VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN

1
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Names: Davis, Meredith, author. | Hunt, Jamer, author.

Title: Visual Communication Design: An introduction to design concepts in
everyday experience / Meredith Davis and Jamer Hunt.
Description: New York : Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2017. | Series: Required
reading range
Identifiers: LCCN 2016048837| ISBN 9781474221573 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781350031838 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Design--Textbooks. | Visual communication--Textbooks. |
BISAC: DESIGN / General. | DESIGN / Graphic Arts / General.
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Series: Required Reading Range

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2
VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN
An introduction to design concepts
in everyday experience

Meredith Davis and Jamer Hunt

Bloomsbury Visual Arts

An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

3
01 2 3
6 PREFACE
8 INTRODUCTION:
AN EVOLVING
CONTEXT FOR DESIGN

8 From artifacts to
experiences
9 Today’s design problems
12 DESIGNING FOR
EXPERIENCE

14 Making sense of
experience
15 Experience and time
17 Experience and media
18 Denotation and
20 THE VOCABULARY OF
VISUAL MESSAGES

21 Elements
24 Composition
28 Code
30 Style
33 Summary
34 GETTING ATTENTION

36 Perceptual and cultural

experience
38 Contrast
44 Figure-ground
48 Color
54 Size constancy
are increasingly complex connotation 56 Scale
10 Individual or single 19 Summary 60 Proportion
disciplines rarely solve 64 Proximity
complex problems 66 Focus
10 People as producers 68 Layering
11 The rapid evolution of 70 Symmetry/asymmetry
technology changes its 72 Closure
influence in our lives 74 Continuity
76 Series and sequences
82 Pattern
86 Rhythm and pacing
88 Motion
91 Summary

4
45 6 7
92 ORIENTING FOR USE
AND INTERPRETATION

94 Principles for
orienting readers to
the interpretation of
information
98 Affordances
134 INTERACTING,
INTERPRETING, AND
EXPERIENCING

135 The nature of signs

138 The nature of interaction
and interpretation
140 Legibility/readability
170 RETAINING AND
EXTENDING MEANING

171 Memory and

categorization
173 Extending the impact
of form
174 Stereotypes
195 CONCLUSION
196 GLOSSARY
201 REFERENCES
203 CREDITS AND
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
204 INDEX

100 Channel 144 Denotation and 176 Archetypes

104 Medium/format connotation 178 Narrative
106 Feedback 146 Framing 180 Mnemonics
108 Wayfinding 148 Abstraction 182 Chunking
110 Mapping 150 Icon, index, and symbol 184 Redundancy
112 Hierarchy 154 Materiality 186 Graphic identity
116 Reading pattern 158 Substitution 190 Branding
120 Grouping 162 Metaphor 193 Summary
124 Edge relationships 164 Appropriation
128 Direction 166 Ambiguity
132 Point of view 168 Cognitive dissonance
133 Summary 169 Summary

5
Preface
Introduction:
an evolving
context for design

6 PREFACE / INTRODUCTION
The form and content of visual messages work together cultural experience. Some visual messages succeed by
to create meanings that are heavily influenced by the delivering on these expectations, some fail, and others
cultural contexts in which we interpret them. If someone deliberately subvert the very things we anticipate. That
yells “fire in a crowded theater, our immediate response is, we construct meaning by attention to forms that meet
is to head for the exits. If that same person yells the same our expectations in specific contexts, but we also respond
word at a shooting range, we understand the command positively to messages that creatively undermine and play
quite differently. It is difficult to assign gravitas to text set with our learned experience.
in the typeface Comic Sans, regardless of its content or
arrangement on a page; we know from experience that This book traces the origins of visual phenomena and
this style of lettering is associated with comic strips. principles for the arrangement of form by providing
examples we encounter in going about our daily lives.
The twentieth-century practice of design rejected It also suggests that the interpretive and behavioral
ornament and other references to culture or history, effects we share in responding to these phenomena and
instead foregrounding fundamental principles for the principles—that is, what we are likely to think and do in
aesthetic arrangement of visual form that were presumed everyday interactions with the world around us—can
to be universal, common to human experience. Many inform the design of communication. If they are truly
schools today acknowledge these principles as the shared by people in the same culture, then they can be
foundation of undergraduate design education by making useful in constructing visual messages.
them the content of first-year study. The curricular legacy
of the Bauhaus Preliminary Course (Vorkurs) organized Underlying this premise is the notion that a goal of
investigations of these concepts in a series of assignments design is to create supportive conditions for someone’s
using abstract forms, which are often repeated in experience; that the application of visual phenomena and
contemporary classrooms with few references to their principles of form are driven by the designer’s intent to
origins in perception and culture. And because first-year narrow the range of possible interpretations and to satisfy
courses typically serve a variety of visual disciplines, rarely the audience or users by making communication useful,
do early explanations of visual phenomena address the usable, and compelling. To that end, concepts in this book
specific demands of communication design for combining are clustered according to a role they play in the interpretive
image with text (language) and the challenges presented experience: getting people’s attention; orienting them
by particular contexts or formats of use (in posters versus to the use of the artifact; shaping their interpretation of
time-based media, for example). meaning; and retaining and extending the significance
of messages. The structure of the text is not focused on
While matters of context and content are frequently the steps a designer takes in constructing messages, the
deferred until later stages of the curriculum under design process. Instead, the book describes the audience’s
this modernist model of education, it is in relation to interpretive process as insight for how to design. The
surrounding conditions and intended meaning that influences of various phenomena and principles are not
fundamental principles make the most sense to beginning restricted to one aspect of the interpretive experience, but
students. It is impossible to ignore the influence of context they are described under a specific outcome where they
on what we think things mean or to ignore the forces are especially significant.
exerted on interpretation by our experiences of living in
a physical and social world. Entries in the following chapters represent the “stuff” of
design; the formal elements and general strategies for
Any interpretations of visual communication, therefore, are their combination that shape a communication experience.
necessarily contextual. Even when referring to abstract Introductions to chapters describe the overarching aspects
shapes, perceptual experiences shape our impressions of the interpretive process that unite entries in the chapter.
of what things mean. A large black square “feels” Each entry begins with a definition of the phenomenon
heavier than a smaller one because we’ve learned to or principle and provides an example from everyday life
associate weight with mass. We assign expression and that links the concept to personal experience. Diagrams
reading order to the size and placement of typographic in some entries isolate the concept in a visual explanation
elements, because a word set in all capital letters feels and examples from professional practice show the concept
more like yelling than lowercase letters and, in most in application. Form and content matter, of course, but
cases, we read English from the upper left to lower right the book demonstrates that they cannot do their work
of compositional space. These are not rules—they are unless the designer is equally attuned to the context of
expectations established by accumulated physical and their reception.

PREFACE 7
INTRODUCTION:
AN EVOLVING CONTEXT FOR DESIGN

What do we mean by “design”? Ask any two designers and From artifacts to experiences
you’ll probably get slightly different answers. For some, Traditionally, designers produce artifacts—that is, they
design is making well-crafted objects that enrich people’s craft and refine the physical characteristics of messages,
lives and that surpass the ordinary as contributions to objects, and environments on behalf of clients to make
visual culture. For others, it is a process of open-ended things look and work better for audiences and consumers.
thinking through which designers imagine a preferred The history of design is filled with beautiful objects that
set of conditions that don’t yet exist. For still others, are contributions to the visual culture of their times. Most
it is a practice that meets people’s needs and solves of us can name a book we bought entirely for its cover, a
problems by envisioning environments, products, and car we’d love to drive regardless of its miles-per-gallon
communication that are useful, usable, and desirable. efficiency, or a building that is a “must see” when visiting
All of these definitions are true but they fall slightly short an unfamiliar city. And we can identify “that 80s vibe” in
in telling us how the work of communication design in everything from fashion to furniture. Design history honors
the twenty-first century is different from previous times. signature works by well-known designers and associates
them with particular philosophies or approaches to form
Architect Christopher Alexander described design as the at different times in history.
goodness of fit between form and context (Alexander,
1964). Form is anything designers can shape; the physical Over the last two decades, new design approaches,
qualities of environments, objects, and messages and the technology, and software changed the role of
character of plans, stories, services, and conversations. communication design in society and how designers think
Context, in this sense, is made up of the physical, social, about the people who benefit from their work. Participatory
cultural, technological, and economic forces in the design, user-centered design, and ergonomics brought
surrounding environment, as well as the characteristic designers’ attention to the experiences, good or bad, that
thinking and behavior of the people who engage with the design prompts in users—to the effects of design on what
products of designers’ work. Designers and clients have people think and do rather than the design of an object
no control over the nature of context, but they do decide or message as an end in itself.
how much of it to address in decisions about form.
Expert software systems now make it possible for anyone
Context is always in state of flux. It is a moving target to create and publish visual communication. Today’s
made up of a number of interdependent forces, but there computer users choose fonts, retouch photographs, and
are general trends that have long-term influences on output finished-looking work without any design training
design practice. These forces shape how designers frame or programming expertise. While they probably don’t make
contemporary design challenges, the methods they use to objects that compete well aesthetically with the artifacts
understand them, and their views of the people who benefit of accomplished design professionals, many people
from their work. And they guide how form is interpreted are satisfied with DIY solutions to problems of limited
within and across diverse settings. consequence and use experts only for the most important
projects or when the quality of form is a high priority. This
change in who can create and publish messages means
that many designers now create the tools and systems
through which others design communication, building
into software principles of good form.

