# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
An Investigation into How Certain Techniques

# data[].attributes.body
Final outcomes >>>>>>

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.text
Here is the list of February 2020 term rewards newsletter.
Please pledge before March 1st 2020 to get them. 
More info can be seen at  https://t.co/WpuaCP65lI
Thank you.

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.entities.urls[].title
Mimi N is creating life path as an artist | Patreon

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.entities.urls[].description
Become a patron of Mimi N today: Get access to exclusive content and experiences on the world’s largest membership platform for artists and creators.

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.original_text
Here is the list of February 2020 term rewards newsletter.
Please pledge before March 1st 2020 to get them. 
More info can be seen at  https://t.co/WpuaCP65lI
Thank you. https://t.co/VKLxSEbI9X

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Don’t miss what’s happening

People on Twitter are the first to know.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
Here is the list of February 2020 term rewards newsletter.
Please pledge before March 1st 2020 to get them.
More info can be seen at https://t.co/WpuaCP65lI
Thank you. pic.twitter.com/VKLxSEbI9X
— Two Suns 二人の太陽 (@FutarinoTaiyou) February 27, 2020

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
Here is the list of February 2020 term rewards newsletter.
Please pledge before March 1st 2020 to get them. 
More info can be seen at  https://t.co/WpuaCP65lI
Thank you. https://t.co/VKLxSEbI9X

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.entities.urls[].title
Mimi N is creating life path as an artist | Patreon

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.entities.urls[].description
Become a patron of Mimi N today: Get access to exclusive content and experiences on the world’s largest membership platform for artists and creators.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Here is the list of February 2020 term rewards newsletter.
Please pledge before March 1st 2020 to get them. 
More info can be seen at  https://t.co/WpuaCP65lI
Thank you. https://t.co/VKLxSEbI9X

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
Here is the list of February 2020 term rewards newsletter.
Please pledge before March 1st 2020 to get them. 
More info can be seen at  https://t.co/WpuaCP65lI
Thank you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.entities.urls[].title
Mimi N is creating life path as an artist | Patreon

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.entities.urls[].description
Become a patron of Mimi N today: Get access to exclusive content and experiences on the world’s largest membership platform for artists and creators.

# data[].attributes.body
Colour emotion example

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.text
Here is the list of February 2020 term rewards newsletter.
Please pledge before March 1st 2020 to get them. 
More info can be seen at  https://t.co/WpuaCP65lI
Thank you.

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.entities.urls[].title
Mimi N is creating life path as an artist | Patreon

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.entities.urls[].description
Become a patron of Mimi N today: Get access to exclusive content and experiences on the world’s largest membership platform for artists and creators.

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.original_text
Here is the list of February 2020 term rewards newsletter.
Please pledge before March 1st 2020 to get them. 
More info can be seen at  https://t.co/WpuaCP65lI
Thank you. https://t.co/VKLxSEbI9X

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Don’t miss what’s happening

People on Twitter are the first to know.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
Here is the list of February 2020 term rewards newsletter.
Please pledge before March 1st 2020 to get them.
More info can be seen at https://t.co/WpuaCP65lI
Thank you. pic.twitter.com/VKLxSEbI9X
— Two Suns 二人の太陽 (@FutarinoTaiyou) February 27, 2020

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.entities.urls[].title
Mimi N is creating life path as an artist | Patreon

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.entities.urls[].description
Become a patron of Mimi N today: Get access to exclusive content and experiences on the world’s largest membership platform for artists and creators.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
Here is the list of February 2020 term rewards newsletter.
Please pledge before March 1st 2020 to get them. 
More info can be seen at  https://t.co/WpuaCP65lI
Thank you. https://t.co/VKLxSEbI9X

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Here is the list of February 2020 term rewards newsletter.
Please pledge before March 1st 2020 to get them. 
More info can be seen at  https://t.co/WpuaCP65lI
Thank you. https://t.co/VKLxSEbI9X

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
Here is the list of February 2020 term rewards newsletter.
Please pledge before March 1st 2020 to get them. 
More info can be seen at  https://t.co/WpuaCP65lI
Thank you.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.entities.urls[].title
Mimi N is creating life path as an artist | Patreon

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.entities.urls[].description
Become a patron of Mimi N today: Get access to exclusive content and experiences on the world’s largest membership platform for artists and creators.

# data[].attributes.body
Quotes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Goethe's theory of colours : Johann Wolfgang von Goethe : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Book digitized by Google from the library of Oxford University and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This is a collection of my recent editorial illustration work. If you are interested in seeing some self promotional work please go to my 'uncommissioned work' page
For Mindful magazine about dealing with depression of a spouse.

This was for Biz New Orleans magazine about the top 10 stories of 2020; small businesses closing, empty office spaces, fuel prices dropped and people being evicted to name a few.

For Edge magazine about good leadership in business

For Swiss magazine Weltwoche about working from home and self isolation during the Coronavirus outbreak

Front cover illustration for the Economist about misleading financial information

For Tesco Magazine about pensions and saving for retirement.

For a health service magazine about the people who helped protect us from the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and scientists.

Illustration for Circular magazine about social media helping to encourage people to recycle.

cover Illustration for Wall Street Journal about companies monitoring their employees' happiness.

Editorial illustration for Which? magazine about 5G technology

I illustrated this for BBC Science Focus magazine for a feature about how gender specific medicines could be a reality in future.

I did this piece for Inside Housing magazine for a feature about asylum seekers in glasgow being evicted and locks in their home changed.

For Time Higher education magazine about microaggression.

This was for Dutch publication Opinie magazine. People divided by opinion can make democracy work better

This was for the Guardian weekend magazine for a feature about parents' relationship with their children. Are they building the wall or taking it down? Parents need to know what alienates them from their children and how to have a healthy relationship.

This was for BVCA magazine about how the NHS is updating technology so it can run smoother and become better connected

For Harvard Magazine about USA attracting talented medical and engineering graduates from over-seas.

Double page spread for women's health magazine about the 'nurses' health study'; an ongoing survey from women to gather health information over the years to eventually give a clear overall picture of general health in order to help new generations.

This was for Optometry Today magazine about care packages in the optometry industry.

For Chicago magazine about waiting is for something is a good way to test your patience and the outcome will be more rewarding.

For BBC Focus magazine about using forensics to catch criminals from old unsolved cases.

For Which magazine? about deleting Facebook.

For BBC Focus magazine about election hacking

This is part of the election hacking feature for BBC Focus magazine. This image illustrates the problem of hackers manipulating voters' interests via social media by way of fake news and propaganda.

Magazine illustration for TES about young people not wanting to do very much but stay in their room.

For Drucker forum magazine about cutting free the workforce and encouraging them to think without restrictions.

This was for Health and safety magazine editorial illustration about seeking justice after the accidental death of a loved one.

For Edge magazine about mental resilience.

For New Scientist, editorial illustration about the psychology behind interrupting.

For Waitrose weekend magazine, editorial illustration about technology and youth.

For a personnel and Human resources magazine, about outsourcing specific qualities in a workforce.

For Wall Street Journal, editorial illustration about harvesting investments RMD in retirement plan.

For Construction Manager magazine, editorial illustration about investing in public building construction.

For the Guardian, about mind and body being connected.

For a finance magazine, about a forecast for 2017.

For an arts Magazine editorial illustration about film artisans.

For TES, editorial illustration about the 'shanarri' method of helping special needs children.

For Guardian weekend magazine, about new year's frugality with spending.

For Reason magazine, about the supply chain.

For Drapers magazine, about phone apps that help clothes shoppers.

For a Business magazine, cover illustration about the 'Gig economy' and the flexibility of being freelance.

For Utility magazine, about the recent change in energy regulation causing disproportionate uproar describing it as 'a storm in a teacup'.

For Money Sense magazine about personal investments.

For the Guardian, about: time is money.

For Drapers magazine, editorial illustration about the importance of labels in clothes shopping.

For Human resources magazine, editorial illustration about making ends meet in the 'gig economy'.

For BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) about the balance of cost and conservation.

For an education magazine, illustration about overseas students needing extra support.

For a young enterprise magazine, about attracting young people via social media.

For Radio Times showcasing a radio show, about depression in children leading to illness later in life.

For BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) about bird watcher traveling through the night to hotspots.

For ' Les Inrockuptibles ' a French political media magazine,editorial illustration about Russian propaganda on RT channel.

For Nursing Standard, about nurses under pressure.

For Bulletin magazine, editorial illustration about in attributes that make success.

For BBC Focus magazine, editorial illustration about young people being hooked on social media.

For Health and Safety magazine, editorial illustrations about stress in the workplace. Entitled: locking up the 'S' word.

For Waitrose weekend magazine, editorial illustrations about 'things to try in 2018'

For Construction Manager magazine, about building the perfect manager of a construction company.

For Harvard Magazine, editorial illustration about outsourced workers becoming anodyne.

For Berengerg magazine, about the profits of sanitation products like tissues, cotton buds and women's hygiene products.

For Contagious magazine, about the Yin and Yang balance between manual and robotic workmanship working together.

For Positive News magazine, editorial illustration about young people receiving therapy for technology addiction.

For Harvard magazine, about how most young people choose to confide in someone other than family and friends.

For Inside Housing magazine, editorial illustration about linking communities.

For Informa annual report, about business conventions attracting people from around the world.

For Experian history book, about how the manufacturing company TRW and the retail company GUS came together to form Experian.

For Financial Times, about the Eurozone.

For Cicero magazine (Germany) about children's concentration in school.

For Deloitte University Press, about the squeeze in promotions revenue.

For Planning magazine about removing a toll road in the planning stage.

For food magazine, about TV cookery programmes.

Magazine illustration for Radio Times, for a radio show about the science behind Dr Seuz.

For finance magazine, about safeguarding plummeting currency.

Magazine illustration for Adweek cover about television in a new era.

Magazine illustration for Print Week, cover illustration about family businesses.

