- Semiotic Analysis Session -

We were assigned into groups of  5/6 and were given an outline of the semiotic theory to analyse and give feedback to the rest of the class on what we read.

My Groups Analysis - 

Group 1 pg 34 - 

• Superman iconic hero, turns up in bad situation to save the day.
• Heroic godlike figure brought up to date from ancient civilizations.
• Culture code - Media uses santa as the heroic people pleaser.

• Symbolise order of society
• Icon - Map of France
• Index - Sign to Paris - Direction etc.
• Symbol - Flag of France

• Instruction
• Type represents code - Language is ultimate code

- Interim Crit Feedback - 

The crit I had went quite successful. My peers understood my research and were interested in the fact that the article itself could of completely been fabricated. I will now take my research further by looking into more depth on her the media and newspapers can fabricate and exaggerate stories to make money and almost brainwash the public. 

Aim: 

Target Audience:

Facts on False Widows

• No deaths ever documented in the UK
• Been here since 1870
• Non aggressive
• Bites are as harmless as a wasp/bee sting, however some people react different to others.

- False Widow - 

"The Natural History Museum's Insect Information Service usually hears of about 10 cases of spider bites each year, although this year there would appear to be more. They are still considerably less common than wasp or bee stings."

I am a real fan of this typeface 'White Space'. Its very minimal, clean and well structured. It has harsh yet soft corners to the letterforms and the bowls on the h, t, and e are well curved and work really well. I also like the colour scheme as the deep red contrasts with the black background making a much more bolder impact.

This is another example from the Fontsmith website, another typeface that I'm really fond of. It still has structure and minimalistic elements to it however I like how much more relaxed it is with the slight curve on the E and Y. This would be more appropriate to manipulate for my typeface for Jake as he seems more of a relaxed easy going person which this typeface communicates well.

For this brief we were assigned a partner to create a typeface for a full alphabet including 6 extra glyphs based entirely on their personality. I began by asking my partner various questions to get a better understanding of what he liked and disliked.

- Research -

These three images are the questions that I asked my partner Jake. I then drew little doodles of the first thing that came to my mind for some of the answers, I can now research into more depth of his favourite music/movies etc and get more of an idea of the typeface I should be looking to design.

Fear - "Eaten by a shark"


Jakes biggest fear is to be eaten by a shark. I decided to briefly look on the internet at movies that are based on shark attacks and take note on the typeface and imagery used in the posters to communicate terror and fear. Open Water and Jaws both appear to have a ultra bold sans serif typeface for the heading, this creating a big impact on the page suggesting danger, this is supported on the Jaws poster as the typeface is blood red which signifies attack/danger/blood. Both posters also use imagery that emphasise the oceans depth and space making you think how terrifying it would be to be stuck out there completely alone.


Moves - Pulp Fiction, Inception, Watchmen




The typeface used on this poster is successful and to the point. The san serif typeface is minimalistic clean yet bold, this works extremely well for the movie because the storyline is in fact very complex and plays with your mind. The soft red also contributes towards the whole look of the poster as the imagery gives a sense of curiosity whilst the red typeface stands out and communicates danger.





Music - Rage Against Machine, The Offspring, Weezer, Alt J






These four albums are all the album covers of Jake's favourite bands. The first two covers both use a serif typeface which I think gives character and tradition to the band. The offspring formed in the mid 80's whilst Rage Against Machine formed in the early 90's which you can tell from the different styled album covers. Weezer however also formed in the early 90's yet have a different approach and style to their typeface, theirs is a soft minimalist sans serif font. Alt - J is a more modern band that formed in 2007, they have a very minimalistic thin san serif typeface which works well because the background is very busy and colourful. The triangle helps as it draws some of the attention away from the background giving more focus onto the typeface.