8 INTRODUCTION
The rapid development of technology has also changed Today’s design problems are increasingly complex
where people go for information. Digital technology is a Complexity, in this case, is not a description of the way
common portal to our relationships with people, places, things look. It is a network of important connections
and ideas and its qualities shape our expectations of among settings, people, and activities and the long-term
communication. Technology defines much of our social consequences of design action. For example, a designer
experience. In 2013, 95 percent of teenagers used Facebook can frame a communication task as the design of a new
and each averaged 425 “friends” (Pew Research Center, logo or as the design of how a company tells its story to
2013). We can question how many of those “friends” will consumers. The former addresses the range of visual
still be around years from now, but the number indicates possibilities and formats for identifying the company in
that many teens are comfortable communicating in ways a simple graphic mark. The latter concerns all aspects
absent of the visual cues we once found important in face- of people’s experiences with the company—including
to-face encounters. We also want information anywhere the company’s position in the larger culture, the role
on demand and engagement with messages that deliver its products play in supporting people’s motives for
meaningful experiences. In 2016, 30 million Americans got purchasing them, and the services through which the
their news via the internet each day, but digital systems company establishes face-to-face or online relationships
filter the form and content of what we see, based on with customers over time. Certainly, a logo makes some
preferences in our search histories. These tools influence contribution to identifying things associated with the
our understanding of any issue. The accelerating demand business. But alone and by definition, it ignores too
for connectedness means that the goal of design is to much of the relevant context to carry the full burden of
shape the qualities of interaction and human behavior public perception; it is only one element of a much larger
and to craft the conditions for satisfying experiences. experience people have with the company. No matter how
effective the design of a logo, a bad service experience
The concerns of today’s designers, therefore, are the makes people question the good impressions generated
relationships and conversations that design makes by the graphic mark.
possible; that is, the stories, tools, and platforms for
content production, services, and communities of interest Today, we recognize that changes in the design of a
that are significant to people in their everyday lives. single component ripple throughout a system and that
This perspective on design doesn’t mean that beautiful systems interact with each other in increasingly complex
artifacts go away under new types of practice. Apple ways. Apple changed the music industry by nesting a
Computer succeeds to a great extent because it has device (iPod) within a music distribution system (iTunes).
cool-looking devices, exciting store environments, and Facebook and Twitter changed the ways in which we
clever advertising. But more importantly, the company interact with people, standards of written language, the
builds brand loyalty through user-centered tools and speed with which news travels, and our sense of privacy.
systems, a strong service ecology, and a technological Entirely new behaviors (tapping, pinching, swiping, and so
platform that allows others to build applications that forth) now comprise meaningful gestures for interacting
live on Apple devices. Artifacts, in this sense, perform with technology and information. Some of us are restless
as components of a larger effort to establish long-term if not chatting or texting constantly with friends. And for
relationships with people as their needs change and evolve. better or worse, there is a look to smartphone applications
Artifacts communicate something about the character of a that stands for technology in general, a vocabulary of form
company, but more importantly, they express concern for that characterizes much of our everyday communication.
the qualities of interaction with people over time. In other
words, today’s design is all about experience. This growing complexity in the nature of contemporary
problems means that today’s designers cannot think
of their work as merely crafting beautiful things. Every
environment, object, or message needs to be informed
by an understanding of the systems of which it is a part
and by anticipation of the conditions for the experiences
it is likely to create.

INTRODUCTION / AN EVOLVING CONTEXT FOR DESIGN 9

 Individual or single disciplines rarely solve People as producers
complex problems Among those now contributing to the form of
In today’s design practice, teams of experts tackle communication are the very people who use the tools
challenges from different perspectives, knowledge, values, and systems created by designers. Throughout the
and modes of inquiry. Design was once at the cosmetic twentieth century, the relationship between designers
end of a decision-making food chain; the goal was to and audiences was one in which designers made expert
make things look and work better, not to decide what to judgments about what people wanted and needed. People
make in the first place. The scope of work included giving were consumers of the products and messages made
appropriate form to management’s vision for products by designers (Sanders, 2006). In some cases, marketing
and communication and shepherding them through studies and focus groups informed expert opinion. At other
production. By contrast, today’s designers often sit at times, designers’ intuition and taste determined what was
the table with management, acknowledging that how made and particular kinds of form. The designer was
designers think and strategically work through problems clearly in control. Alastair Parvin, founder of WikiHouse
have something to do with the overall innovation potential (an open-source housing system that allows users to
of the organization and its long-term relationships construct dwellings from modular components), describes
with people. this perspective as one in which design is something
done to people.
Form plays two roles in the interdisciplinary work of
new practices. First, it is a vehicle through which diverse Under technology that is increasingly participatory,
experts reach consensus about what things mean and however, some designers think of the people for whom
negotiate the contributions of their various disciplines to they design as users whose behavior can be observed
the larger project. Concept maps, for example, overcome in ways not possible in a print-based world. Human
the limitations of language in describing how elements factors—a field that integrates psychology, engineering,
or phases of a project relate to each other. Engineers and design—emerged in the middle of the twentieth
and designers, for instance, have very different meanings century as a discipline for the study of the interactions
for the term “usability.” A diagram that shows all the among people, information, and machines. In many cases,
expectations a user has for how an object must perform to human factors studies are done within laboratory settings
meet his or her needs transcends vocabulary and resolves and result in guidelines that describe the optimal qualities
misunderstanding. Quick prototypes and simulations help of form best suited to the average user. For example,
a diverse team predict the implications of choosing one studies of people’s eye movements when reading web
solution over another. pages suggest that the left and top of pages receive the
most attention and should contain the information most
Second, form is an expression of social values, attitudes, crucial to navigation and interpretation (Nielsen, 2006).
and patterns of behavior. Anthropologists help designers
understand the cultural settings in which objects and But human factors is not especially concerned with why
communication must function. Instructions for purchasing people come to networked communication in the first
a fare card by a harried commuter or unfamiliar tourist place, what they expect to accomplish through its use,
need to be very different in form from a manual for using a and the role it plays in their lives outside of the lab. As the
software program. Technologists provide detail about how volume of messages and capabilities of devices expand,
systems work so that design can express them accurately designers recognize that people are not only users of
in user interfaces. A spinning beach ball lets us know our technology but also producers of content and form.
computer is working behind the scenes so we don’t repeat Some designers now see audiences as co-creators, as
a command. And psychologists identify how form is or is participants in determining the subject matter and shape
not a good fit with the thinking and actions of particular of communication (Sanders, 2006). This means a shift in
users. In addressing today’s complex challenges, the control from designing for people to designing with and by
invention of form is often a team effort. people and greater emphasis on the qualities of experience
made possible through design objects and messages.