For Vue magazine, a competition to spot 20 horror film references.

For Ambition magazine, about braking away from the usual way of doing business and finding other avenues.

For the Guardian, about small victories, little but often will eventually in time win overall.

For Health and Safety magazine about how safety is handled in Australia.

For Financial Times, about EU regulations affecting business in Europe.

For Financial Times, about how foreign investment was used to help the E coli outbreak.

For Waitrose magazine, about traffic light food labelling.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Editorial Illustration work by conceptual illustrator John Holcroft

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This is a collection of my recent editorial illustration work. If you are interested in seeing some self promotional work please go to my 'uncommissioned work' page For Mindful magazine about dealing with depression of a spouse.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Print advertisement created by M&C Saatchi, United Kingdom for NHS, within the category: Health.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
TOP 25 QUOTES BY GEORGE LAKOFF | A-Z Quotes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Discover George Lakoff famous and rare quotes. Share George Lakoff quotations about metaphor, philosophy and language. "Metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just..."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
The Best Examples of Creative Ads Using Visual Metaphors - Creatopy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's estimated that the human brai n processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text . Moreover, when text is paired with images, comprehension goes up to 89% .

Sounds fascinating, doesn't it?

I think we can all agree that visual communication can boost your online advertising.

Sometimes, in order to create a stronger reaction, advertisers go one step further and pair multiple visual elements to create a metaphor image.

Therefore, if you want to stand out in your industry and leave a lasting impression on your target audience, you need to do more than come up with a basic visual ad.

A visual metaphor can help you succeed when you want to convey a simple yet powerful message in a creative manner.

What Is a Visual Metaphor?

A visual metaphor is a creative representation of a concept, person, place, thing, or idea through an image that uses analogy or association.

Another visual metaphor definition can go something like this: when the familiar is turned into something extraordinary and engaging.

We all have various belief systems and perceive the world in a certain way.

Because of this, we can make sense of visual metaphors.

With the help of metaphor images, you can create new imagery that will crack open your audience's reality and make sense into the familiar.

Now that you know what a visual metaphor is, here are a few practical tips on how you can create an ad that stands out.

How to Create a Visual Metaphor

Here's the process you need to follow when creating a metaphor image:

1. First, think about the main message that you want to transmit through the visual and write down the most important words. Let's say you want to represent a person who is always with their head in the clouds .

2. Brainstorm potential familiar elements you can use to illustrate the message, but be careful not to leave your audience completely puzzled. For this example, the familiar elements are represented by a person and clouds.

3. Draw a few sketches by combining those elements to see how they can fit to deliver your message. For this step, you can replace the person's head with the clouds.

4. To avoid future confusion, and achieve the desired outcome, consult with your team to see which visual would be the best choice.

Now, let's take a look at some of the most inspiring creative ads that are based on visual metaphors techniques.

15 Creative Ads to Get Inspired By

1. Visual metaphors

Visual metaphors use common elements and objects, which are combined in an unexpected way to send a powerful message.

This ad for Smart shows us what's the best option to navigate through a busy city when it comes to cars.

How to demonstrate this better than with a metaphor?

The difficulty of threading a needle was compared to driving a big car through a crowded city. A Smart car, however, will manage to easily enter through the narrowest streets.
Image Source
2. Double meanings

Of course, almost all metaphors have a palpable object with a symbolic meaning behind, but some of them can illustrate two ideas in one visual.

This collection of print ads for Diniz, the largest eyewear chain store in Brazil, is using tropical fruits to show the freshness of a cold fruit in the summer.

They are using the fruits to also cast shadows in the form of different models and styles of eyewear.

To create a stronger connection between the visual and the copy, each ad has a different message that is in perfect tune with each fruit.
Image Source
Visual analogies combine objects that are usually not seen together, but they are used in a way that makes perfect sense.

The following outdoor ad for BusConnects falls into the category of advertisements that use analogies.

The visuals for this campaign convey Dublin as a Rubik Cube that can only be solved thanks to the collaboration between the public and BusConnects.
Image Source
4. Visual similes

This technique represents an object by making it look like it's something else. It's commonly found in visual advertisements, like the one below, which is a classic.

show that nuts are good for your brain, which is one of the reasons why this representation is so effective.

It might not be an innovative idea, but the ad also uses creative copy to send a powerful message, which is supposed to appeal to logic and raise awareness.
Image Source
5. Visual effects

They might be the oldest trick in the advertising industry, but a creative mind can always keep them crisp.

In this 2020 Audi calendar, we can see dynamic visual effects using vivid colors and scenery inspired by comics-movies.

In each visual, the car is presented as a different superhero.
Image Source Image Source
Another excellent example of visual effects used in an ad comes from DIRECTV.

The ad conveys how fast and easy everyone can enjoy entertainment in their home, just by opening the DIRECTV box.
Image Source
6. Visual fusion

Another advertising technique is the one where you create a fusion between two different-even opposing-elements to send a straightforward message.

Sometimes the element, person, or place can be merged with the logo of the brand.

This can be extremely effective if the company's logo is well-known so that consumers can make the connection between the ad and the brand itself.

In the following ad examples, the McDonald's logo substitutes the eyes of the nocturnal animals, landing the idea that the restaurant is open 24/7.
Image Source
Another set of visual metaphor examples using this technique are these print ads created for the United Nations that encourage people to practice social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Image Source Image Source Image Source
The associations between common objects that don't play well with one another suggest the negative outcome and help people understand the importance of keeping the distance:

7. Visual minimalism

There are times when even the most simple or abstract elements can be turned into visionary images.

Resorting to visual minimalism advertising, McDonald's France used their emblematic french fries to show directions to the nearest location.
Image Source
This campaign resulted in captivating visual metaphor ads. See all of them .

8. Visual puns

The use of visual metaphors in advertising can also appeal to audiences' interests by being playful.

Puns are perfect when you want to create a visual ad that's memorable. After all, who doesn't remember a good old pun?

Using the idea of color swatches, this ad is saying that the toaster lets you control how toasted you want your toast to be.
Image Source
You don't have to choose only between barely crisp and burnt.

9. Visual typography

The use of typography is yet another creative way of designing beautiful metaphor ads.
Image Source
Letters can complete the image of an object, similar to this ad for Internet.org, a campaign showing initiative to bring internet in areas where people don't have access to it:
Image Source
Here's another example in a print ad for KentFM, where letters were used to create a sound wave:

10. Unconventional metaphors

We've seen visual puns and can't argue that they're not engaging. On the opposite side are the visual metaphors banking on more odd things.

A good example is using a visual that looks like a horror movie poster when it's actually not.

This poster for the National Health Service, for example, definitely makes people look twice.
Image Source
The message truly gets to you because of the font that was used and the fact that it's also combined with an image that looks straight out of a horror movie:

11. Amplifying the negative

This technique can help you create visuals that entice people to take action, offering the audience a glimpse into the reality, the problem, and how they can be part of the solution.

This is an ad created for the NGO Entourag e app that fights against the social exclusion of homeless people in France.

Those that care about this complex social problem can get involved and help with simple but meaningful things.
Image Source
This way, the ones in need won't fall in the pit of loneliness and despair, like the visual suggests.

12. Illustrating dilemmas

Wake-up-call ads usually fall into this category, dramatizing the visual to make people change negative behaviors.
Image Source
This ad campaign uses the common plastic pill case to suggest that opioid addiction can have fatal effects. The visual ad implies the human cost of this damaging behavior, making it even more realistic and alarming.

13. Drawing consequences

One of the best techniques to depict the consequences of a specific action is to use a compelling image and a simple message that are connected to one another.
Image Source
This print ad created for Detran, the Traffic Department in Brazil, has the purpose of raising awareness about the fact that a cigarette thrown on the road can start a fire.

14. Visual hyperboles

An effective way for marketers and designers to convey the importance of a product in an ad is by using hyperboles.

Visual exaggerations are ideal for letting people know how your product can benefit them.
Image Source
In this ad for sunscreen, the company depicted the idea that their sunscreen can not only protect people from the sun, but it's water-resistant as well so it's perfect to use when you go to the beach:

15. Metaphor stories

Sometimes a metaphor can be taken into the realms of stories.

This campaign started with the idea of chess, which was invented in India, and used it to create a compelling campaign.

More precisely, the symbol of the queen in the game, which is the most powerful piece, is portrayed as powerless.

The powerless queen is compared to the majority of Indian women who can't even get access to fundamental rights, such as education.

This metaphor story was turned into a mobile chess game, and players are given a powerless queen. Thus they can't win.

The campaign was meant to raise awareness about the fact that women cannot win if they are not empowered.

It also aimed to encourage people to donate to the cause and help these women get access to education.

Final Thoughts

Visual metaphors are artistic representations that can help you design something different and make your brand's online advertising stand out at the same time.

One thing is clear.

They are a perfect choice if you want to engage your audience and make your message stick even after your campaign is over.

When using visual metaphors in your ads, leave the cliches behind. Sure, keep thinking outside the box, but go even further.

I hope that these creative ads will inspire and determine you to dare more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Best Examples of Creative Ads Using Visual Metaphors

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's estimated that the human brai n processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text . Moreover, when text is paired with images, comprehension goes up to 89% . Sounds fascinating, doesn't it? I think we can all agree that visual communication can boost your online advertising.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Psychology of Colour, Emotion and Online Shopping

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Discover the world's research

19+ million members

135+ million publications

700k+ research projects

Join for free

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.

It would be too early to talk about details. :)

View project

Comparison of the concept of nation in American and Hungarian culture

View project

The aim of the project is to examine medieval (ca. 1100-1400) Icelandic vernacular theories of emotion.

