Month: February 2021 (Page 2 of 6)

As designers we should be aim to be socially aware of any issues and problems that are going on around us. We should strive to inspire those who will come across our work and get them to question the known. It is also our responsibility to know what is relevant and how we can make a difference with our work. It is our duty to appeal to the public and inform people of what’s going on in the world.

 Environmental safety, is one field that can and should intersect with design. To inform and communicate the importance of climate change and encourage people to be socially conscious is not only relevant but the right thing to do. It is our duty to appeal to the public and inform people of what’s going on in the world. The fine arts is also a field that should intersect with designs, as they can share the same elements and be inspiring. Fine art tends to focus on aesthetic, while we believe programming and engineering is based on functionality.

Design is related to language since both are based on communicating ideas or messages. While design can be more visual, they’re both a form of communicating. To be visually pleasing, legible and successfully convey an intended message or idea constitutes a good design. We believe a concept that may be viewed as offensive, biased and/or difficult to understand constitutes a bad design. Design is a visual language that communicates a well-thought out concept and inspires those who may come across it.

I think that language is a form of art. A living and breathing collective and unconscious entity/ system that exists that we all as a community contribute to in order to function and survive as humans. As mentioned in the reading “Design as an Art” by Munari; good language helps us communicate and express the realities of our surroundings but it is also a reflection of our environment; which is why I think it has changed over the years and what might have been a well understood symbol in 1960 may not be understood now. The use of words structured in a particular way or sound as a human experience separates it from other forms of language. For instance, signs are a visual but not verbal form language that helps relay a message in order to communicate.

I think in the structure of language when a community collectively relates a particular image, symbol or icon to an idea; it becomes part of language. In graphic communication a symbol or design is able to relay a particular message or even be used in place of that message to be understood by a community. This really is how signs, signifiers and the signified are employed in general communication; the sign being the image, the concept being the signified and the sound image as the signifier.

Language has shaped design in a significant way; I believe this is true because language came before design and set a foundational stone where design was able to grow and flourish. in the on going years. After the readings, I have a high understanding that they both work hand in hand together. In the past, art can be depicted as a selfish form of expression, as opposed to design. Design is a social activity; it was made not just for the use of singularity but for the advancement/ enhancement of our community. I believe design can accomplish things that language cannot do, it helps solve/ address problems and shed light on everyday practices of the world.

Language is a system in which connections are made through shared messages or ideas. The universal system of language consists of verbal, written and symbolic methods that are used to communicate. In order for connections to be made, all participants must be familiar and understand the specific words that are being used. Without that familiarity or mutual understanding, communication is lost and conflict can arise. What separates language from other forms of communication, is the fact that you truly have to understand the meaning of the words that the language consists of and how to correctly use them. 

Essentially, language is the basis behind symbols or icons. We understand common symbols or icons by connecting what is being depicted or represented to the words of our specific language, yet we do not have to speak the same language to use the same symbols or icons to communicate. Words that form a language are unique to that specific language, while icons or symbols can be seen as more universal and easy to comprehend. Icons and symbols tend to be literal and depict exactly what it represents,. For example, we can assume that an icon depicting a flame is expressing that something is very hot. Two people do not have to speak the same language to both understand that the flame equates to that surface or object to being hot and that they should proceed with caution. 

Signifiers, the signified and the sign are the main components of successful communication, they work together to get spread ideas and messages. The signifier is the sound associated with that idea or concept, while the signified is the actually concept. The sign combines both elements of the signifier and the signified to create an object that represents something unique. In relation to design and graphic communication, this is the root of logo design and branding, to construct a concept that is so unique and specific, it can be easily recognized. 

Language has shaped design historically, being one of the main components of sharing messages or ideas. Through language, communication can be made and brands can appeal to the masses. In today’s culture, where social media is dominant and everything is shared at a fast pace, language does play a key role, but we are continuing to stray away from the use of use of words. Logos, icons, easy to understand visuals is what is works in today’s culture, where popular trends and technology continues to advance rapidly and people continue to have short attention spans. 

What I found to be most interesting from the readings was given that language is something that inherited, the question that lingers is whether or not the laws of the language that are passed down can be modified. I do think as time progresses and advances are made through generations, these laws that shared do change in some ways, whether intentional or not.

Prior to the readings I just never gave language much credit. I guess because it’s so natural. You either have an interest in learning another language or it’s taught to us from birth, where we naturally overtime grasp onto words, sounds and images. From the readings, Language is a combination of various forms, part inherited and part environmental. It is a set of rules that changes per generation, but it is not living. Only contains the potential life because of time, which is based on the principle of continuity.

Language is distinguishable because it is the system/tool used to communicate. Communication is a way to exchange information. The signified is the concept of the thing, and the signifier is the auditory image association. I associated signs to icons and logos because the language of symbols is silent. It’s viewed not spoken; no matter the size, you need to be able to distinguish what it represents. In addition language influences design. Symbols and Icons are used to convey the communication in a simplified form. Some becoming timeless and universal. For example a pictograph of man and women, is an ideograph of toilets. If/when traveling those same symbols are in airports, hotels and restaurants regardless of the native language. I believe we can accomplish what language can not through design, for example Braille is designed for those blind.

What I found interesting was how writing is assumed to be graphic design because it consists of lines drawn on a flat plane. This was interesting to me because we all have a different handwriting. We learn the same language/system of letters but it has its own individualism by the way we apply pressure to the pen and paper.