10 INTRODUCTION
Design methods, therefore, now include people in the editors substituted photographs of Tibet, launching the
design process. Participatory culture widens the scope of publication’s reputation for photographic essays. If the goal
design concerns regarding the role of design in shaping for the organization’s future were only about producing
experience. The design of a child’s interaction with a more interactive journal, an online version of the
an online math tutorial, for example, should probably publication would satisfy the design brief. Clickable stories,
acknowledge that girls and boys tend to view the study pop-up maps, videos, and dynamic diagrams would make
of mathematics differently. The system may need to use of sound and motion not available in the printed
accommodate a parent who does homework with the version. But Dubberly expected more for the organization
child and wants to be a “math hero.” The methods for and returned to its roots in which members engaged in
finding out about these things engage people in the design conversation around topics of mutual interest and in which
process so that decisions about content and form are fieldwork played an important role. He suggested that
authentic and truly address people’s wants and needs. using citizen scientists from around the world to collect
and upload information; following photographers in the
Greater involvement of people in the development and field as they develop stories; using the organization’s
customization of design shifts the work of designers, resources in the classroom; and making connections
in some instances, from creating discrete artifacts or through members’ data profiles are possible under today’s
displays of information to inventing tools and systems technology. Rather than just adding new types of interactive
through which others create their own experiences. The content and form to a traditional publication or website,
design task is no longer one of designing the appearance Dubberly’s vision for the redesign of National Geographic
of interaction (buttons, rollovers, menus, and so forth), as an organization was to use it as a platform for building
but one of designing the behaviors that support people’s relationships among people within a community of interest.
reasons for engaging with information and technology So while interaction designers create tools, systems,
(searching, authoring, curating, and so forth). Form, in and simulations, new forms of design practice focus on
this case, is not arbitrary. It underpins experiences that designing conversations, services, and communities,
satisfy the user’s needs in very specific ways. as well as the new technologies necessary to support
these activities.
The rapid evolution of technology changes
its influence in our lives How design establishes the conditions for interpretive
Media theorist Marshall McLuhan, in his famous experiences in the contemporary context for communication
phrase, “The medium is the message,” asserted that comprises the content of this book. Overall, chapters
the importance of any technology is its effect on everything move from a focus on perceptual experiences that are
else, not the content of any individual message it makes grounded in visual phenomena to investigations of the
possible (McLuhan, 1994). The invention of movable type ways in which the design of visual messages gets our
and the printing press in the fifteenth century, for example, attention, orients us, creates meaningful experiences,
spread literacy beyond the clergy and nobility by making and then endures as retrievable, significant memories.
books cheaper and more easily reproducible. Email Chapter 1 describes the nature of experience and how
changed the urgency of communication and the extent we make sense of the things we see and hear. Chapter 2
to which history is no longer documented in letter writing. describes the elements of communication through which
designers craft messages that contribute to interpretation.
Digital media not only transformed how designers practice Chapters 3–6 deconstruct experience into aspects of
but also the role of communication in everyone’s lives. attention, orientation, interpretation, and memory and
New technologies of the late twentieth century reshaped extension. Chapter 3 offers ways in which the properties
the cultural landscape and shifted the scale at which of form separate messages from an environment of
we exchange information. The design challenge today information overload. Chapter 4 describes the means
is to go beyond simple interactions with technology and by which design orients readers/viewers to the task of
information, and to use new tools and media to shape the interpretation. Chapter 5 suggests the qualities of form that
conversations that bring people together. make interaction compelling and provides a bit of theory
regarding the interpretation of visual and verbal messages.
For example, National Geographic asked designer Hugh And Chapter 6 addresses issues of memorability and
Dubberly to imagine its future. The organization began the extended life of messages in culture. Each chapter
in 1888 as a group of members interested in geographic presents a range of phenomena and examples, as well
expeditions, documented in a scientific journal. In as constructed illustrations that encourage readers to
1905, a contributor missed a deadline and the journal move from insight to action.

INTRODUCTION / AN EVOLVING CONTEXT FOR DESIGN 11

Designing for
experience
14 MAKING SENSE OF EXPERIENCE

15 EXPERIENCE AND TIME

17 EXPERIENCE AND MEDIA

18 DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION

19 SUMMARY

12 CHAPTER 1 / DESIGNING FOR EXPERIENCE

Imagine you are walking down the sidewalk on a busy performances, making a decision from a matrix that
urban street, looking for a quiet place in which to crosses dates and times in a grid is probably easier than
collect your thoughts before a job interview in the same from a list. And if the steps in the online ordering process
neighborhood. The street is typical of any large city: a riot provide feedback along the way—perhaps a green check
of signs, bright colors, images, and activity, all competing mark that pops up to confirm completion of each step—
for your attention. A simple black awning with white letters you find your buying experience more satisfying than
indicating “espresso” stands out and promises a break discovering at the very end of the process that you’ve
from the chaos of the city. You step through the shop missed critical information.
door into a room with waist-high railings that direct your
movement to the end of a counter and a menu of options. The design of visual communication, therefore, creates
You interact with a pleasant clerk who efficiently signals conditions for experience. The designer’s task is to match
your selection to a barista, collect your drink at the opposite form to the external forces in the users’ context that shape
end of the counter, and sit in a comfortable chair in a quiet the qualities of his or her interaction with information. The
corner. You tell yourself that if you get the job, this is a influence the designer has over context resides in deciding
place to spend more time. how many factors to consider in making judgments about
form. Keep in mind that any context is more than just
Your interaction with the coffee shop is an experience the physical, built environment; it includes all social and
shaped by design; the physical characteristics of the shop cultural values as well as the interpretive predispositions
and the training of the staff produce outcomes that match and behaviors of stakeholders (clients, designers, users,
your goals. The experience is made up of a sequence and the culture at large). As users or audiences we can
of interpretive episodes that get your attention, orient evaluate design by the formal qualities of objects and
you to the appropriate behavior, and support compelling communication. Were the materials stylish or bland? Was
interactions that are both satisfying and, hopefully, the interaction smooth or awkward? Or was the typography
memorable. clever and made us smile? But we also judge design by
the contribution form makes to satisfying our goals for
Now imagine assembling a piece of furniture using engaging with the communication in the first place.
printed instructions, selecting a concert to attend from
a poster on a bulletin board, or buying a book through In order to demonstrate more fully the connection between
an online book store. Although varied in the number the forms designers use and how their choices reflect and
and duration of episodes, each of these tasks requires shape our interactions with context, this book traces visual
distinct interpretations of visual cues in a specific order. phenomena to their origins in perceptual and cultural
In assembling the furniture, you need to isolate the experience. Repeated, everyday encounters with these
components and location for a particular step from the phenomena in many different settings build a kind of visual
overall assembly instructions. In selecting a concert from intelligence that influences the meanings we assign to our
the advertised schedule, you must orient yourself to the interactions with environments, objects, and messages.
display of possible dates and times. And to purchase a To illustrate how designers and their audiences make
book online, you need confirmation that the actions you sense of sensory stimuli—in seeing wholes among parts,
have taken to complete the purchase were successful and heartbeats as rhythm, and sound as pattern, for example—
repeatable when you return for your next order. In other discussions in this book explore the inseparable link
words, your interpretive engagement with visual messages between perception and interpretation.
is no less about sequenced experiences than are your
interactions in the coffee shop. They just happen faster. As a structure for understanding this relationship
And unless something goes wrong, you are less aware of between visual form and context, the book breaks down
the boundaries between them than you are when moving the user’s interpretive experience into phases that order
through a clearly coded physical space like the coffee shop. explanations of phenomena in a logical sequence of
time and purpose: getting attention, orienting behavior,
Design influences the efficiency, effectiveness, and facilitating interpretation, and extending experience
character of communication experiences. If the furniture through memory. Framing design in this way moves the
instructions show only photographs of the fully assembled focus from the physical artifacts of design (the letterforms,
object, you are unlikely to know where to start and which the page, the book, and so on) and shifts attention to the
hardware and tools to use for each step of the assembly behaviors and experiences their forms make possible.
process. If the concert schedule includes dozens of

DESIGNING FOR EXPERIENCE 13

 Making sense of experience or an excess of thinking stands in the way of the successful
What is an experience? Aren’t we immersed in experience completion of an experience. For example, a novice
during every waking hour? And what does communication software user probably spends more time deliberating
design have to do with making sense of experience? and needing confirmation that she has taken the right
Experience is a term that creates confusion because of action than feeling the flow of a well-executed task. For
its multiple meanings. There are sensory experiences and an expert software user, on the other hand, the dialogue
cultural experiences that we all accumulate through living boxes that ask questions about the simplest operations
in a physical and social world. Then there are experiences are annoying and interrupt the progress of work. In a
that result from specific conditions created by design perfect world, software would learn about a user’s growing
professionals that are intended to satisfy our motives for expertise and adapt its behavior to her needs.
interacting with environments, objects, and messages.
This book focuses on designers’ contributions to human These kinds of imbalances between doing and thinking
experience; that is, on the ways in which designers use the also occur in our experiences with printed communication.
sensory and symbolic qualities of form in the things they Imagine you are hiking in a national park and want to
design to create the conditions for unordinary, meaningful, identify various species of plant life on your journey. If the
and ultimately memorable audience experiences. printed guide to plants organizes information alphabetically
in textual descriptions of native species, then you do a lot
Philosopher John Dewey (1859–1952) made a useful of extra reading to identify that little yellow flower in front
distinction between experience and having an experience. of you. On the other hand, if the guide allows you to search
Dewey described ordinary experience as being continuous plant species by color or leaf shape through groupings of
but often characterized by distraction and even conflict photographs, then you find the structure of information
between expectations and actual outcomes. Throughout better matched to the task of learning about something
everyday life there are times when what we observe and in the field. There is a better balance between doing and
what we think don’t match, when what we expect and what thinking and your experience of using the guide on the
we get are at odds (Dewey, 1934). By contrast, an experience trail is more likely to be emotionally satisfying.
is when our interactions with people and our surroundings
reach a conclusion that is satisfying. Things don’t simply The human mind imposes structure on experience, even
end, they end in ways that are noticeably fulfilling. This type when no structure is inherent in the stimuli themselves.
of experience has an emotional quality that we can identify We naturally seek order from chaos in determining
and that separates it from the ordinary—that exciting first what things mean. The concept of keeping time, for
date, that scary thunderstorm, that exceptional meal. In example, is a human invention. In agrarian societies,
other words, we know when an experience begins and farmers determined the sequence of activities during a
ends and we recognize how it is different from the ordinary day by observing changes in the position of the sun, not
interactions of daily life. by clocks. The complexity of work in the industrial age
and the resulting development of modern timekeeping
Dewey also described an experience as having pattern devices (punching a clock!) broke the day into smaller,
and structure (Dewey, 1934). It is composed of distinct hourly segments that we now think of as natural. Digital
episodes that flow from one to the next. One part leads devices focus our attention on even more precise units
to another but without interruption. And unlike everyday of measurement and there are fewer references to the
experiences, there is a balance between the physical and cyclical passage of time once found in the rotating hands
mental aspects of an experience; between doing and of analog clocks. Nature didn’t change, but our reasons
thinking or feeling. Dewey warns that an excess of doing for imposing a different order did.