View project

November 2017 · Gema Online Journal of Language Studies

Diverse methods and approaches have been utilised in researching the cultural bases of health, illness and wellbeing. Understanding the cultural representation of health and illness of particular communities becomes urgent especially when the community concerned is underserved in healthcare. In this project, we sought to examine the representations of health and illness by members of the Semai ... [Show full abstract]

View full-text

May 2014 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

People commonly talk about goals metaphorically as destinations on physical paths extending into the future or as contained in future periods. Does metaphor use have consequences for people's motivation to engage in goal-directed action? Three experiments examine the effect of metaphor use on students' engagement with their academic possible identity: their image of themselves as academically ... [Show full abstract]

View full-text

This study seeks to apply recent advances in the theory of conceptual metaphor to political discourse analysis. In particular, it focuses on the metaphorical framing of the Ukrainian Euromaidan discourse viewed as a communicative situation during a range of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine (November 2013-February 2014) which ended up with a series of violent murders of protesters and ... [Show full abstract]

Read more

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Discover the world's research 19+ million members 135+ million publications 700k+ research projects Join for free ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication. It would be too early to talk about details. :) View project Comparison of the concept of nation in American and Hungarian culture View project The aim of the project is to examine medieval (ca.

# data[].attributes.headline
Visual Metaphor and Embodiment in Graphic Illness Narratives - Elisabeth El Refaie

# data[].attributes.subject
Visual Metaphor and Embodiment in Graphic Illness Narratives - Elisabeth El Refaie

# data[].attributes.body
-  “Artists working in the visual medium of comics, for example, are compelled to engage with the nature and limitations of human vision, making it more likely that they will use metaphors that draw on the experience of seeing or not seeing things clearly, regardless of whether this is an explicit theme in their stories.” – (Page 3)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Visual Metaphor and Embodiment in Graphic Illness Narratives - Google Play

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Metaphors help us understand abstract concepts, emotions, and social relations through the concrete experience of our own bodies. Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), which dominates the field of contemporary metaphor studies, is centered on this claim.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This essay is a classic semiotic text where Roland Barthes analyses an advertising image and uses it as a means of teasing out how different messages are conveyed by a system of signs. The ad he uses is the Panzani advert, within which he finds a rich layering of meanings.
Barthes commences by remarking that the word image stems from a Latin term meaning 'imitation' and then poses the central question of his essay - can images truly function of conveyers of meaning given that they are essentially imitations (or direct analogical representations) of something else. Do they really constitute a language, and if they do, how does meaning work within this language? He uses an advertising image to analyze these questions, as advertising images clearly have intended meanings. The image used is the Panzani ad which is reproduced below.

He starts by identifying three classes of message within the image:

1. The linguistic message (text)

He sees two kinds of linguistic messages at work: a denoted message comprising of the caption and the labels on the produce, and a connoted message - the word 'Panzani' connotes Italianicity.

2. The s ymbolic message (or connoted image)

Four signs are then identified from the non-linguistic part of the image and the constitute the symbolic message, or connoted image:

The half-open bag signifies return from market

tomatoes and peppers signify Italianicity

the collection of objects signifies a total culinary service

the overall composition is reminiscent of, and therefore signifies, the notion of a still life.

3. The literal message (or denoted image)

This is non-coded in that the image of the tomato represents a tomato, the image of the pepper represents a pepper, and so on. He remarks that in this case we have a signifier and a signified which are essentially the same - this is a message without a code.

He then proceeds to look at each of these three types of messages in turn and attempts to untangle the precise nature of their operation and the relationships between them.
The linguistic message
Almost all images, in all contexts, are accompanied by some sort of linguistic message. This seems to have two possible functions:

1. Anchorage - images are prone to multiple meanings and interpretations. Anchorage occurs when text is used to focus on one of these meanings, or at least to direct the viewer through the maze of possible meanings in some way

2. Relay - the text adds meaning and both text and image work together to convey intended meaning e.g. a comic strip.

The denoted image
We can't really remove the connotations of an image and this behold a purely literal, denoted image. If we could we would be comprehending the image at what Barthes calls the 'first degree of intelligibility', the point at which we see more than shapes. colour and form, but instead see a tomato. This would be a message without a code and crucially, Barthes identifies photography as the only medium with this characteristic - drawing, for example, relies on all sorts of conventions and what he calls 'rule-governed transpositions', which essentially constitute a code whereby signifieds can be represented as pen strokes. This absence of a code reinforces the myth of photographic 'naturalness' (or Sontag's notion of a photograph as a trace of the real), but Barthes rejects this idea since he denies the possibility of the purely denoted image.

He identifies the specific characteristic of the 'pure' photograph as being an object that is here-now in the present, but which connects to something that undisputably existed in the past. He sees this as being revolutionary, as a means of eluding history.

The role of he denoted image in the overall image structure/meaning is one of naturalizing the symbolic message - supporting and contextualizing the connoted elements, making them innocent. In effect allowing the image to say - "Look! I'm just a picture of a tomato! Nothing funny going on here!".

Analyzing the connotations of the image is a challenging task fraught with a number of difficulties. One of these is that each image can connote multiple meanings, we saw four earlier and there are probably more. Which ones are taken, depends on the viewer. A meaning is derived from a lexicon, which is a body of knowledge within the viewer. A single lexia stimulates multiple lexicons which may or may not be shared among viewers. So meaning is constructed not solely by the creator, but also by the consumer, and the intersection of his/her lexicon(s) with the signs contained in the image. Barthes refers to the collection of lexicon within a person, as his/her idiolect.

A further difficulty with analyzing the connoted signifieds is that there is no apt language for expressing or articulating them. The common domain of signifieds of connotation is an ideology, which seems odd until one consults a dictionary and finds a definition of ideology as a "systematic body of concepts". How do we talk about this, other than through language, which is itself a system of signifiers and signifieds, and hence subject to all the ambiguities this entails?

Barthes calls the signifiers within a particular medium (or 'substance') the connotators. So, the connotators within an image are all the visual elements that can be used to connote signifieds. The entire set of such connotators is the rhetoric, so the rhetoric of the image is all the visual elements within an image that can be employed as signifiers. He stresses that not all the visual elements are connotators so there always remain purely denoted elements within the frame.

My main issue when going through the text was a question about to what extent this approach to the analysis of images extends to non-advertising images. Advertising images have clear intentionality at their core - they are constructed to convey specific meanings and specific messages - and Barthes is quite upfront about the fact that this is why he uses one. We can use Barthes' approach to unpack how this works, but what about other genres of photographs? For example, casual snapshots might have no intended connotations associated with them on the part of the creator, but might mobilise a particular lexicon within a viewer that constructs a very specific meaning, unintended by the creator. Does this matter? Similar questions arise with respect to documentary photographs. Are the creators of documentary images dealing purely with denotation? i.e. here is a picture of something that happened that I want to show you. Or, are they consciously (or unconsciously) embedding connotations also?

One genre of photographs that are perhaps close to advertising images in that there is clear intentionality of meaning at work, is publicity photographs for bands. They are clearly constructed to convey specific messages to the viewer and usually are trying to 'say something' about the group. The image below is a publicity shot of the long-running (but now defunct) Ohio indie rock band, Guided By Voices. I thought it would be interesting to try and apply Barthes' methods to unpack the messages contained in this.

Firstly there is no real linguistic message associated with this, other than the caption I inserted with the name of the band. Almost certainly though, this image would have associated text in whatever context it is used. This might be text giving information about the band, a gig, a record release and so on. This text would be used as relay - in that it would be providing extra information not provided by the image itself.

In terms of denoted image, we can identify a number of things here, all obvious. There are five people in Guided By Voices, one of them has an extremely ill-advised hairstyle, one is wearing a blue-striped shirt and so on.

I think there are quite a few meanings at work in the connoted image also and I'll try and pick them apart now.

The composition of the band members within the shot seems haphazard, their clothing is questionable- together these signify alignment with a certain slacker aesthetic that would see itself as being very distinct from mainstream rock music. It is saying that they don't care too much about the taking of this photograph and by extension are not to be associated with the mainstream music industry and it's reliance on image and professionalism.

The cigarette hanging out of the mouth and the stumbling posture of the two band members to the front signify drunkenness and this would be in keeping with the image of the band who were well-known for their drink-fueled performances and dissolute lifestlyes, an image they actively cultivated themselves.

The closeness of the four members to the left and in particular the arm-around-the-shoulder stance signify a gang. Again, this would reflect the fact that they were a close-knit bunch of friends who grew up together.

The band member to the far right however, stands slightly apart and aloof from the others. This is Robert Pollard, the main songwriter and creative force. His apartness signifies distance and difference and perhaps superiority with respect to the rest of the group, which again would be very in keeping with the history of the band - as Pollard would be the constant core of the group all through their career and write most of their giant catalogue of songs. His expression almost seems to suggest disapproval and in fact, not long after this photograph was taken, he sacked the entire band and replaced them with other musicians.

The first three of these are probably conscious, intended connotations on the part of the band and/or the photographer. The last one seems more likely to be an unconscious one - unless Pollard was sending out a message that this unkempt bunch of wasters to his right were soon for the chop. I wonder though how much of the connotations I am identifying here are particular to a very specific lexicon - that concerning US underground/indie rock in general and Guided By Voices in particular. Would someone less versed in this take the same meanings from the image?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Rhetoric Of The Image - Roland Barthes (1964)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This essay is a classic semiotic text where Roland Barthes analyses an advertising image and uses it as a means of teasing out how different messages are conveyed by a system of signs. The ad he uses is the Panzani advert, within which he finds a rich layering of meanings.

