The ability to construct meaning from visual images and type.

...National Potrait Gallery...

Nick Bell Design

Branch 'Petit Collage'... From a very young age, we were educated using symbols and pictograms. I think most people would have had a poster similar to this connecting the image of an animal with its corresponding Letter. It taught us to connect together words and images and helped us to learn to read and write.

Alan Fletcher's style has been used universally in maps, the simplicity of the symbols, lines and colour coding system make it easy to read and understand. Although the distance between the stations and the shape of the lines have been altered to simplify it to make it more visually appealing, we can still relate to direction and area, making it any more detailed would be of no benefit to the viewer. It is designed to be clear and legible as people reading it would usually be in a rush to get somewhere. This is an excellent piece of Graphic Design showing how the designer has covered the needs of its audience, the fact that this style has been used universally shows how legible it is to everyone.

Gerald Holtom was the designer of one of the most well known signs of today, the peace sign. This symbol was designed and used for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarment in the 60's (CND), the design of the symbol is a combination of semorphic signage representing ND for nuclear disarment, the N is made by holding two flags in a downwards V shape and the D is made by holding one flage vertically up and one down. This symbol is simple and bold and stands against so much conflict in the world, it is known universally and has united so many people.

Its funny to think of how quickly these little text emoticons spread through our everyday speech, LOL, ROFL...
Orange have created a smiley face using text symbols to advertise free texts, its bold, funny and universal.

Graphic Thought Facility made the branding and advertising posters for the Frieze Art Fair,

Graphic Thought Facility created the branding for Habitat homewear shop, the logo reflects the phrase 'Home is where the heart is', also keeping it in one coulour and a single line keeps it to the point, clear and simple. The members of Habitat’s Art Club received regular mailings and exhibition offers and Art Club’s publications provided members with poster-sized art images and a regular nationwide summary of art activity. The programme conveyed a consistent identity by means of an exaggerated underlining device which appeared on all its publications.

 

 Illustrator Sara Fanelli has created an informative piece for the Tate Modern. The timeline runs along the concourse walls of level 3 and 5 at Tate Modern, providing a glance at the highlights of twentieth-century art. It informs the viewer of the artists on show within the gallery, i love Fanelli's personal quality to her work but I have to question whether it works well in this context.. is it supposed to be a piece of art in its own right?