14 CHAPTER 1 / DESIGNING FOR EXPERIENCE

Through our interactions with the world, we build an Experience and time
inventory of mental structures for organizing experiences. A story is a sequential structure organized by time; an
These structures are shortcuts for processing information; unfolding of events ordered in anticipation of reaching a
we don’t approach every new experience from scratch. conclusion or goal. Stories are situated in settings that
We learn, for example, that eating out at any restaurant influence the actions of characters or the participation
requires a set of similar actions and that menus contain of readers, and they have clearly identified beginnings,
roughly the same information for placing an order. We middles, and ends. Unlike other conceptual structures,
know that desks facing a blackboard or projection screen stories are goal-oriented; each episode moves us one
usually signify a classroom, even when we haven’t been step closer to an outcome (Mandler, 1984).
in that particular room before. We are not surprised that
dictionaries and encyclopedias order entries alphabetically Think of the weather report. It describes high and low
rather than by concepts; that search engines list results temperatures, the likelihood of snow, and the speed of
by popularity; or that major roads on maps look different wind during the upcoming twenty-four hours. But what
from side streets. These are familiar structures, organized the weather report means to our preparation for the day is
by event, place, alphabet, continuum, and category, much clearer if we know that the morning and afternoon
respectively. We recognize them through lived, cultural will be sunny and warm, and that an approaching cold
experiences, and they carry expectations of appropriate front will bring flurries in the evening, long after we have
interpretations and actions. We spend very little time returned home from work or school. The hour-by-hour
rethinking how they mean and engage with them as long story of how the day will unfold is much more informative
as what they mean is useful, usable, and desirable in and memorable than a compilation of statistics, even
meeting our needs. though both reports include the same information in all
other ways. Stories, therefore, are efficient, information-
Few things, however, reveal how culturally specific (or rich structures that help us connect conceptually and
even arbitrary) these conventions are more than travel in emotionally to experiences. And when we invest mentally
a foreign country. For instance, the act of eating out at a in their outcomes, they are memorable and contribute to
restaurant can take on surprising twists: the vast numbers achieving our goals.
of unordered side dishes (banchan) that accompany any
order at a Korean restaurant; or the large, shared flatbread Effective communication strategies engage people in
(injera) that all members of a dining party tear off, share, stories. It is much easier to learn software, for example,
and use as a scoop for eating stews at an Ethiopian from a manual that describes a sequence of steps in
restaurant. The mental and physical structures that order executing a task we care about than from one that
our world can vary dramatically from culture to culture, randomly inventories tools and their general functions.
or even within a culture. Therefore, design must respond The story of the task reveals the logic of the program we
to the specific characteristics of audiences and contexts. are likely to encounter in other functions, and our end goal
provides a context for executing and evaluating the process.

MAKING SENSE OF EXPERIENCE / EXPERIENCE AND TIME 15

 The visual and verbal components of good branding to link data points one after another as a representation
contribute to the story of a company or organization of movement—but the depth and direction of currents
and the relationships it hopes to establish with people at different times of the day are immediately apparent
over time. Symbols and typefaces are not the brand, as one fluttering flag follows another in the animation.
however. The value of design resides in the story that In other words, the choice to connect data in a time-
brand elements describe and deliver as actual experience. based animation and to represent current direction by the
The brand is the narrative that people construct through orientation of flags tells a story of ocean movement not
their interactions with the organization’s communication, evident in the numerical chart. We can imagine linking
products, environments, and services (all of which are that story to consequences for ocean life, coastal erosion,
designed) as experiences across time. maritime navigation, and weather.

As an example of the difference between the story told and People differ in their understanding of stories. While
the story delivered, the swastika has all the characteristics marketing tends to segment audiences by demographics
and purposes we associate with symbols of its kind. It is (for example, by age, gender, class, or ethnicity), designers
visually compact, easily reproduced, instantly recognizable, should go deeper to determine the readiness of people for
and has an early history of positive associations with good dealing with ideas from various perspectives. Imagine a
fortune, security, and a variety of religious deities. But city wants people to conserve water during a long drought.
since its adoption as a symbol of German nationalism by Some people don’t know or believe there is a drought;
the Nazis, its story is that of the Third Reich, and more they turn on the tap in the kitchen and water comes out,
recently, of neo-Nazi supremacist groups. It is impossible so what’s the problem? Others know water is scarce but
for the symbol, regardless of its form, to overcome its have no opinion regarding their personal obligation to
negative narrative. Nothing about the visual properties conserve. And still others know there is a drought and
of the artifact changed over time, but the experience of understand their social responsibility to save water, but
its story did. The story of a brand told through design don’t know what actions will produce meaningful results
elements, therefore, needs to be consistent with people’s unless provided with instructions. These three audiences
experiences, not just with the organization’s aspirations are not well served by the same story; people won’t feel
expressed in visual form. compelled to stop watering the lawn if they don’t first
believe there is a shortage or understand the long-term
Not all stories are intentionally persuasive, morally implications of continued, individual water use. The goal
instructive, or designed to incite people to action. Many of communication, therefore, is to convert ignorance to
simply put information in a narrative form that is more understanding; understanding to the acceptance of a
easily understood than other structures. For example, off challenge; and acceptance to action. To do so may mean
the eastern coast of the United States there are thousands building the story for the same audience over time (through
of tiny sensors recording the speed and direction of a campaign) or tailoring the story for audiences at different
moving water at various depths and distances from the levels of understanding. It is very difficult for people to act
shore. Scientists can view the record of sensor data as on things about which they have little or no knowledge
numbers in a spreadsheet or as many fluttering flags in or opinion and even more difficult for single messages
a three-dimensional animation of water currents. It is to accomplish all of those communication tasks for all
difficult to detect pattern in the numerical chart—that is, audiences at one time.

16 CHAPTER 1 / DESIGNING FOR EXPERIENCE

Experience and media The affordances of media constrain and enable particular
The effectiveness of various media through which stories kinds of interpretive experiences. Time-based media are
are told (print, television, websites, etc.) depends on especially well suited to the structure of storytelling. Film
the readiness of audiences to hear the message and and video control the release of information over time and
the affordances of the medium. For example, if the everyone watching sees the same message components in
communication goal is to persuade people to conserve the exact order as designed. Websites, on the other hand,
water, broadcast television may not be the most economical yield greater control to users who may not see aspects of
choice. It is difficult to predict who is watching—perhaps a story in any particular sequence, but unlike television
many who don’t yet understand the water shortage audiences, have the opportunity for immediate feedback
problem—and to tell a complete story for all audiences in response to content. Sequential print media, such as
in expensive, thirty-second sound bites. On the other books and magazines, control the ordering of information
hand, printed messages in residential water bills allow city but lack movement and sound as variables that enhance
officials to tailor different conservation messages for high- readers’ understanding. A still image of the fluttering flags
and low-volume water users and to praise conservation in the previous water example contributes little to our
efforts with follow-up messages when the customer’s understanding of the speed of water currents.
subsequent bills show reduced use.
We also make judgments on the importance, relevance,
People differ in their preferences for particular media or or credibility of messages, partially through the medium
forms of communication and the behaviors associated of delivery. An invitation that arrives in an envelope with
with them. According to Nielsen ratings (a service in the a first-class stamp feels more special than a postcard
United States that measures the size and composition sent by bulk mail. We are more likely to save a museum
of audiences for various media), the average American catalog printed on thick glossy paper than a weekly
teenager in 2010 sent more than 3,000 text messages per newspaper review of the same exhibition because we
month, with girls sending nearly twice as many as boys interpret the commitment to high production values as
(Nielsen, 2010). In this age group, there is a decline in voice signifying curatorial importance and lasting relevance.
communication. Such behavior tells us something about And because we understand the editorial checks and
the media culture of teenagers and about their perceptions balances associated with serious journalism, we are likely
of intimacy in the absence of face-to-face communication. to view the evening news on a major television network as
more credible than stories in a newsprint tabloid at the
The Pew Research Center reports that 62 percent of supermarket checkout line.
adults get their news from social media (Gottfried &
Shearer, 2016). Because news aggregators, such as Changes in technology redefine our experience with
Facebook and the Huffington Post, deliver articles that information. Think about watching a movie on a computer
match users’ previous search histories, the sites ensure rather than in a movie theater; corresponding through
that news stories are consistent with individuals’ current email rather than handwritten letters; and searching
interests and values. Internet activist Eli Pariser refers for information on Google rather than through books in
to this personal customization of the news as a filter the library. In all cases, the information is essentially the
bubble and questions its effect on critical thinking and same, but the experience is not. In the early stages of
decision-making in a democracy (Pariser, 2011). If we transition to a new technology, technologists transfer the
never see opposing opinions, how critical can we be about functions and characteristics of older media to the new
the positions we hold? In other words, there are social one, making some aspects of the experience familiar as
implications in the way people encounter and use media people develop new skills. Internet communication began
stories—in their cultural experiences—and these patterns with many of the typographic behaviors and limitations of a
shape expectations for new designed experiences. typewriter; the only way to yell was by typing in all caps. But
as new technologies develop, new opportunities emerge.
Emoticons and emojis are just two instances of newer
forms of expression that users created to supplement or
even replace text-based messages with emotional content.
Media theorist Henry Jenkins described the most inventive
period in any technology as the time immediately after its
introduction when designers and users figure out what the
technology is good for and how to get around its perceived
limitations (Thorburn & Jenkins, 2003).