# data[].attributes.headline
Understanding and Implementing Visual Metaphor

# data[].attributes.subject
Understanding and Implementing Visual Metaphor

# data[].attributes.body
Study by Dr. Matthew Peterson
Dr. Kevin Wise
Dr. Robb Lindgren
Dr. Donna Cox
Nitasha Mathayas

This is an investigation into the use of visual metaphor to help teach concepts of science further than diagrams can. Although this is from a general and scientific point of view, theres are still many quotes that i might consider using in my essay.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"All in all, the book edited by Steen devoted to visual metaphors deserves numerous accolades. First, because it makes important contributions to this flourishing field of study, with the empirical research results obtained, and with the typology of incongruent advertising images, the methodology for identifying visual metaphors or the VisMet corpus description. Secondly, because it considers new questions and intriguing unexplored aspects. And lastly, because it can stoke the debate needed to build a solid theory that can explain all of the visual manifestations of this complex cognitive phenomenon called a metaphor."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The overarching goal of this book is to report on the findings of a research program aimed at exploiting the vast cognitive linguistic and psycholinguistic expertise on metaphor in language for a new, behaviourally founded approach to the structure and processes of metaphor in one of these nonverbal manifestations, namely static visuals.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Decoding the rhetoric of images. Image by Panzini

Author: Lesley Lanir

· How do images hold and convey meaning?

· How do we understand them?

· What are they trying to say?

· How do they persuade and influence us?

Roland Barthes deconstructed a Panzani advertising image and extracted the types of messages contained within it in order to illustrate the 'rhetoric' of the image. Though advertisements have a deliberate 'signification' or meaning generated in order to sell a product, Barthes' analyses can be used to understand how messages are conveyed in other types of images.

When lookingat the overall sign of the advert, the reader understands from its composition and its placement in a magazine that it is an advertisement. However, beyond this, the Panzini advert sends three types of messages: the linguistic message and two types of iconic message.

Within the linguistic message, which is the caption, the copy, or the title, are two types of messages at work:
a) The denoted message, which is the literal meaning of the labels on the produce - in this case the name of the company, Panzani.
b) The connoted message, which is the sociocultural and 'personal' associations drawn from the label or text. For example, the word 'Panzani' in the illustration connotes Italianicity.

The linguistic message here is - this advert is for an Italian food company.

When the viewer looks at the advertisement, the visible items (the signifiers) represent what they are signifying in reality. The signifier and signified are one and the same, thus providing a non-coded message, and the "realism" of the image makes it appear to be a 'natural' scene rather than 'socially and historically' constructed. Paradoxically, there is no code to decode at this level because a photo of a tomato represents a tomato. As Barthes says in his book, The Rhetoric of the Image, " We need no other knowledge than what is involved in our perception." Once you recognize the iconic sign (the signifier) or object in the picture, you understand its meaning from its similarity to its visual reality - the signified item. The items provide an innocent, iconic non-coded message and a realistic context in which to present the overall message. The message in this case is "the scene itself, literal reality."

Barthes points out, when you analyze the pure image, you can distinguish four main signs that although discontinuous and not linear, work together to create a coherent message:

1. Because of the visual composition, the scene represents the idea of a return from the market. This is a 'signified' item - in this case an overall meaning created by a number of signifiers. The return from the market further signifies product freshness and home-made food.

2. What signifies the return from the market? We arrive at this connotation by way of a signifier - the half open shopping bag with the contents spilling out. However, in order to 'read' this sign, we have to understand what the shopping bag represents and the culture around 'local shopping', as opposed to the bulk supermarket buys.

3. The colors red, green, and white are known to relate to or signify Italy, or rather 'Italianicity.' They work to enforce the linguistic connotation of the sign Panzini.

4. The close proximity of the items suggests or signifies that Panzini provides a total culinary service and is your solution to a quick, fresh, home-made meal.

The viewer derives the message from the visual connotations or suggestions provided by the chosen objects, their particular arrangement, their signifiers, and what they signify. From the coded message we receive the idea that Panzini provides fresh, home-made, authentic Italian meals.

The linguistic message serves to anchor or direct the viewer away from a number of possible meanings that may emerge from the image and towards the intended meaning.

The linguistic message can be separated from the other two iconic messages but because the non-coded and coded messages have the same iconic substance, it is more difficult to differentiate between them - the reader consecutively receives a perceptual image and a cultural message.

Barthes emphasizes though, that it is important to separate the two in order to understand the final relationship between the messages and the image as a whole; in the same way that it is necessary to differentiate between the signifier and the signified in a linguistic sign.

Overall, connotation within an image has the same effect on the denoted message as the caption or written text has on the photograph. It guides the viewer away from the literal image and its message and towards the intended message of the overall image. Thus, Barthes provides a useful tool for analyzing images and for understanding and appreciating how, through forethought, the compositor sends messages that are persuasive and convincing.

Barthes, R. The Rhetoric of the Image. Éléments de sémiologie. (1964). Communications 4, Seuil, Paris.

Barthes, R. Elements of Semiology. (1968). Hill and Wang, New York.

First published on Decoded Science: December 11, 2012
Check out my site for blog posts and free resources: Turnaround Your Teaching - Solving Language Learning Difficulties

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Roland Barthes: Decoding Images and Image Rhetoric - Explained

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Author: Lesley Lanir · How do images hold and convey meaning? · How do we understand them? · What are they trying to say? · How do they persuade and influence us? Roland Barthes deconstructed a Panzani advertising image and extracted the types of messages contained within it in order to illustrate the 'rhetoric' of the image.

# data[].attributes.body
In the pages previous to this, Craig explains the gentle sounds of the room as he is falling asleep. On this page, using different patterns coming together, he shows the mixing of sounds hypnotically circling around them.

# data[].attributes.body
In these 2 panels, we can see the reality of the scene alongside his feeling about Raina in his mind. He struggles to be creative now that he is with his muse and this metaphor shows his infatuation and feelings of awe.

# data[].attributes.headline
Visual metaphor 1 - Doodles Erupting Out of Craig

# data[].attributes.subject
Visual metaphor 1 - Doodles Erupting Out of Craig

# data[].attributes.body
Craig burns all of his childhood drawings as they remind him of his need to escape through drawing. He also sees this as a sort of spiritual pact with god.

# data[].attributes.body
Marked each page that shows a visual metaphors

# data[].attributes.headline
Testing colour palettes in Procreate before working finals in photoshop

# data[].attributes.subject
Testing colour palettes in Procreate before working finals in photoshop

# data[].attributes.headline
WEEK 12 (One Week Extension Granted) - Essay focused

# data[].attributes.subject
WEEK 12 (One Week Extension Granted) - Essay focused

# data[].attributes.headline
Colouring timelapse uploaded onto instagram

# data[].attributes.subject
Colouring timelapse uploaded onto instagram

# data[].attributes.body
@katrichardsonillustration

# data[].attributes.body
Next I'll upload my roughs and

# data[].attributes.headline
Trialling making Riso masters in Photoshop

# data[].attributes.subject
Trialling making Riso masters in Photoshop

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Making Digital Masters in Photoshop for Risograph Printing

# data[].attributes.headline
Colour trials on procreate - 3/4 colours

# data[].attributes.subject
Colour trials on procreate - 3/4 colours

# data[].attributes.body
MID BLUE, RED and YELLOW?
Primary colours are proving to be the most versatile and should be able convey emotions e.g. sadness, passion and happiness

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
British artist Jon McNaught presents a slight formality of his square-grid comics, but they're softened with a quiet visual narrative and gentle color combinations with shadow and light. His work offers an intimate connection with the reader letting his stories unfold about place and time.

McNaught has published two accomplished works with Nobrow, a British publisher of art and illustration by young visual artists. Both books, Birchfield Close and Pebble Island, share a nostalgic glimpse at youth and childhood. His first book, Birchfield Close, evokes a summer evening just before dusk as two boys pass time watching the last light of day. In Pebble Island, McNaught recreates a quiet narrative of childhood memory growing up in the Falklands.

His latest comic work Adrift appears in the pages of the Summer 2011 issue of magazine, and can be viewed in its entirety here at his web site http://www.jonmcnaught.co.uk/index.php?/project/adrift-art-review/. Although this is a shorter work, this story about individual passengers on a train ride at twilight evokes a richness pairing a relaxed pleasure trip at night - one that is nuanced between the landscape traveled and the partitioned internal world of his characters in public space.

For more news and details about McNaught's work and his recent projects, South Africa's Centre for Comic, Illustrative and Book Arts (cciba) published London journalist Paul Gravett's interview with McNaught in this article Jon McNaught on printing comics: An interview with Paul Gravett (22 May 2011). Also, visit Jon McNaught's official web site to see more from his portfolio and recent work: jonmcnaught.co.uk

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
See the full gallery on Posterous Images: Jon McNaught, Adrift (panel detail), 2011; Jon McNaught, Birchfield Close (panel detail), 2010; Jon McNaught, Pebble Island, 2010. British artist Jon McNaught presents a slight formality of his square-grid comics, but they're softened with a quiet visual narrative and gentle color combinations with shadow and light.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In late 2011 I got talking to Dr Nick Barter at a community fair. It was a chance meeting, and we began discussing shared interests relating to sustainability. He mentioned that he was a university lecturer and researcher. I mentioned that I was a cartoonist who focuses on sustainability-related stories. We agreed to collaborate on a future project.

By early 2012 this collaboration began fruiting as a graphic novel adaptation of one of Nick's conference papers. Metaphors that facilitate Organisational Understanding is about the relatively abstract concept of 'metaphors', and how we can distort our view of the world, when inappropriately using metaphors to conceive the world around us.

A different way to convey ideas

One of Nick's motivations was to use this 'graphic novel' to reach out to his students. He sensed that his students were bored by the idea of reading scholarly research. To them, academic papers seemed an almost-impenetrable 'wall of text'. He hoped that a comic adaptation would allow readers to begin to understand the concept better, and would allow them to understand the original research paper. In this way, the comic may serve as a sort of Rosetta Stone for students to begin to decipher the wordy language of academic papers. Maybe some of them would decide to pursue a life of further research!

Collaborations using graphic novels seems to be an idea which Nick is fond of, as he has also published The Agony of the Lecturer (2012) and Is This OK? (2013), featuring strong use of illustrations. Those works express Nick's frustration with 'degree-factory' university teaching, and the corporatisation and dehumanisation of daily life. He uses exaggeration and extrapolation to highlight the dangers of our current path.