For todays complex world language and design are still are the forefront. As humans we have a need for communication. Universal design allows for language barriers to be broken down. Design is forever changing; but just like language there is a foundation of basics traveling through generations. [However there will always be someone judging the design and asking is the design ethical to their culture?]

Language can come in various forms, as long as it depicts speech, or represents an idea. We understand the language that we inherit, and the language we inherit is being affected by the environment.  For instance, eskimos can have more than ten words to describe snow or ice, because their survival depends on it. However, people who live in urban areas such as New York, don’t necessarily depend on the condition of ice, or snow and wouldn’t need ten ways to describe it.

What interests me the most is the fact the written language started as pictographs, documenting people’s day-to-day lives. As time progressed language became more abstract and we eventually got phonetic signs. With all the “progress” we made through the years learning how to express ourselves, it feels like we are almost going backwards in time. Emojis are definitely how I would describe; modern pictographs. 

Pictograms are based on physical objects, and as language evolved it became more abstract, and ideograms emerged. Emojis are symbols that represent our feelings, ideas, and we can always group multiple of them to make up complete sentences, or describe concepts better. Pictograms were found on stone tablets and cages, where our modern ideograms, aka Emojis are found on phones and other electronic devices.

Overall I thought it was interesting how I was reading through the articles, and realized there are so many pictograms and ideograms throughout the whole article of Lupton Miller, called “Design Writing Research”. It is clever how each icon is being introduced separately to the reader, allowing them to get familiarize with the graphics and the meaning. When the symbols/ icons showed again on different pages, readers already know the meaning. I have never saw a book written this way, and incorporating design elements into the text definitely made it more appealing, interesting and fun to read. It feels like the writer kind of made his own language. 

Language is a complex tool of communication that involves structured system consisting of both speech and gestures. Majority of languages have a visual or graphical representation encoded into symbols, or a writing system composed of glyphs to inscribe the original sound and its meaning. Communication is a way of interchanging messages or information between two or more people. Overall, communication has a wider scope than language, as communication encompasses language. 

Symbols and icons are directly related to language as they are signifiers of any material thing, whether that’s an idea or a word. They are just like words we see on the image, with one difference, for understanding, they go through a brain area where the associations are made between the graphic imagery and the word or an idea vs. just a word. Symbols and icons are also heavily influenced by the cultures are being used in. Unlike language, which requires generations to shift and change, symbols and icons are more mutable. Signifier and signified together make up the sign which is then used for communication.

Both design and language are forms of communication that actively reflect the ideas, attitudes and characteristics of the current societies. Language directly influences design since its main goal is communication. Since the language shapes our very basic methodology and structure in the process of communication, therefore, the design would clearly reflect that methodology, perhaps in more subtle ways.

In today’s complex and interconnected world, the fluidity of a design thinking and universality has become more and more crucial. With humans’ constant need to communicate and the growing active internet users, the endless ideas are being communicated in the form of visuals. Good, neutral and universal design can simplify the complexities within the communications usually caused by drastic differences in language and culture.

Language is the most important part of human connection. Although humans around the world have different forms of languages they are able to be translated and learned by others. The Languages that we see today have grown so far from their prehistoric symbols, signs, gestures, and later on written text. Language can be distinguished from other communication is by the system of verbal and non-verbal to send and receive from one & other. Throughout history, the language was a tool of communication that we use to keep a collection of information from history, story, and culture. Symbols are the most creative and flexible use of expressing human emotions and communicating them to others. Symbols are what sets apart cultures from one another and how they developed throughout the centuries.

General communication is a system that uses a design that delivers a function that speaks strongly for everyone. Some examples are signs like a crosswalk where a design of a person in the motion of walking sends a message to walk and a red hand in a position that sends a message to stop or halt from crossing the street.  Language shaped design historically is by creating a message that speaks to the audience and delivers that it easily communicates to everyone. 

The relationship between language and design in today’s culture is that as the time change more people changes their view on design, for example, the monster energy drink can. The design was the letter m transform to look like a monster claws mark. Unfortunately, a group of people who believe in the catholic religion views the can as anti-catholic that they would find symbols in the design that would find it demonic or satan. So it depends on the audience if the design and language work together but there will case that someone will view it differently from how you see it. 

-Daniel Rodriguez

Language is the universal arbitrary and generational medium of communication that every person uses to deliver a message. Language can vary depending on many different factors and can be as mutable ( that has been or can be modified) or immutable. It’s a speechless speaking action that loses its freedom once a large group or society takes over it. In comparison with other forms of communication, the origins of language and its transformation are completely unpredictable.

Another form of communication related to language is symbols or icons. Symbols can mutate or change like language, and their impact can become universal and cultural once a mass starts to use it enough. Like any other medium, it has to be learned to understand its message. Sings are signifiers for its development where it can stay static and preserve the relationship with its meaning or idea expressed. This makes signifiers easier to be employed in general communication and graphic communication like a male or female restroom icon indicator or even a strong design that delivers a function regardless of not using words.

This success has been accomplished by the continuous evolution of this medium. It has changed design historically by its impact on people’s principles or beliefs like politics or even religion. Making design to shape mindsets according to the message being transmitted. Knowing this connection we can say that design can accomplish things that language cannot, for its ability to connect in a universal way. However, it doesn’t discard the trait that design depends on language as well, which can be noticeable in today’s culture. Design will go around the context of language to ensure its cultural impact I.e, gen Z language is not the same as millennials, and understanding this guarantees an easier outcome.