ITAP Lecture 4- Reflective Visual Journal

Brain-

The brain is divided into two, with both working together to be as functional as possible. It is a common know fact that different sections of the brain hold certain abilities that are vital for the human body to work properly. The right hand side of the brain is the most creative of the two as it curious and enjoys to experiment. On the other hand, the left hand side is much more formal with it having the capabilities to organise and calculate. These two working in conjunction with each other can be used to the optimum in the case of visual communicators, due to the fact that a creative thinkers need to convey their idea with both words and images. 

A Selection of work from Dominic Mcgill

Above are examples of work from the artist Dominic Mcgill. I feel that these are good examples of how the two sides of the brain can subconsciously work together in the creating pieces of work. In the case of the work above, Mcgill has been extremely creative with all of the illustrations and themes behind them. Although in order to lay all these ideas on a page in a legible way, the left hand side of the brain needs to kick into gear. 

This is clear example of how the two sides of the brain combine in order to create a clear outcome. In other practices, such as fine art, the more organised side of the brain may be less of a necessity. Although, due to the fact that we are in visual communication, we have no choice but to have a logic to our work.

Language-

Visual Language is something that is all around us as it can be more effective than words in a number of different situations. This is due to the fact that a visual can communicate its goal faster in comparison to text and can be seen from distance as well as being universally understanded. Below are a number of examples where visual languge is used. 

London Underground Map

 Road Signs

Above are images reflecting what i have previously said about the use of visual language with these cases being the most obvious. Firstly, the London Underground map is a vital piece of design as it needs to be easy to understand because thousands of people need to be able to extract information applicable to them. This is where something visual is much more effective than text as because it is much more universal. 

Road signs are another important example where visual language is used in a conventional way in order to convey information. These images are now instantly recognisable by millions of people across the country, all because of the use of visual language.