Adapting the paper into a comic

Nick encouraged me to take a strong lead in the comic adaptation. Essentially, he had made the first move by writing the research paper. It was now up to me to interpret his paper as an artist. I then brought my ideas to him, and together we worked to refine 2-3 versions of the script/storyboard into the finished comic.

A large challenge was deciding how to visually represent the concept of 'metaphors' in a comic. After all, most of the topics I draw comics about are about subjects which actually exist in three-dimensional reality. For example, ecological food webs, or stories based upon actual historical figures/events.

By contrast, Metaphors is based on a purely abstract/theoretical concept. It is based upon the ideas we use to imagine organisations, and the way we respond/react to organisations based on our understandings. This is very abstract stuff, and there are few obvious visual images to build a story upon. A lot of it relied upon my creativity.

Choosing the imagery

I amplified the imagery of Metaphors to draw attention to certain aspects of this futuristic 'parallel universe'. A world where all people seem to be wearing goggles/lenses (which are explained to represent the 'metaphors' those people use to view to world around them).

Showing the workers as literal 'cogs' in a machine, or organelles within a biological cell added to this effect. This visual transformation of people into shapes consistent with the metaphors they use to conceive their role within an organisation made it clear that this comic was set in a fantasy reality.

I made it clear that buildings/'organisations' appeared to be organisms or machines purely in the eye of the beholder. This was shown through a 'vision cone' (e.g. page 6) which arose from the lenses the character was wearing (which itself was explained to be a representation of the metaphors the characters use to conceive the world around them).

Note that reader Tariq made some insightful comments about the conclusion of the comic. He suggested that a better ending to the comic would have been the characters replacing their bulky goggles for slimmer lenses. Metaphors are essential for us to think and act in this world, so reducing down to the slimmest possible lenses would have been a beter ending than the characters taking their lenses off completely.

The message of Metaphors

An aim of Metaphors was 'to make the ordinary seem strange'. To make readers reconsider their feelings towards organisations, and question if these feelings cause us to make bad choices.

In other words, to make readers reconsider the way we use 'organism' and 'machine' metaphors to conceive of organisations. I wanted to make the reader wonder if they act in ways that seem strange, once objectively pointed out to them. Does talking about an organisation being 'alive' ('growing'/'evolving'/being 'born') cause us to subconsciously project human qualities onto the subject? Does that cause us to use unnecessary sympathy when discussing the role of organisms in our society/economy? Do we show them unnecessary concern? Do we avoid making decisions which 'hurt' these imaginary, non-existant entities?

Ditto the 'machine' metaphor. Is it worrying that we conceive organisations as somehow superior to its human constituents? Have we created unstoppable creations that humans are now unable to restrain?

I wanted readers to reconsider our relationships to organisations and think about the behaviour-modifying 'forces' these imaginary entities exert on us. As human beings, it is remarkable how much we modify our behaviour to avoid unsettling so-called 'things' which don't actually exist!

Read the full comic Metaphors: The Lenses We Use to Interpret and Understand Our Reality by Nick Barter and Stuart McMillen.

Testimonial from Dr Nick Barter

Behind chance meetings there is often a large dose of serendipity that makes you wonder if you were meant to meet. Stuart and I did have a chance meeting at a community fair, one dark Friday night. From that initial meeting, I persuaded and perhaps cajoled Stuart to work with me. Working with him was a rewarding experience and the final product exceeded my expectations. I had never written a comic before and as such the I was tentative in the process. However Stuart held my metaphorical hand and made the process a good one. It was in sum a pleasure working with him and I would have liked to do more, but unfortunately he moved away. I hope our paths cross in the future.
- Nick Barter, Griffith Business School

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Griffith University comic: 'Metaphors' - Stuart McMillen collaboration

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In late 2011 I got talking to Dr Nick Barter at a community fair. It was a chance meeting, and we began discussing shared interests relating to sustainability. He mentioned that he was a university lecturer and researcher. I mentioned that I was a cartoonist who focuses on sustainability-related stories.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In terms of self-expression, comics is such a powerful form that narrative styles veering towards the oblique and/or the representational are not necessarily a barrier to the reader in connecting with work that can still resonate with them on a fundamentally empathetic level.

Bethany Hall's Cosmo Hotel follows the journey - both literal and allegorical - of a woman whose quest to find the titular locale will take her to an altogether different plane of perception. What she experiences within the walls of the Cosmo Hotel will lead her to a revelatory destination and a moment of epiphany, as ostensible reality melts away and a different state of being coalesces.

Hall's story is silent and delicately paced with visuals that, oddly enough, feel as dreamlike in the earlier sequences rooted in a more recognisable world as they do in the surreal otherworldliness the comics slowly transforms itself into.

Hall peppers her panels with visual metaphor and symbolism, with constant changes in perspective subtly manipulating the reader's interactions with the page, asking them to dwell and linger on each individual image and further building up the sense of mystery that permeates events.

Ultimately the reader will take their own meaning from what I suspect is a very personal piece of abstract storytelling but there is much here that could be interpreted thematically in terms of identity, awakening, self-expression, acceptance and fulfilment. The measured use of colour and nuanced visual characterisation add to that enigmatic tone and the sense of discovery that ensues; palpable darkness slowly giving way to something altogether more joyous.

There's a confidence to the storytelling here that impresses throughout. Hall is unafraid to allow her audience to look for their own meaning in events; to eschew exposition and instead ask the reader to experience the story rather than read it. Strong work from an artist new to us at BF but one we'll be keeping a close eye on in the coming months.
For more on the work of Bethany Hall visit her website here and follow her on Twitter here. You can buy Cosmo Hotel from her online store here. Bethany will also be a guest at this week's Gosh! Comics and Broken Frontier Drink and Draw. For regular updates on all things small press follow Andy Oliver on Twitter here.
- Andy Oliver

Andy Oliver is Broken Frontier's Editor-in-Chief and site owner. He is also a co-organiser of the annual UK Small Press Day and has been a judge or committee member for the Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition, the British Comic Awards and the SICBA Awards.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cosmo Hotel - Bethany Hall's Extended Visual Metaphor Resonates with the Reader on a Fundamentally Empathetic Level

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In terms of self-expression, comics is such a powerful form that narrative styles veering towards the oblique and/or the representational are not necessarily a barrier to the reader in connecting with work that can still resonate with them on a...

# data[].attributes.body
Aspect to aspect manga example

# data[].attributes.body
ADRIFT - Jon McNaught

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Visual Research and Visual Metaphor Exercise

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Roland Barthes | Semiotic Theory Explained

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Andrew Robinson
Roland Barthes was one of the earliest structuralist or poststructuralist theorists of culture. His work pioneered ideas of structure and signification which have come to underpin cultural studies and critical theory today. He was also an early instance of marginal criticism. Barthes was always an outsider, and articulated a view of the critic as a voice from the margins. He was an outsider in three ways: he was gay, he was Protestant in a Catholic culture, and he was an outsider in relation to French academic establishment. By the end of his life, however, he was widely renowned both in France and beyond.
Barthes and Semiotics
Barthes is one of the leading theorists of semiotics, the study of signs. He is often considered a structuralist, following the approach of Saussure, but sometimes as a poststructuralist.

A sign, in this context, refers to something which conveys meaning - for example, a written or spoken word, a symbol or a myth. As with many semioticists, one of Barthes's main themes was the importance of avoiding the confusion of culture with nature, or the naturalisation of social phenomena. Another important theme is the importance in being careful how we use words and other signs.

One characteristic of Barthes's style is that he frequently uses a lot of words to explain a few. He provides detailed analyses of short texts, passages and single images so as to explore how they work.

Another trait of his work is his constant systematisation. He draws up schemes for categorising the signs and codes with which he works, which can be applied to divide a text, a narrative or a myth into different parts with different functions. He draws up something like a blueprint of the areas of discourse he studies, showing how the different parts hold together.

In Saussurean analysis, which Barthes largely uses, the distinction between signifier and signified is crucial. The signifier is the image used to stand for something else, while the signified is what it stands for (a real thing or, in a stricter reading, a sense-impression).

The signified sometimes has an existence outside language and social construction, but the signifier does not. Further, the relationship between the two is ultimately arbitrary. There are many different ways a particular signified could be expressed in language, or different objects divided-up. None of these ways is ultimately superior to the others.

Barthes is an anti-essentialist. He is strongly opposed to the view that there is anything contained in a particular signifier which makes it naturally correspond to a particular signified. There's no essence of particular groups of people (humanity, Britishness) or objects (chairness, appleness) which unifies them into a category or separates them from others.

For instance, there is no such thing as human nature. (This might be taken to mean that everything ultimately exists in an immanent, extensive plane of being). The division into categories is always a process of social construction. People don't start off with thoughts or perceptions of objects which they then express in language. The categories of language determine how people divide up objects into types.

Furthermore, all signs depend on the entire system of signs. None of them have meaning aside from the system.

Barthes is best-known for showing the social constructedness of language by reference to familiar, everyday experiences.

However, he does not mechanically apply Saussure's theory. He largely replaces Saussure's term 'arbitrary' with the term 'motivated'. The relationship between a signifier and a signified is arbitrary only from the point of view of language. From a social point of view, it channels particular interests or desires. It can be explained by reference to the society in which signs operate, and the place of the signs within them. Nothing is really meaningless. Signs are neither irrational nor natural.

Signs are taken to operate on a continuum, from 'iconic' with one strong meaning to users, through 'motivated', to the truly 'arbitrary'. They vary along this continuum as to how tightly defined they are. Most signs have strong enough connotations and associations to be at least partly 'motivated'. When they are used, they refer back to previous conventional uses.

For Barthes, most signs are mediated by language. Barthes usually reads non-linguistic signs (such as fashion) through linguistic signs (such as fashion journalism). He views non-linguistic signs as carrying linguistic meanings.