EXPERIENCE AND MEDIA 17

 The importance of any technological change is its impact or seeking the nutritional content in a particular brand of
on the experiences associated with it (McLuhan, 1994). breakfast cereal, we want a straightforward message with
You may choose to watch a movie on your computer, but no ambiguity of meaning. Emotions and associations play
that is a different experience from laughing or crying little part in these activities and we value the objectivity
alongside a crowd of moviegoers in a darkened room. of literal messages.
Being able to follow a photojournalist online as she builds
a story provides insights not available by flipping print Because connotation operates in the open-ended realm of
magazine pages in your doctor’s waiting room. But not all cultural associations, it presents expanded opportunities
contexts call for rich, dynamic content. A brief, witty text for meaning-making through design. A single word or
message can sometimes diffuse an argument faster than image can signify a variety of concepts and emotions
a lengthy email or telephone call. It is the job of designers relevant to the communication task. For example, if
to anticipate these cultural experiences in the design of communication is to persuade people to volunteer for
tools and systems—that is, to include concerns for how an important cause, they need to be inspired beyond the
the medium shapes or supports experience, over and literal description of job requirements. The nobility and
above the content of any individual message. selflessness of volunteering and their contribution to a
significant goal need to be apparent. Consider the subtle
Denotation and connotation difference between the words “volunteer” and “serve.” The
We interpret meaning in visual messages at two levels. former is a literal reference to the action asked for in the
First, we interpret the literal content of words and images. communication. The latter, on the other hand, connotes a
Then we expand that meaning through a field of related much more humble relationship between volunteers and
associations that arise from the qualities of form and the use the beneficiaries of their efforts. It calls forth notions of
of words and images in various contexts. Denotation is the self-sacrifice and social responsibility, not just the unpaid
explicit dictionary definition of something, exclusive of the status of participants.
feelings and extended ideas that it suggests. Denotatively,
a smartphone is a telephonic device through which people Images are equally open to connotative meanings. Imagine
access the internet, send text messages, upload music, that the organization looking for volunteers is an animal
and take pictures and videos. Connotation is the implied shelter. There are connotative differences in using a pit
meaning, a secondary feeling or association that expands bull versus a beagle in advertising. Both breeds may
or repositions the denotative meaning. Connotatively, be victims of animal abuse who need good homes, but
a smartphone stands for people’s anytime-anywhere the reputation of pit bulls as aggressive and resistant to
connection to information; decline in the correctness rehabilitation (accurate nor not) may give some people
of spelling and grammar in personal communication second thoughts about volunteering. Pit bulls make the
(LOL); and changes in etiquette and patterns of social news, beagles do not.
interaction. A director recently described his preference for
flip phones in his music videos because any smartphone Because connotations develop through social and cultural
calls attention to itself and raises too many connotations experiences, they vary from audience to audience and from
beyond making a phone call (Zeitchik, 2015). context to context. For example, it is unlikely that your
grandmother understands the concept and construction
Some contexts demand highly denotative messages. of an internet meme. Similarly, slogans from the anti-
We expect airport signage to get us to the appropriate war movements of the 1960s probably mean little to
departure gate by requiring as little mental processing today’s teenagers. These connotative variations mean
as possible. Until we arrive at our destination, we don’t that designers cannot rely on their own experiences as
want to be distracted by thinking about the adventure typical. They must investigate possible interpretations by
of flight or the culture of the city in which the airport is specific audiences and anticipate connotations that arise
located. If we are using instructions to understand the from the cultural and physical contexts in which people
operation of a power tool, renewing our driver’s license, encounter messages.

18 CHAPTER 1 / DESIGNING FOR EXPERIENCE

It is important to study both what people say and do in
understanding the meanings they assign to words and SUMMARY
images. Fred Dust of the design firm IDEO described
talking with a woman about the concept of “luxury” in his The shift in professional practice from designing objects to designing
research for a client. The woman was firm in saying that the conditions for experience argues for exploring what makes
she led a very simple life and luxury was not important to encounters with people, places, and things fulfilling and memorable.
her. After a week of observation, however, the researcher Philosopher John Dewey described an experience as a continuous
noticed her scheduling weekly manicure appointments. unfolding of episodes that involves a relationship between doing
When asked about this, the woman said, “Well, that’s not a and thinking. How satisfying the experience is depends on that
luxury, that’s a necessity.” In other words, her connotations relationship. Communication design organizes experience in
of “luxury” were not those of the designer. a variety of structures. A story is structured by time and has a
beginning, middle, and end; we understand and remember things
The extended meanings we give to images and words easily through this recurring structure. The effectiveness of various
also change over time. We often miss the symbolism in media through which stories are told depends on the readiness of
historical works of art, design, and literature because the the audience to accept messages and to take action. Denotation and
connotations they depended upon are no longer part of connotation are two levels of meaning we assign to messages. The
our culture. And when designers pull visual references first is the literal interpretation of content, while the second depends
from the past, they reposition their older meanings under on associations we build by living in a physical and social world. The
new purposes and contexts. The many, often humorous, next chapter discusses how the vocabulary of messages contributes
commercial uses of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or Grant Wood’s to these conditions.
American Gothic make it difficult for today’s audiences to
understand the paintings only as expressions of their own
times. Similarly, changes in the surrounding context can
recast the field of associations we hold in memory. For
most Americans of a certain age, for example, the twin
towers of the World Trade Center in New York City now
stand for something entirely different from their pre-2001
meaning as collaboration between government agencies
and corporations in international trade. Media exposure
reinforces new interpretations at an ever-accelerating
pace. This constant churning of meanings tells designers
that visual language is always in a process of renewal,
never entirely stable.

It is under these multifaceted notions of experience and

context that designers do their work. It is convenient to talk
about form and meaning as though they are two distinct
concepts. But form is meaning, inseparable in experience.
And what we think form means in any communication
depends both on our accumulated experiences in a
physical and cultural world and the specific conditions
of the context in which we encounter messages.

DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION / SUMMARY 19

The vocabulary of
visual messages
21 ELEMENTS

24 COMPOSITION

28 CODE

30 STYLE

33 SUMMARY

20 CHAPTER 2 / THE VOCABULARY OF VISUAL MESSAGES

All visual messages share a similar inventory of Words communicate differently from images. In some
components through which designers shape the conditions cases, they are more open to a range of possible
for interpretive experiences. They are made up of elements interpretations. Consider the word “home.” The meaning
arranged in compositions, which audiences interpret of the word alone depends on our personal experiences
through visual codes or a grammar of form appropriate with the places where we have lived and our history of
to the surrounding culture. Particular qualities in the interactions with family, roommates, or neighbors in those
rendering of elements, structure of compositions, and places. A photograph of a particular home or the resident
adherence or non-adherence to cultural codes constitute family, on the other hand, closes down the meaning to a
style, which we often associate with particular time much narrower definition (Figure 2.1). We make specific
periods, contexts, or philosophies. inferences about time, place, and people in ways not
required by the word alone. While viewers may compare
Elements their judgments about the image to their own experiences,
Elements are the physical signs and symbols (for example, it is clear by the picture that the message is not about all
images, words, colors, and graphic devices such as lines homes in general. By contrast, the word “home” leaves
and shapes) used to communicate the subject matter of these issues unresolved. In some communication, specific
a message. The meaning of an element varies with its meanings are important. In other cases, a wider range of
visual characteristics and surrounding context. connotations encourages readers to “fill in” with details of
personal experiences as part of the interpretive process.
A drawing of a tool, for example, communicates differently
from a photograph of the same object. We understand Context also matters in determining what elements mean.
that in rendering the illustration, the designer chooses to A message that announces “Demonstration here!” means
include some features and to eliminate others. The quality one thing at a science fair and another at the site of a
of the rendering says something about the communication campus protest. The words are the same in both contexts,
goal of the designer. A technical drawing executed on but the surrounding environments lead to different Figure 2.1
the computer evokes a different meaning (cool, clinical, conclusions about likely activities. Similarly, the individual The word “home” evokes
many different meanings,
precise) from a gestural marker drawing of the object in meanings of any two elements may be very different each influenced by the
action (imperfect, human, expressive). In other words, from that of the same two elements in combination. An specific experiences of
most audiences assume some subjective intent in the image of an apple means different things when combined the interpreter. On the
other hand, a photograph
choice to hand render an object through drawing rather with a book (teacher or education); a serpent (Adam and of a particular
than through other media. Eve, temptation); a computer (Apple Computer, Inc.); or home focuses the
interpretation. While the
a banana (fruit). Nothing about the image of the apple viewer makes personal
In contrast—and because the camera includes in the needs to change across the various compositions, but judgments of the time
and place in the image,
image everything within its frame as a complete and the presence of a second image shifts meaning in each
the range of possible
literal representation of the subject (captured by an case. Further, the range of potential meanings can vary interpretations narrows
unbiased machine)—many viewers interpret a photograph even further when the audience doesn’t share a particular by ruling out meanings
that do not fit the image.
as objective. This is why many consider photography to cultural background.
be a journalistic medium, impartial and accurate. But
photographs can be just as subjective and connotative
as drawings. Lighting, focus, cropping, depth of field, and
pose or point of view can manipulate the meaning of the
image, despite the mechanical means of its production
(Barthes, 1977). And with today’s software, photographers
and image editors can digitally alter images, creating
new meanings altogether. How elements are made and
reproduced, therefore, carries connotative meanings over
and above the subject matter of the elements themselves.

ELEMENTS 21
 Typographic form also depends on its juxtaposition with us to feel about the image. In other cases, an image can
other typographic elements for its connotations. Designer illustrate and narrow the possible interpretations of a word.
Sibylle Hagmann developed a family of typefaces called The word “women” on a lacey pink background reinforces
“Triple Strip” (Figure 2.2). Individually, any one of the traditional ideas of femininity, shutting down alternative
three typefaces is formally complete and has visual representations of women that might come to mind from
characteristics distinct from the other two typefaces. the word alone. For better or worse, the image directs the
When used together, however, the three typefaces reflect audience to the specific meaning the designer intends by
the vibe of a city street; the energy of colliding styles and means of illustration.
messages we find in urban environments. This intentional
lack of visual harmony among the three typefaces is in More interesting, however, is when an element expands
contrast to the design of many other type families in the interpretation or raises questions about the meaning
which there are strong similarities among the weight and of the other. Lacey pink typography that says “women”
proportional variations within the family. The meaning sitting next to a photograph of a woman in a hard hat
implied by Hagmann’s design, over and above the literal with a sledgehammer says something about the diversity
meaning of words set in the typefaces, depends entirely of women and their roles. The two views of women, one
on the three typefaces appearing together. captured in typographic form and the other in photographic
form, are in a dialogue that undermines conventional
Type/image relationships present additional opportunities perceptions and expands meaning.
for the construction of meaning. Under the simplest
relationships, words “label” images and images “illustrate” In another example, “Billions and billions sold” is
words. In these instances, the individual meaning of the an advertising slogan that describes the number of
two elements are roughly the same and largely redundant. hamburgers served by a popular American fast food
They reinforce each other or tell us what to think about chain. When coupled with images of overweight children,
the other in case the single element doesn’t do the job. An however, the text/image combination serves as critical
advertisement that shows a sport utility vehicle splashing commentary on the causes of obesity—a “third meaning”
through a mountain stream bolsters the emotional content not present in either of the two messages alone. And
of the image with the words “rugged,” “sporty,” and “fit the text/image message is stronger than single images
for adventure.” The words label what the designer intends of overweight children and hamburgers because the

Figure 2.2
TripleStrip typeface
Sibylle Hagmann,
Kontour
Hagmann’s design
of the type family
Triple Strip combines
seemingly dissonant
typeface designs. While
any single typeface is
formally complete, its
true character is defined
by its contrast to other
members of the family.
Used together, these
three typefaces mimic
the eclectic qualities of
an urban street.

22 CHAPTER 2 / THE VOCABULARY OF VISUAL MESSAGES

 Figure 2.3
Beat the Whites with the
Red Wedge, 1919–1920
Lazar Markovich
Lissitzky, 1890–1941
El Lissitzky’s abstract
composition refers to
factions in the Russian
Civil War immediately
following the 1917
revolution. Even without
knowing the history
behind the work, the
aggression of the red
wedge is apparent. Its
relationship to the white
circle is a metaphor for
violent conflict.

company sees the slogan as something to brag about. weapons and military action (for example, bayonets and
Many remember the phrase emboldened on the sign the forward movement of an attack) versus a softer, more
outside the restaurant. In this way, the combination of vulnerable object in a static position is consistent with the
typographic and photographic elements expands meaning message content.
beyond that of the elements alone and invites conversation
by the questions it raises. Elements also have cultural significance and mean
different things to different people. A raised thumb
Abstract shapes also take on different meanings in online tells others how many people “like” the content of
combination. The red triangle in El Lissitzky’s “Beat the a website or comment, but the same gesture is offensive
Whites with the Red Wedge” is more threatening when on the streets of Greece. Red is used as a sign for danger
combined with a circular shape than when seen alone in many countries but means “good luck” in China. And
(Figure 2.3). We need not know the title of the work or its 0/I is familiar to digital natives but probably less so to
reference to the violent history of the Russian Civil War a technologically challenged grandparent (Davis, 2012).
to understand the aggression of the red wedge. In this The choice of elements, therefore, has varying content
case, abstract form is metaphorical. The association of significance for different audiences.
the triangular element with the physical attributes of

ELEMENTS 23
 Composition
Designers arrange elements to form compositions. The
meaning of a message depends not only on the choice of
particular elements, but also on their organization within
a visual field (or in a sequence of visual frames, as in a
film, book, or website). Composition determines which
elements the audience encounters first and last; the
perception of relationships among particular elements
and not others; the affiliation of elements with specific
areas of the surrounding visual field (for example, top/
bottom, foreground/background, or presence/absence
within the frame); and the construction of meaning through
the integration of all aspects of the composition.

Contrasting size, color, shape, location, direction, and/or

movement can draw attention to one element over others,
to a hierarchy of importance among units of information.
Designers influence our perceptual judgments of the
importance or “behavior” of elements in terms of their
appearance of weight or size in relation to other elements,
balance with other elements, and distance from the viewer,
even though all elements are simply marks or pixels on
a flat, two-dimensional picture plane. Bold type appears
to weigh more than light type. Two small squares on the
right appear to balance one large circle on the left. A
very large hat at the bottom of the visual field appears
closer to us than a tiny horse at the top because we
know the real sizes of the two objects and understand
the illusion of depth achieved through size and position.
The wiggling letterform on the screen seems poised
for action or movement, while static text appears at
Figure 2.4 rest. In other words, we assign meaningful behaviors to
Céline Condorelli: designer’s choices about the formal qualities of elements
Support Structures,
in two-dimensional compositions on the basis of our real
2009
Sternberg Press experiences with objects in a physical world. Contrast
Designer: with the surrounding field and novelty within a group of
James Langdon
The topic of Céline elements can direct attention to a single word over the
Condorelli’s installation, entire sentence; the edge of the visual field over things
Support Structures, is
what bears, sustains,
in the more obvious center; or the smallest element in a
props, and holds up. field of really big shapes.
Langdon’s design for
the catalog reflects the
diverse nature of the
subject through images
that bear little obvious
relationship to each
other. Compositionally,
within spreads and
from spread to spread,
Langdon establishes
relationships through
color, shape, and
alignments that govern
how viewers group
elements.

