our roots? Perhaps, in the nearest future, we will start to speak in symbols and pictograms, just like our ancestors did thousands years ago.