Indeed, in Barthes's later work, even actions become mediated by language. Every act is at once an act (signified) and a sign of itself (signifier). It becomes hard to unpack the act from its meaning. For instance, in psychoanalysis, it's argued that a person might kill or steal to confirm in the eyes of others her or his own sense of being a guilty person. The guilty act is a means to provide a sign of itself.

Barthes believes it is impossible to act (e.g. to dress) 'innocently' (in the sense of not conveying anything in terms of meaning). Signs of deviance from dominant norms - punk dress for example, or an archaic religious look - are just as conventional as those of the mainstream. They signify rejection of dominant norms and attachment to particular alternatives.

Signs are often used to differentiate one person or group from others. Taboos, for instance, can create a freedom to reject dominant norms by breaking them. Barthes assumes that acts of signifying are usually 'guilty': the image they project is intended.

Furthermore, the way people use language bears little relationship to underlying intent, feelings or perceptions. Beneath each text (whether it's a novel or a speech-act) is simply the immense structure of the language-system, from which each person borrows words in a ceaseless act of writing.

There are also, however, special cases where meanings are violently projected from outside, as in the Dominici case (see below).

The main disagreement here is with the view of language as something akin to mathematical symbols designating particular objects. This kind of reference is one of the roles of language, known as denotation. However, language-use also tends to be affected by a second type of use, known as connotation. Mistaking connotations for denotations is one of the things which makes conventional uses seem natural.

Barthes opposes the view of arts such as literature as operating in this way. He also opposes the view of language as primarily instrumental - as a way of rationally understanding experience. Instead, language exists to produce sensuality, or sensory responses.

Barthes also disagrees with the view that people first form integrated sense-perceptions or thoughts to which they then give names through language. In common with other structuralists, he sees linguistic categories as constituting the divisions of phenomena into groups.

Barthes's work is marked by a certain recurring concern for the closure which results from linguistic ways of seeing. Language always implies a one-sided way of seeing, which selects certain characteristics as meaningful, and ignores or discards others. This 'intellectual imperialism' or 'fascism' is built into the nature of language. Every statement prevents something else from being said. This exclusion is unavoidable.

Furthermore, once said or written, something is unchangeable. It creates a system. It cannot be undone. It can only be questioned. This goes against the openness of language. Derrida is later to suggest it is a kind of violence against the multitude of possible meanings.

Human freedom can be asserted against the nature of language in two ways. Firstly, by calling language into question. This is done by literature and semiotics. Secondly, by opening texts to new readings, and preventing them from being finalised. This is done through 'writerly reading', and through forms of writing which escape its restriction to communication, using signs for their own sake.
Part two of the series on Barthes is published next week.
Andrew Robinson is a political theorist and activist based in the UK. His book Power, Resistance and Conflict in the Contemporary World: Social Movements, Networks and Hierarchies (co-authored with Athina Karatzogianni) was published in Sep 2009 by Routledge. His 'In Theory' column appears every other Friday.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
An A to Z of Theory Roland Barthes and Semiotics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By Andrew Robinson Roland Barthes was one of the earliest structuralist or poststructuralist theorists of culture. His work pioneered ideas of structure and signification which have come to underpin cultural studies and critical theory today. He was also an early instance of marginal criticism.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Theory of Colour-Psychology in a nutshell

# data[].attributes.subject
The Theory of Colour-Psychology in a nutshell

# data[].attributes.body
Wordpress article study by Debi Gueron

# data[].attributes.body
Made a more thorough riso colour mixing chart in procreate

# data[].attributes.body
Colour options on iPad pro

# data[].attributes.body
Beginning to look at colour choices

# data[].attributes.body
Experimenting with riso colour layering

# data[].attributes.body
Tonal shading roughs

# data[].attributes.headline
Story editing workshop - cropping exercise 

# data[].attributes.subject
Story editing workshop - cropping exercise 

# data[].attributes.body
* Notes *
- Chris Ware
- Essay title
- Looks like im on track and research is good
- Andrzej Klimowski - the secret
- Chris Ware
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/mc-2015-0002/html
- Using Jon McNaught as linking example between point
- Roland Barthe
- Extract key quotes and examples from research

# data[].attributes.headline
Mapping Emotion to Colour by Niels A. Nijdam

# data[].attributes.subject
Mapping Emotion to Colour by Niels A. Nijdam

# data[].attributes.headline
Goethe on the Psychology of Color and Emotion              BY MARIA POPOVA 

# data[].attributes.subject
Goethe on the Psychology of Color and Emotion              BY MARIA POPOVA 

# data[].attributes.body
"But perhaps his most fascinating theories explore the psychological impact of different colors on mood and emotion — ideas derived by the poet’s intuition, which are part entertaining accounts bordering on superstition, part prescient insights corroborated by hard science some two centuries later, and part purely delightful manifestations of the beauty of language."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Color is an essential part of how we experience the world, both biologically and culturally. One of the earliest formal explorations of color theory came from an unlikely source - the German poet, artist, and politician Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (August 28, 1749-March 22, 1832), who in 1810 published Theory of Colors (public library | public domain), his treatise on the nature, function, and psychology of colors. Though the work was dismissed by a large portion of the scientific community, it remained of intense interest to a cohort of prominent philosophers and physicists, including Arthur Schopenhauer, Kurt Gödel, and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

One of Goethe's most radical points was a refutation of Newton's ideas about the color spectrum, suggesting instead that darkness is an active ingredient rather than the mere passive absence of light.

But perhaps his most fascinating theories explore the psychological impact of different colors on mood and emotion - ideas derived by the poet's intuition, which are part entertaining accounts bordering on superstition, part prescient insights corroborated by hard science some two centuries later, and part purely delightful manifestations of the beauty of language.

YELLOW
This is the color nearest the light. It appears on the slightest mitigation of light, whether by semi-transparent mediums or faint reflection from white surfaces. In prismatic experiments it extends itself alone and widely in the light space, and while the two poles remain separated from each other, before it mixes with blue to produce green it is to be seen in its utmost purity and beauty. How the chemical yellow develops itself in and upon the white, has been circumstantially described in its proper place.

In its highest purity it always carries with it the nature of brightness, and has a serene, gay, softly exciting character.

State is agreeable and gladdening, and in its utmost power is serene and noble, it is, on the other hand, extremely liable to contamination, and produces a very disagreeable effect if it is sullied, or in some degree tends to the minus side. Thus, the color of sulphur, which inclines to green, has a something unpleasant in it.

When a yellow color is communicated to dull and coarse surfaces, such as common cloth, felt, or the like, on which it does not appear with full energy, the disagreeable effect alluded to is apparent. By a slight and scarcely perceptible change, the beautiful impression of fire and gold is transformed into one not undeserving the epithet foul; and the color of honour and joy reversed to that of ignominy and aversion. To this impression the yellow hats of bankrupts and the yellow circles on the mantles of Jews, may have owed their origin.
RED-YELLOW
As no color can be considered as stationary, so we can very easily augment yellow into reddish by condensing or darkening it. The color increases in energy, and appears in red-yellow more powerful and splendid.

All that we have said of yellow is applicable here, in a higher degree. The red-yellow gives an impression of warmth and gladness, since it represents the hue of the intenser glow of fire.
YELLOW-RED
As pure yellow passes very easily to red-yellow, so the deepening of this last to yellow-red is not to be arrested. The agreeable, cheerful sensation which red-yellow excites increases to an intolerably powerful impression in bright yellow-red.

The active side is here in its highest energy, and it is not to be wondered at that impetuous, robust, uneducated men, should be especially pleased with this color. Among savage nations the inclination for it has been universally remarkedy and when children, left to themselves, begin to use tints, they never spare vermilion and minium.

In looking steadfastly at a perfectly yellow-red surface, the color seems actually to penetrate the organ. It produces an extreme excitement, and still acts thus when somewhat darkened. A yellow-red cloth disturbs and enrages animals. I have known men of education to whom its effect was intolerable if they chanced to see a person dressed in a scarlet cloak on a grey, cloudy day.

The colors on the minus side are blue, red-blue, and blue-red. They produce a restless, susceptible, anxious impression.

BLUE

As yellow is always accompanied with light, so it may be said that blue still brings a principle of darkness with it.

This color has a peculiar and almost indescribable effect on the eye. As a hue it is powerful - but it is on the negative side, and in its highest purity is, as it were, a stimulating negation. Its appearance, then, is a kind of contradiction between excitement and repose.

As the upper sky and distant mountains appear blue, so a blue surface seems to retire from us.

But as we readily follow an agreeable object that flies from us, so we love to contemplate blue - not because it advances to us, but because it draws us after it.

Blue gives us an impression of cold, and thus, again, reminds us of shade. We have before spoken of its affinity with black.

Rooms which are hung with pure blue, appear in some degree larger, but at the same time empty and cold.

The appearance of objects seen through a blue glass is gloomy and melancholy.

When blue partakes in some degree of the plus side, the effect is not disagreeable. Sea-green is rather a pleasing color.

RED-BLUE

We found yellow very soon tending to the intense state, and we observe the same progression in blue.

Blue deepens very mildly into red, and thus acquires a somewhat active character, although it is on the passive side. Its exciting power is, however, of a different kind from that of the red-yellow. It may be said to disturb, rather than enliven.

As augmentation itself is not to be arrested, so we feel an inclination to follow the progress of the color, not, however, as in the case of the red-yellow, to see it still increase in the active sense, but to find a point to rest in.

In a very attenuated state, this color is known to us under the name of lilac; but even in this degree it has a something lively without gladness.

BLUE-RED

This unquiet feeling increases as the hue progresses, and it may be safely assumed, that a carpet of a perfectly pure deep blue-red would be intolerable. On this account, when it is used for dress, ribbons, or other ornaments, it is employed in a very attenuated and light state, and thus displays its character as above defined, in a peculiarly attractive manner.

As the higher dignitaries of the church have appropriated this unquiet color to themselves, we may venture to say that it unceasingly aspires to the cardinal's red through the restless degrees of a still impatient progression.
RED
Whoever is acquainted with the prismatic origin of red will not think it paradoxical if we assert that this color partly actu, partly potentia, includes all the other colors.