24 CHAPTER 2 / THE VOCABULARY OF VISUAL MESSAGES

Visual similarity among elements, alignments in their also identify groupings of elements that are similar in their
placement within the visual field, or ordering by some contribution to meaning. These strategies direct attention Figure 2.5
El Taller de Gráfica
principle (such as a gradation in size or color) signal to relationships that are informative, beyond the literal Popular (The Workshop
the viewer that certain elements share some particular subject matter or visual character of the elements alone. for Popular Graphics),
relationship not shared with others in the composition 2015
Designer: Roy Brooks’s
(Figure 2.4). A reader distinguishes the chapter titles Compositional strategies can create narrative relationships Courtesy of the Georgia
of a book from subtitles and footnotes by their visual among elements as well, implying unfolding actions or Museum of Art
The spreads in Brooks’
treatment and placement—chapter titles are usually set suggesting stories through interacting elements. We book design are as
consistently in larger type, surrounded by white space, and interpret a stack of shapes as “tipsy” and likely to topple if diverse as the graphic
at the top of a page. If the numbers representing high and there is sufficient empty space into which the shapes could works and artists in the
collection. There are
low temperatures in a weather report are typographically “fall.” If there are eight people in a photograph but only layouts that match the
alike but different from other numbers (such as wind two are looking at each other, we intuit some significant bold straightforwardness
of the art and others
speed or dew point) readers interpret them as related, relationship between the two by virtue of the line formed that encourage scholarly
indicating how extreme temperature variations during by their gaze. A vertical financial bar chart tells a story of reflection. Together,
they represent a
the day will be. And photographs that share similar gain and loss in ways not as obvious in a horizontal chart
compositional strategy
proportions or typographic elements with aligning edges of the same data. And when the sequence of pages in a that produces a specific
may be seen as categorically alike but different from other book, frames in a film, or screens in a website exhibit experience for the reader.

elements in the visual field (for example, as representing deliberate pacing (from quiet arrangements to chaos and
a sequence of steps in a process). The compositional back again to quiet, for example) we read significance from
strategies that designers use not only create hierarchies one visual experience to the next (Figure 2.5).
of relative importance among visual elements, but they

COMPOSITION 25
 Cropping, or the selective framing of image content, can
dramatically change the meaning of an image. When
designers tightly crop images, they intentionally reduce
the narrative possibilities. There is less potential for
interaction among elements, and meaning depends
entirely on the content and qualities of the emphasized
element. Advertising product or fashion photography, for
example, often isolates specific attributes of a subject to
highlight an attractive feature, avoid qualities that are
less than perfect, or distract the audience from focusing
on elements that are less relevant to creating the desired
emotional response (Figure 2.6). In doing so, cropping
eliminates the action or interaction among elements
necessary for storytelling. Our attention is drawn to the
sleek lines of the computer or the dewy eyes of the model,
but we struggle to assign a story to these compositions.

Likewise, symmetrical compositions frequently stabilize

all elements, shutting down the possibility of action
Figure 2.6 communicated more typically through asymmetrical
Fashion advertising often compositions. Symmetrical compositions align all elements
crops images to highlight
a single perfect feature. along a central axis. This alignment is usually stronger than
In doing so, it robs the the effect of other visual variables that could signify specific
image of any story about
the person, focusing relationships among some elements and not others. Such
instead on the model compositions often rely on top-to-bottom or center-outward
as an object.
hierarchies and the individual characteristics of elements
(size or color, for example), reinforce the order of reading
but rarely tell a story (Figure 2.7).

Compositional strategies also zone areas of the visual

field, dedicating specific locations within the picture plane
to certain types of information. For example, newspaper
design frequently discriminates between content
that appears “above and below the fold,” favoring the
uppermost area of the paper for high-appeal headlines
and images. Maps often cluster legend information in the
corner of the printed page. And websites typically place
navigational information at the top of the screen.

In other cases, clusters of like elements in particular

locations can reinforce meaning. For example, isolating
two contrasting political opinions in the left and right
halves of the visual field support the interpretation of
contrasting liberal and conservative positions on an issue.
Locating general ideas at the top of a concept map with
increasing specificity as the nodes cascade down the page
helps viewers understand the hierarchy among elements
better than a randomly distributed network of nodes. In
these instances, placement adds to or strengthens the
meaning of elements.

26 CHAPTER 2 / THE VOCABULARY OF VISUAL MESSAGES

 Figure 2.7
Progressive
Architecture Annual
Awards poster, 2014
Thirst
Designer: Baozhen Li
Designer/Creative
Director: Rick Valicenti
Thirst’s poster for
the 61st Progressive
Architecture Annual
Awards uses a
rigidly symmetrical
composition, offset
by asymmetrical
typographic elements.
The typographic
elements draw attention
precisely because they
interrupt the strong axial
arrangement of the title
and pattern.

COMPOSITION 27
 Code Conformity with cultural codes reduces the audience effort
Just as the physical characteristics of architecture required to interpret the meaning of a message; we rely
establish a visual and spatial grammar that orders the on past experience to recognize repeating structures.
activity expected of us in different spaces—where to For example, we are used to seeing a monthly calendar
enter, where to linger, and where to keep moving, for arranged in a grid with Sunday at the front of each week
example—there is a code to visual communication that and Saturday at the end. There are other ways to organize
shapes our interpretive experience. Culture determines thirty consecutive days—we find many in contemporary
these conventions for reading visual form. For instance, day planners—but scheduling under these alternatives
for those of us who read in English, there is a top/down, requires more thought to orient ourselves to the structure
left/right code for working our way through text on a before doing the actual scheduling.
printed page. Not so in Mandarin Chinese. In Western
cultures, it is typical for parallel lines in a composition— Designers can subvert codes for expressive reasons through
such as the two sides of a railroad track—to diminish careful decisions about elements and compositions. For
in width and converge as they go into the distance. example, if the upper right and lower left corners of visual
This system of artificial perspective is understood as a compositions tend not to attract attention under the typical
Western convention for creating the illusion of depth in a reading order in English, then placing a visually dominant
two-dimensional composition. Historically, Chinese and element (by size, color, or shape) in the fallow corners
Japanese compositions communicated depth or distance pulls the viewer out of the normal reading pattern and
by lines that converged in the foreground, grew wider in the slows down the mental processing of the composition. If
background, and avoided any shadows that undermined the goal of the design is contemplation, then subverting
the flatness of the picture plane. In other words, the the typical reading order may add some value to the
meaning-making practices of a culture determine these interpretive experience. It could be an asset in the design
grammatical codes for the arrangement of form, whether of a thought-provoking poster, but not useful in the layout
through repeated use by producers of visual artifacts or of a novel where maintaining the rhythm of reading from
as extensions of attitudes, habits, dispositions, or belief page to page is important (Figure 2.8)
systems built up by the culture over time. While seeming
permanent, they are, in fact, frequently in flux and often
evolve with the times.

Figure 2.8
Dead Man’s Float book
cover, 2006
Véhicule Press
David Drummond
Drummond uses the
conventional visual code
for the typeset design
of a book chapter with
descending sizes of
type as the text moves
from the upper left
to the lower right. He
then undermines this
code, turning the text
into water by overlaying
an illustration and
annotating the cover with
handwriting in the upper
right corner. In doing so,
he calls attention to the
visual grammar of books
while at the same time
inserting elements that
carry a story.

28 CHAPTER 2 / THE VOCABULARY OF VISUAL MESSAGES

Breaking the rules or undermining the accepted code is constructed by the reader—that we think differently about
a typical strategy for design movements that challenge a text each time we read it and on the basis of our cultural Figure 2.9, top left
After the Marne, Joffre
the status quo. In the early part of the twentieth century, position—designers explored compositions in which every Visited the Front by Car,
the Futurists experimented with fragmenting the linear element had multiple relationships with other elements 1915
Filippo Tomasso
reading order or syntax of text. By breaking apart the logical on the page. No single element overshadowed another, Marinetti (1876–1944)
sequencing of words in sentences and paragraphs— and therefore, many meanings were possible. The shifting The avant-garde
instead arranging typography in compositions with random relationship could never be seen as producing a single Futurists used the
disruption of syntax—
letterforms of different sizes and fragments of sentences— interpretation because elements were always in struggle the visual ordering of
designers sought to “wake up” readers for more critical for dominance with others in the composition (Figure 2.10) words and images—to
challenge the traditional
interpretations of the social and political discussions of visual codes of printed
the time (Davis, 2012) (Figure 2.9). In both historical examples, designers challenged communication with the
conventional Western reading codes to express new ideas intent to “wake up” a
complacent reader.
At the end of the twentieth century, communication and to produce specific experiences for readers. Such
designers turned their backs on modernist compositional challenges usually arise from shifts in theories about how
Figure 2.10, top right
codes that favored clear typographic hierarchies thought meaning is made and associate the disruption of visual CIM Poster, 1990
to communicate the singular meaning of an author’s text. conventions with particular philosophical movements or Allen Hori
Like the avant-garde
Believing that meaning is inherently unstable and ultimately time periods in design history.
work in the first part of
the twentieth century,
postmodern designers
of the 1990s explored the
role of syntax in visual
messages. Forgoing
an obvious hierarchy
among elements, these
compositions challenged
a singular reading of
the text.

