Author: Salome Mindiashvili (Page 2 of 2)

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.

According to the authors, designers are active creators of the current cultures. Designers are not artists but the means of expressing the voice of people in terms of visuals and function. In other words, designers are interpreters of human needs and since the culture is a term which encompasses the social behavior and norms found in human societies, designers are the active creators of the culture.

Another noteworthy quality that distinguishes designers from other creative occupations is the required humility, the ability to look at the world through the eyes of others, and then the artistry to produce the most neutral, effective, and relevant work. Having had this power, designers should engage with societies politically and culturally in order to increase awareness and understanding of the global issues inside a tightly networked world.

Technology has enabled more and more designer to produce content independently and as a result, issues like sustainability and social justice have been moving to the forefront. The technology that designers use today has also brought back the universality of design which is more of a standardized look of the visual content.

In midst of rapid technological and societal changes, designers should always be interested in answering complicated theoretical questions because in every good designer, there is a talent to constructively assess the problem/question and then to effectively respond using the world of visuals that we humans find so stimulating and fundamentally important.

Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQuZLjL2LT8&feature=youtu.be