We have remarked a constant progress or augmentation in yellow and blue, and seen what impressions were produced by the various states; hence it may naturally be inferred that now, in the junction of the deepened extremes a feeling of satisfaction must succeed; and thus, in physical phenomena, this highest of all appearances of color arises from the junction of two contrasted extremes which have gradually prepared themselves for a union.

As a pigment, on the other hand, it presents itself to us already formed, and is most perfect as a hue in cochineal; a substance which, however, by chemical action may be made to tend to the plus or the minus side, and may be considered to have attained the central point in the best carmine.

The effect of this color is as peculiar as its nature. It conveys an impression of gravity and dignity, and at the same time of grace and attractiveness. The first in its dark deep state, the latter in its light attenuated tint; and thus the dignity of age and the amiableness of youth may adorn itself with degrees of the same hue.

History relates many instances of the jealousy of sovereigns with regard to the quality of red. Surrounding accompaniments of this color have always a grave and magnificent effect. The red glass exhibits a bright landscape in so dreadful a hue as to inspire sentiments of awe.
GREEN
If yellow and blue, which we consider as the most fundamental and simple colors, are united as they first appear, in the first state of their action, the color which we call green is the result.

The eye experiences a distinctly grateful impression from this color. If the two elementary colors are mixed in perfect equality so that neither predominates, the eye and the mind repose on the result of this junction as upon a simple color. The beholder has neither the wish nor the power to imagine a state beyond it. Hence for rooms to live in constantly, the green color is most generally selected.

Though hardly a work of science, Theory of Colors stands as an absorbing account of the philosophy and artistic experience of color, bridging the intuitive and the visceral in a way that, more than two hundred years later, continues to intrigue.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Goethe on the Psychology of Color and Emotion

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Color is an essential part of how we experience the world, both biologically and culturally. One of the earliest formal explorations of color theory came from an unlikely source - the German poet, artist, and politician Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (August 28, 1749-March 22, 1832), who in 1810 published Theory of Colors (public library | public domain ), his treatise on the nature, function, and psychology of colors.

# data[].attributes.headline
Effects of Colour and Emotion in Illustration - Chung-Yun CHEN, Dian LI, Tom CASSIDY and Vien CHEUNG - School of Design, University of Leeds

# data[].attributes.subject
Effects of Colour and Emotion in Illustration - Chung-Yun CHEN, Dian LI, Tom CASSIDY and Vien CHEUNG - School of Design, University of Leeds

# data[].attributes.body
"Colour and illustration have intimate and indiscrete influence to our experience. Understanding the associations, symbolic meanings and emotional impact of colour is important
for creating successful illustration. To create a resonance illustration, in particular, colour
plays an important role in emphasising the atmosphere and enabling the story to be coherent. "

# data[].attributes.headline
Color Psychology: Does It Affect How You Feel? How Colors Impact Moods, Feelings, and Behaviors By Kendra Cherry

# data[].attributes.subject
Color Psychology: Does It Affect How You Feel? How Colors Impact Moods, Feelings, and Behaviors By Kendra Cherry

# data[].attributes.body
"Despite the general lack of research in this area, the concept of color psychology has become a hot topic in marketing, art, design, and other areas. Much of the evidence in this emerging area is anecdotal at best, but researchers and experts have made a few important discoveries and observations about the psychology of color and the effect it has on moods, feelings, and behaviors."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Do you feel anxious in a yellow room? Does the color blue make you feel calm and relaxed? Artists and interior designers have long believed that color can dramatically affect moods, feelings, and emotions. "Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions," the artist Pablo Picasso once remarked.

Color is a powerful communication tool and can be used to signal action, influence mood, and even influence physiological reactions. Certain colors have been associated with physiological changes, including increased blood pressure, increased metabolism, and eyestrain.

This article discusses what color psychology means and how colors affect the mind and body. It also explores research on the effect of color and the psychological reactions people may experience.

Press Play to Learn More About How Colors Affect the Mind and Body

Follow Now: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts / Amazon Music

What Is Color Psychology?

Color psychology is the study of how different colors affect human mood and behavior. It explores how colors can influence emotional responses, as well as how responses to color are affected by factors such as age and cultural background.

Different topics that are of interest in this area include:

The meanings of colors

How colors impact physiological responses

Emotional reactions to color

Factors that impact color preferences

Cultural differences in the meanings and associations of different colors

Whether colors can impact mental health

How colors can influence behaviors

Ways that colors can be utilized to promote well-being

How colors can be used to improve safety and design more optimal home and work environments

History of Color Psychology

The scientific exploration of color psychology is relatively new, but people have long been interested in the nature and impact of color. In ancient cultures, colors were often used to treat different conditions and influence emotions. They also played a role in different spiritual practices.

It was in 1666 that the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton discovered that when pure white light passes through a prism, it separates into all visible colors. Newton also found that each color is made up of a single wavelength and cannot be separated any further into other colors.

Further experiments demonstrated that light could be combined to form other colors. For example, red light mixed with yellow light creates an orange color. Some colors, such as green and magenta, cancel each other out when mixed, resulting in white light.

"Given the prevalence of color, one would expect color psychology to be a well-developed area," researchers Andrew Elliot and Markus Maier noted in a review of the existing research on the psychology of color. "Surprisingly, little theoretical or empirical work has been conducted to date on color's influence on psychological functioning, and the work that has been done has been driven mostly by practical concerns, not scientific rigor."

Much of the evidence in this emerging area is anecdotal at best, but researchers and experts have made a few important discoveries and observations about the psychology of color and its effect on moods, feelings, and behaviors.

The Psychological Effects of Color

Why is color such a powerful force in our lives? What effects can it have on our bodies and minds? While perceptions of color are somewhat subjective, some color effects have universal meanings.

Colors in the red area of the color spectrum are known as warm colors and include red, orange, and yellow. These warm colors evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to feelings of anger and hostility.

Colors on the blue side of the spectrum are known as cool colors and include blue, purple, and green. These colors are often described as calm, but can also call to mind feelings of sadness or indifference.

Symbolic Color Meanings

One 2020 study that surveyed the emotional associations of 4,598 people from 30 different countries found that people commonly associate certain colors with specific emotions. According to the study results:

Black: 51% of respondents associated black with sadness

White: 43% of people associated white with relief

Red: 68% associated red with love

Blue: 35% linked blue to feelings of relief

Green: 39% linked green to contentment

Yellow: 52% felt that yellow means joy

Purple: 25% reported they associated purple with pleasure

Brown: 36% linked brown to disgust

Orange: 44% associated orange with joy

Pink: 50% linked pink with love

The study's researchers suggested that such results indicated that color-emotion associations appear to have universal qualities. These shared meanings may play an essential role in aiding communication.

Color Psychology as Therapy

Several ancient cultures, including the Egyptians and Chinese, practiced chromotherapy, or the use of colors to heal. Chromotherapy is sometimes referred to as light therapy or colorology.

Colorology is still used today as a holistic or alternative treatment. In this treatment:

Red is used to stimulate the body and mind and to increase circulation.

Yellow is thought to stimulate the nerves and purify the body.

Orange is used to heal the lungs and to increase energy levels.

Blue is believed to soothe illnesses and treat pain.

Indigo shades are thought to alleviate skin problems.

While more research is needed, a 2020 study suggested that chromotherapy may be an effective way to help combat feelings of compassion fatigue and post-traumatic stress in intensive care unit nurses.

Modern Research on Color Psychology

Most psychologists view color therapy with skepticism and point out that the supposed effects of color are often grossly exaggerated. Colors also have different meanings in different cultures.

However, existing research has found that color can impact people in a variety of surprising ways:

While-colored pills are associated with greater pain relief., while red pills are associated with having greater stimulant properties.

Red causes people to react with greater speed and force, something that might be helpful during athletic activities according to researchers.

Black-uniformed players are more likely to receive penalties in competitive sporting events.

Additional Research Is Still Needed

Interest in the subject of color psychology is growing, but there remain several unanswered questions. How do color associations develop? How powerful is the influence of these associations on real-world behavior?

Can color be used to increase worker productivity or workplace safety? What colors have an impact on consumer behavior? Do certain personality types prefer specific colors? As researchers continue to explore such questions, we may soon learn more about color's impact on human psychology.

Zena O'Connor, a faculty member in the Department of Architecture, Design, and Planning at the University of Sydney, suggests that people should be wary of many of the claims they see about the psychology of color.

"Many of these claims lack substantiation in terms of empirical support, exhibit fundamental flaws (such as causal oversimplification and subjective validation), and may include factoids presented as facts," O'Connor explains. "In addition, such claims often refer to outdated research without referring to current research findings."

Recap

Color Can Influence Performance

Studies have also shown that certain colors can have an impact on performance. No one likes to see a graded test covered in red ink, but one study found that seeing the color red before taking an exam actually hurt test performance.﻿﻿

While the color red is often described as threatening, arousing or exciting, many previous studies on the impact of the color red have been largely inconclusive. The study found, however, that exposing students to the color red prior to an exam has been shown to have a negative impact on test performance.

In the first of the six experiments described in the study, 71 U.S. colleges students were presented with a participant number colored either red, green or black prior to taking a five-minute test.

Color and Consumer Purchases

Color psychology suggests that various shades can have various effects, from boosting our moods to causing anxiety. But could the color of the products you purchase ever say something about your personality? For example, could the color of the car you buy somehow relate to some underlying personality traits or quirks?

When buying items, your color preferences might say something about the image you are trying to project. Color preferences, from the clothes you wear to the car you drive, can sometimes make a statement about how we want other people to perceive us. Other factors, such as age and gender, can also influence our color choices.

White: As many of our readers have suggested, the color white can feel fresh and clean. The color is often used to evoke a sense of youth and modernity.

