Image Analysis
I feel that an analysis of my image may be most insightful if informed by the three criteria by which the image was created. First, the figure-ground relationship of the image was designed as a silhouette, with the details of the image being created by areas of ground that show through absent areas of the figure. This approach was inspired by research on the processes of visual perception that indicates the first information received by the brain is boundary contours (Barry, 1997). Second, the content of the image is derived from a symbol chosen from Neurath’s International System of Typographical Picture Education (ISOTYPE) (Meggs, 1998; F.E. Compton Company, 1939; Vossoughian, 2006). In addition to being designed by Neurath for cross-cultural understanding, this symbol continues to be ubiquitous in contemporary western societies. Finally, the third criterion in the design of this image was to augment the abovementioned characteristics, which target rapid interpretation, with an element of paradox. This paradox is created by contradictory signifiers within the image. Thus, the intended result is that of the viewer quickly perceiving and interpreting the image, and then being required to reconcile conflicting information.
Barry, A. M. (1997). Visual intelligence. Albany: State University of New York Press.
F.E. Compton Company (1939). Compton pictographs: pages from the 1939 edition of Compton's pictured encyclopedia showing the new method for visualizing facts and ideas invented by Dr. Otto Neurath. Chicago: F.E. Compton & Co.
Meggs, Philip B. (1998). A History of Graphic Design. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Vossoughian, Nader (2006). Mapping the Modern City: Otto Neurath, the International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM), and the Politics of Information Design. Design Issues, 22(3), 48-65.