Click here to see all projects I had done in this class!
i love photography, especially since my dad gave me his camera so that i can capture artistic shots beyond the limits of my old phone. this passion led me to take CMNS 270, a course where i dive deeper into the photography field and the use of composition to create meaningful and efficient pictures. with photography as its focus, this course helps me explore vision as both physiological and psychological phenomenon, examine the history and use of the camera and develop a number of perspectives for analyzing images.
visual communication, from my understanding, is the process of conveying thoughts and perspectives through visual elements such as drawings, illustrations, and the use of color. individuals-in relationships, organizations, and cultures-interpret and create visual messages in response to their environment, to one another, and to broader social structures. this is why visual communication is inherently social and contextual. there are always multiple truths within the images we create, shaped by different contexts and social experiences.
like words, images give us two different ways of analyzing meaning. we interpret visual messages on two levels: the “literal content” of the image (denotation) and the associated meanings that arise from the qualities of form and the use of words and images in various contexts (connotation). while denotation excludes the feelings and extended ideas that the visual is suggesting, connotation operates within the open-ended realm of cultural associations. it opens up richer opportunities for meaning-making through design, which means a single word or image can signify a variety of concepts and emotions relevant. for example, a smartphone stands for people’s anytime-anywhere connection to information, a decline in the correctness of spelling and grammar in personal communication, as well as changes in etiquette and patterns of social interaction.
in this course, i learned the essential vocabulary of visual elements, including elements, composition, code and style.
- elements are the physical signs and symbols in a visual message. their meaning vary depending on their visual characteristics and surrounding contexts, therefore, the choice of elements has varying content significance for different audiences.
- composition plays an important role in forming a picture. designers arrange elements to form composition, which determines the order in which the audience notices elements, how relationships between elements are perceived, how elements are connected to specific areas of the visual field, as well as how overall meaning is constructed through their integration.
- code is compared as the meaning-making practices of a culture. designers can subvert or destroy codes for expressive reasons through careful decisions about elements and composition, but they can also break the rules to express the design movements that challenge the status quo.
- lastly, style connotatively expands the literal meaning of messages. when reused or recontextualized in a different time or setting, style brings with it the content and associations of its original use, adding depth and cultural meaning.
moreover, through composition, a picture can capture the audience’s attention. but what’ exactly within the composition should we pay attention to? key elements include contrast, figure-ground relationships, color, size constancy, scale, proportion, proximity, focus, layering, symmetry/asymmetry, closure, continuity, series and sequences, pattern, rhythm and pacing, and motion. i had the opportunity to apply these compositional principles in one of our class assignments called “design both ways.” this project required us to explore and engage with various graphic design and typography techniques by creating two visual designs with distinct variations.
this was a sunday night after browsing various B.C. publications for another communication class, i came across the Weekender on The Tyee’‘s homepage. it is a series that “showcase creative ingenuity in Vancouver and across the region.” this message inspired my decision to translate into two digital mediums: a X (Twitter) post and an article thumbnail. (my analysis of the techniques used can be accessed here.)
moving forward, these typography and composition techniques had been applied again in the next assignment, where the instructor asked us to create an infographic for non-profit organizations.
i chose content from the National Geographic article, “Hiking Tips from Jennifer Pharr Davis – the woman who hiked the A.T. faster than anyone,” and transformed it into an infographic. i focused on clearly delivering three key parts—introduction, body, and conclusion— through visual elements. this assignment helped me realize how much i enjoy using illustrations and layering to tell a story and make visual content more engaging.
“I really like the look of your design! The colors and the visual hierarchy are done very well. The mountain at the bottom brings our eye back up to the tops once we’ve reached the bottom. This is a great technique as it keeps us interested in the bottom and middle of the list as well as the top” – feedback from my instructor.
later in this course, i finally had the chance to gain more knowledge in the field I’m most interested in – photography. i learned that photography is guided by specific rules that influence how a picture looks and how effective it is – this is known as photographic composition. however, as we explored earlier in this course, culture and social experiences play a major role in how we perceive and interpret visual elements. in a visual culture where we create and consume hundreds of images daily, what we choose to archive and display reveals a lot about our cultural values. i also learned several key photography concepts, such as camera obscura, photojournalism, framing, angles (low and high), natural light, studio lighting (3-point lighting), depth of field, deep focus, shallow focus, pose, resolution (or pixel density), selfie, subject/object, shot types and most especially, composition concepts. applying these concepts, i wrote a critical analysis reflecting on 1-2 pictures that has a significant impact on me at one point in my life. (it can be accessed from here.)
finally, one of the most valuable lessons i learned in this class was how to apply the 10 steps of The Hero’s Journey to create visual storytelling projects, such as storyboard, screenplays or even short films. I’m proud to share with you – my readers the short film i collaborate with my classmate Cecilia Nguyen. our film, Moving Life, reflects the emotional journey that many young people experience in their 20s – a cycle of change, growth, and self-discovery. (you can watch the video through this link).
“I love the mood of your film. It is a day in the life, but also a span of 4-5 years of young person’s life. Very well done! So many things to compliment you about: types of shots, editing, music choice, the framing of the text message, the narrator – it’s like a poem but also like a text from a close friend, also like an inner voice.” – feedback from my instructor.
i truly appreciate all the materials i’ve learned in this class, and also the opportunity to meet so many creative classmates who offered unique perspectives on visual creation. the field trips to galleries, to hiking trails in my campus and sessions with talented speakers truly greatly expanded my understanding. these experiences helped me view my creative life with fresh eyes, apply creativity to everything around me, and approach visual elements with a more crucial and thoughtful perspective. it has truly been an amazing experience!