CODE 29
 Style thousands of reproductions an hour with little concern
Although aesthetics, taste, and style are concepts for the fine art of bookmaking. The efficiency of these
often used interchangeably, they have slightly different processes allowed average consumers to purchase the
definitions. Aesthetics is a set of principles concerned with illusion of higher social status by owning stylistic facsimiles
the nature and appreciation of beauty, as well as a branch of of objects previously available only to the wealthy. The
philosophy that grapples with these notions. Philosophers Arts and Crafts movement in Europe was a reaction to
debate the role of sensory and emotional experiences on the shoddy quality of these faux objects and to public
our judgments of what is and is not beautiful and what is nostalgia for styles of the past. Members of the movement
and is not art. While there are different perspectives across advocated handcrafted work by trained artisans, “truth
history and across cultures regarding what constitutes to materials,” and forms found in nature as a means for
beauty, philosophies of aesthetics deal with a general class bringing good design to every home. This approach was
of concepts that are thought to transcend time and place. economically unsustainable as a business strategy, yet the
visual vocabulary of the movement survived in a popular
Taste is an individual’s pattern of preferences for turn of the century style called, Art Nouveau. The style
certain qualities of form over others. Social and cultural used colors and intricate ornament inspired by botanical
experiences influence taste, so our preferences for form forms (curling vines, leaves and petals) and can be found in
may change over time as we are exposed to education, objects as diverse as subway gates, furniture, and books.
advertising, popular culture, or new experiences. The
distinctions between “good” and “poor” taste are often Later periods of design history viewed style as something
aligned with class, age, or ethnic differences and taste superficial that distracts the viewer from the direct
can be used as a means to discriminate against those experience of message content, as the opposite of
whose likes and dislikes are different from our own. For substance. Mid-century modern movements such as
example, a fundamental idea underpinning modern design De Stijl, the Bauhaus, and the International Typographic
movements of the early twentieth century was that by Style (sometimes called Swiss Design) developed new
surrounding ordinary people with “well-designed” objects visual forms that celebrated the inherent characteristics
and environments they would overcome the limitations of modern materials and machine production.
of their social class and economic status. Not everyone Communication designers of this period favored geometric
agrees that qualities such as detail, imperfection, or form, asymmetrical arrangements of elements on a grid,
traditionalism are real limits to social mobility, so there sans serif typefaces, and a color palette limited to primary
is rarely a cultural consensus regarding issues of taste. hues, black, and white. Of course, this was no less a
Kitsch is a term used to describe objects thought to be style than previous approaches but its origins were in
in poor taste because they are garish, cheaply made, function, not in cultural symbols of the past. More recent
or nostalgic but appreciated in an ironic way or from a philosophies, however, view style as something that extends
critical position on culture. These objects are often read meaning beyond that of function and subject matter alone.
in different ways by different social classes or subcultures. Style evokes connotations built through our previous
experiences of form or represents a deliberate break with
Style is a distinctive form or way of presenting something the past. We associate typefaces, color, and the treatment
that is characteristic of a time, place, or philosophy. While of images with particular periods of history or contexts
we often refer to individual artists and designers as having of use—as in the Vienna Secessionist, Constructivist, Art
personal styles, the more common use of “style” in design Deco, and Postmodern styles, for instance.
refers to the collective approach of many designers to
the rendering of elements, composition, and conformity There is a difference between imitating style and
or non-conformity with the visual codes of their times. referencing style to evoke and repurpose the connotations
Toward the end of the nineteenth century, commercial we associate with the original use. Paula Scher’s hand-
manufacturers produced poorly made goods in styles drawn maps, for instance, refer to well-known cartographic
that imitated artifacts from the distant past. Stamped styles: the airline flight paths in onboard magazines; nodal
and cast metal replicated forms once carved in wood diagrams in contemporary subway maps; and typography
and stone, and industrial printing presses churned out that follows landscape contours and political boundaries

30 CHAPTER 2 / THE VOCABULARY OF VISUAL MESSAGES

on historical maps. The colors and graphic elements feel
Figure 2.11, above Figure 2.12, left
familiar, yet Scher’s versions are fresh reminders of other U.S. Demographics and Goudy Old Style
maps without being literal reproductions of existing styles Economy, 2015 typeface, 1915
Paula Scher Frederic W. Goudy
(Figure 2.11).
Scher’s painted maps (1865–1947)
refer to the style of For American Type
We classify typefaces by their styles, often noting references topographic and airplane Founders
flight maps. They do Goudy’s type
to the tools that originally contributed to the form of their not literally replicate design exhibits the
stylistic predecessors. Old Style typefaces, for example, these familiar artifacts characteristics of Old
or attempt to display Style typefaces (thick
were originally created between the fifteenth and sixteenth accurate data, but and thin strokes, oblique
centuries. The thicks and thins in their strokes and left- instead use cartographic stress, and cupped,
leaning stress—an imaginary line connecting the thinnest form to recall readers’ angled serifs). Many of
experiences with graphic these characteristics
parts of the letterform—originally resulted from the use of representations of result from the tools
a calligrapher’s flat-nosed pen (Figure 2.12). Although fonts geography. used to draw the
letterforms. The flat nib
are no longer drawn with pens, contemporary versions of of a pen makes a thick
Old Style typefaces still carry these connotations. These stroke in one direction,
typefaces recall the elegance of hand-drawn form and the a thin stroke in another.
Contemporary typefaces
singular importance of the formal documents of the time. that exhibit these
characteristics may also
be classified as Old Style
and reflect the historic
associations of the
category.

STYLE 31
Figure 2.13
The 9/11 Report:
A Graphic Adaptation,
2006
Ernie Colón and
Sid Jacobson
Comic artists Colón and
Jacobson condensed
the report of the 9/11
Commission, which
published the findings of
events leading up to the
2001 attack on the World
Trade Center in New
York. The original report
involved interviews with
1200 people and a review
of 12.5 million pages of
documents. The artists
made an important
report understandable
to the average American
by using a style that is
both accessible and
expressive.

32 CHAPTER 2 / THE VOCABULARY OF VISUAL MESSAGES

We also relate style with particular contexts of use. There
are styles we associate with first-person shooter games, SUMMARY
cellphone interfaces, international travel signage, and
tabloid newspapers. When designers use these styles, All messages include elements—words, images, and/or symbols—
they borrow the meanings associated with their use. In that contribute to the construction of meaning. How these elements
2006, comic book artists Ernie Colón and Sid Jacobson are generated and the contexts in which we see them shape our
released a graphic adaptation of the 580-page report of the interpretations. We make different assumptions about a photograph
9/11 Commission, which investigated the 2001 attack on the versus a drawing and respond according to expectations built through
World Trade Center in New York (Figure 2.13). The intent prior experience with representations and their contexts.
was to provide a more accessible explanation of the event
in a style that the average American might actually want The arrangement of elements within a visual field or across time
to read. Although some critics felt the graphic approach to also influences what we think messages mean. Composition
the publication diminished the account of personal tragedy communicates a hierarchy of importance among elements and
and government shortfalls, most reviewers praised the provides information about relevant interactions among particular
artists for making an important report comprehensible. components of a message. The ordering of elements can be
narrative, communicating a story of evolving actions or relationships.
The interplay of message content, elements, composition, Cropping robs images of their narrative potential, focusing our
code, and style are the stuff of visual communication attention instead on image features rather than interactions that
design. They shape people’s use of information, influence contribute to a story.
their interactions with the world, and contribute to their
histories of meaning-making. The chapters that follow Visual codes constitute a grammar or set of rules for reading visual
describe principles and concepts through which designers form. They are culturally defined and shared by people with common
construct the conditions for meaningful experiences. experiences and language. For example, readers of English interpret
Discussions connect the visual vocabulary of messages text from the upper left to lower right of a page unless the visual
with the sensemaking we apply to interpreting content. properties of particular elements pull attention to fallow areas of
How does the treatment of elements, for example, draw the composition.
attention to some elements over others? What are
compositional cues that tell us where to begin reading? Style is distinct from aesthetics and taste. It is often associated with
How do cultural conventions for the arrangement of specific periods of time, cultures, or philosophies. Style connotatively
form reinforce the meaning of texts and the hierarchy of expands the literal meaning of messages, and when repurposed
information? What qualities of visual signs make them in a new context or time, brings forward content associated with
compelling and memorable? The explanations that its original use. A successful repurposing of style refers to these
follow connect our everyday experiences of perceptual meanings without being direct imitations of the original.
phenomena with the tasks of visual communication
designers and interpretations by their audiences. While
there are no rules for the invention of form, it is possible
to ground design decisions in experiences that are
fundamentally human.

STYLE / SUMMARY 33