‘The Uncle Sam Range’ was an advertisement created in 1876 by Schumacher & Ettlinger. It was created to promote the range most likely across the higher class (plantation owners/businessmen) in America and other advanced countries worldwide. The excessive American theme throughout the image could suggest them boasting to the world at how successful and strong they are by ‘feeding the world’. With the earth shaped head at the table reading the list of countries and various foods they produce could be a flippant remark to the choice of food they have almost mocking them. The time period is well represented by the dated old-fashioned illustration theme and western typeface situated on the floor. The colours are very welcoming with the warm tones and harsh use of red throughout making an eye-catching impact in the room showing America’s boldness. Also the use of the black slave towards the left of the image portrays the racial views of the white people of America at that time. There is also clock on the wall clearly shows that 100 years have passed since Independence Day and the people around the table are celebrating with a feast from the range. This again supports Americas pride and patriotic devotion to their country inviting the world to join them.

          Savile Lumley however created the second poster in 1915 during WW1. This poster takes a more direct message towards the audience with the hand written ‘Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?’ which could be coming from both children. The boy having toy soldiers and the little girl pointing to the book and looking at her dad suggests he did not participate or support the war therefore cannot tell them anything about it. The direct eye contact he makes with the audience sends a message of pride and guilt, as he is most likely successful and important not needing the wage of the army like the lower working class did. This is supported by the surrounding lavish furnishing and well-dressed cloths on both him and his children which was rare in times of war. Due to the time this poster was created I believe it was targeted at the rich upper class to support the country at war and join the army. This reaches out to them personally as it attacks their pride and his expression seems to be contemplating something. Otherwise they could bring shame upon the family for years from their lack of courage and patriotism.

             In both posters it appears they are both targeted at men. This is because of the time period where men were more symbolic for strength, power and success. ‘The Uncle Sam Range’ is aimed at the middle class as it gives off a sense of desire at what lifestyle they could have to own one, it could also be aimed at the higher class as it represents power and luxury which is what all rich men want. The same target audience applies the same in the Savile Lumley poster as is tests their pride and courage for his family and country influencing them to support the war.

- Photography - 

Tom Harrison - Humphrey Jennings - Charles Madge - Humphrey spencer

These photographers were introduced to us to show to cultural power in documentary photography, they all contributed towards the documentation and observation of the town Bolton that started in 1937. We were shown examples by each photographer but one that I took interest in most was Humphrey Spencer.




This example above is a good representation of the culture and life of pubs back in the 1930's. Everything in the photograph from the fashion of the men, to the posters and bottles on the wall show how completely different peoples lives were back then. It was a lot more grim with the country still recovering from the first world war and the great depression, these gentlemen would of earned well enough money to be able to afford the pub.



 This a reel of examples I found off a website dedicated to the Bolton Work town project called http://boltonworktown.co.uk. The website shows all kinds of photographs from Bolton at that time period documenting the culture.


- Animation -

 This photograph was taken during the Prague spring in 1968 which was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia  during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War 2.



This animation was created by Jiri Trnka called 'The Hand'. Although I did not really enjoy the short clip myself there was something very interesting behind the meaning of the animation. In my eyes it tells a story how we are all puppets in a system. Everything has a structure that we must follow and obey in the world otherwise bad things could happen to you.


- Illustration - 

Norman Rockwell



This illustration was created by Norman Rockwell back in 1943. It is a basic representation of the 'American Culture'. How the families are all joyful and excited sat around the dinner table waiting for food, it gives a sense that all Americans were loving/kind which in fact was a mythic fantasy like identity. The image also shows the loss of a generation where this style of illustration was heavily depended on. Only talented and skilled people could create these types of illustrations whilst in modern day people can a similar effects by using photoshop.

Front cover

 Greg Coulten

This piece of design is one of my main influences in design. I love the traditional victorian feel to the typeface containing a lot of detail. Leaving it black and white makes a greater contrast and impact on the page not disturbing the focus on the detail. The serif 'E' looks fairly modern which appears to be wrapped in a vintage like flower, this I feel communicates not that no matter how much graphic design will progress in the future its important to remember those aspects of type from the past and where it has came from.

 As a group these are the different elements in visual communication that we thought would be most useful in helping us with our design for 'Concerned about standard of work'.