Black: Our readers often describe black as a "powerful" color, which might be the reason why black is the most popular color for luxury vehicles. People often describe the color as sexy, powerful, and mysterious.

Silver: It's the third most popular vehicle color and is linked to a sense of innovation and modernity. High-tech products are often silver, so the color is often seen as new, modern, and cutting-edge.

Red: Red is a bold, attention-getting color, so preferring this type of car might mean you want to project an image of power, action, and confidence.

Blue: People often describe blue as the color of stability and safety. Driving a blue car or SUV might indicate that you are dependable and trustworthy.

Yellow: According to the experts, driving a yellow vehicle might mean you are a happy person in general and perhaps a bit more willing than the average person to take risks.

Gray: The experts suggest that people who drive gray cars don't want to stand out and instead prefer something more subtle.

A person might prefer brighter, more attention-getting colors when they are younger, but find themselves drawn to more traditional colors as they grow older. The personality of the buyer can play an important role in color selection, but buyers are often heavily influenced by factors such as price as well as availability.

For example, purchasing a white vehicle might be less about wanting people to think that you are young and modern and more about the climate you live in; people who live in hot climates typically prefer light-colored vehicles over dark ones.

A Word From Verywell

Color can play an important role in conveying information, creating certain moods, and even influencing the decisions people make. Color preferences also exert an influence on the objects people choose to purchase, the clothes they wear, and the way they adorn their environments.

People often select objects in colors that evoke certain moods or feelings, such as selecting a car color that seems sporty, futuristic, sleek, or trustworthy. Room colors can also be used to evoke specific moods, such as painting a bedroom a soft green to create a peaceful mood.

So what's the bottom line? Experts have found that while color can have an influence on how we feel and act, these effects are subject to personal, cultural, and situational factors. More scientific research is needed to gain a better understanding of color psychology.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Can Color Affect Your Mood and Behavior?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Color is all around us, but what impact does it really have on our moods, emotions, and behaviors? Color psychology seeks to answer this question.

# data[].attributes.headline
How colour can be used to signify a change in mood or emotion of the characters.

# data[].attributes.subject
How colour can be used to signify a change in mood or emotion of the characters.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Table of contents

1. INTRODUCTION

2. KÖVECSES' CONCEPT OF ROMANTIC LOVE

3. METAPHORS OF ROMANTIC LOVE IN ASTERIX
3.1 LOVE IS UNITY
3.2 THE BODY IS THE CONTAINER FOR EMOTIONS
3.3 LOVE IS A HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER
3.4 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF LOVE IMPAIR NORMAL FUNCTIONING
3.4.1 LOVE IS UNCONTROLLED POWER
3.4.2 LOVE IS UNCONTROLLED BODY LANGUAGE
3.4.3 LOVE IS INABILITY TO FUNCTION NORMALLY
3.4.4 LOVE IS MAGIC
3.5 LOVE IS A COMPETITION
3.6 LOVE IS HAPPINESS
3.7 LOVE IS KINDNESS

4. PREVIOUS STUDIES JAPANESE MANGA

5. METAPHORS OF ROMANTIC LOVE IN JAPANESE MANGA
5.1 THE BODY IS A CONTAINER FOR THE EMOTION
5.2. THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF LOVE IMPAIR NORMAL FUNCTIONING
5.3. LOVE IS HAPPINESS
5.4. LOVE IS DESIRE
5.5. LOVE IS FLOWERS

6. CONCLUSION

7. REFERENCES

1. INTRODUCTION

According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), metaphors involve a mapping of a tangible source domain on an intangible target domain and enable therefore the expression of concepts difficult to verbalise as such. ROMANTIC LOVE is one of these concepts. Indeed, "romantic love is commonly thought of as a mysterious emotion which it is notoriously difficult to pin down. [...] Various authors in various disciplines have expressed the view that this is a concept that is difficult to grapple with and define" (Kövecses, 1986). By analysing the conceptual metaphors used to describe ROMANTIC LOVE in conventionalised language, Kövesces succeeded to describe the constituents and structure of this concept.

According to Kövecses (2004) the conceptualisation of ROMANTIC LOVE (and EMOTION in general) on a generic level is to a considerable extent universally shared. The universal motivation that enables the metaphors to emerge in different cultures is the shared bodily experience. If metaphors tend to be universal or near-universal on a genericlevel, they tend to be different cross-linguistically on a specific level. Kövecses (2004:62) illustrates this theory with the following example: "The HAPPY IS UP metaphor is a generic-level metaphor. [...] a specific-level version of the metaphor HAPPY IS UP in English is HAPPINESS IS BEING OFF THE GROUND. [...] this specific metaphor does not exist in Chinese". The causes of cross cultural metaphor variation on a specific level are mainly differential experience, cultural context, history and experiential focus (Kövecses, 2004:68-74).

Yeşim Aksan and Dilek Kantar's (2008) research on the cross-cultural perspective of love metaphors in English and Turkish align with the theory of Kövecses (2004). The English and Turkish culture shares indeed the FORCE and PATH image schemas. However, the entailments of the metaphors reveal major differences in the conception of romantic love. The differential experience and cultural memory are reflected in the opposition of the active, goal- and success-oriented, and collaborative perspective of the English culture and the passive, non-goal- and not success- oriented, and solitary perspective of the Turkish culture. Furthermore, LOVE IS PAIN/SUFFERING is the prototypical love model in Turkish, probably motivated by the culture-specific myth of "Laila and Majnum" and the Sufi philosophy. Suffering for love is on the contrary a nonprototypical love model in English, mainly expressed by the conceptual metaphor of LOVE IS A DISEASE.

Kövecses research on the concept of ROMANTIC LOVE and the cultural variation of metaphor is based exclusively on verbal evidence. As Charles Forceville (2005:69) acknowledged, "in the interest of enriching insights into ideological conceptual metaphors, non-verbal and multimedial representations need to be investigated as well"; mostly in order to break "the vicious cycle of saying that verbal metaphoric expressions are evidence of conceptual metaphors, and then saying that we know that because we see conceptual metaphors expressed in language" (Cienki, 1998). The present paper aims to extend Kövecses research by analysing the visual expression of

ROMANTIC LOVE and its cross-cultural variation in comics. Indeed, as Forceville (2005:71) mentioned, "comics are a good source of pictorial data for such a project: unlike, for instance, realistic photographs and live-action films, which are more or less 'naturally' mirror real-life manifestations of emotions, comics and cartoons make use of stereotypical exaggerations and of a rudimentary 'sign-system' very much like a language". To analyse pictorial metaphors, two categories of visual signs are considered: indexial signs and pictorial runes. Indexial signs are defined as symptoms that we often perceive in daily life as accompanying a certain emotion. These are metonymic rather than metaphorical: for example, blushing stands for ROMANTIC LOVE of the person metonymically. Pictorial runes are not based on observations of daily life but are part of the pictorial language to express a certain emotion: as example, Forceville analyses the representation of smoke as a pictorial rune for anger, based on the metaphor THE ANGRY PERSON IS A PRESSURIZED CONTAINER.

In a first part, our paper will show how Kövecses' characterisation of the concept of ROMANTIC LOVE surfaces visually in the comic Asterix. The second part of this paper aims to explore this cross-cultural variation in the visual domain by comparing the results of the analysis of Asterix to Japanese Manga. Our research will be done on following data: three volumes of German translations of the French comic Asterix Asterix (Asterix als Legionär (Vol. 10), Asterix und Latraviata (Vol. 31), and Obelix auf Kreuzfahrt (Vol. 30)) and the Japanese manga I''s (Vol. 7), Tsubasa (Vol. 13), Natsuki Takaya (Vol. 3). In all of these comics, romantic love plays an essential role. The traditional comic of Asterix and Obelix tells the story of two Galliards, who are always in war with other nations. In the chosen comics Obelix' object of love is Falbala, a beautiful girl of the village, who is engaged with Tragicomix. These three comics are the only ones where she plays an essential role. I"s tells the story of Ichitas who is secretly in love with Iori, whose feelings aren't revealed at that point of the story. In Natsuki Takaya, Yun Yun, Yuki and Kyo are popular teenage boys and the objects of love of a group of immature, childish girls. Shaolan and Sakura are the protagonists of Tsubasa: to live their love, they first have to travel across different dimension to collect the "feathers of memory".

2. KÖVECSES' CONCEPT OF ROMANTIC LOVE

Kövecses (1986: 61-105) identified LOVE IS A UNITY (OF TWO COMPLEMENTARY PARTS) as central metaphor of the concept of ROMANTIC LOVE. This metaphor is motivated by the supposed similarity between certain love experiences and the unity of two complementary physical, chemical, etc. parts. This implies that ideal love is mutual and equal in degree; concept that is represented as well by the LOVE IS A VALUABLE COMMODITY (IN AN ECONOMIC EXCHANGE) metaphor. The conception of love as UNITY OF TWO COMPLEMENTARY PARTS considers love as some kind of need. This idea is reflected in the metaphor THE OBJECT OF LOVE IS (APPETIZING) FOOD. Nevertheless, we eat appetizing food not only to satisfy a need, but we enjoy it, we like it. LIKING is therefore a related concept to ROMANTIC LOVE. LIKING is not the only emotional concept closely linked to the one of ROMANTIC LOVE. Kövecses describes that ROMANTIC LOVE presupposes, or takes as granted the presence of the concepts of AFFECTION, ENTHUSIASME, INTEREST, INTIMACY, and LIKING. Related on to the concept of ROMANTIC LOVE, but not considered to be inherent to it are DEVOTION and SACRIFICE, and in a looser way FRIENDSHIP, SEXUAL DESIRE, RESPECT, and KINDNESS. Kövecses also identifies a casual relationship between the concepts of LOVE and HAPPINESS.

THE BODY IS A CONTAINER FOR THE EMOTIONS metaphor allows the conceptualization of INTENSITY as AMOUNT, or QUANTITY (INSIDE A CONTAINER). In love, this means that the more fluid there is in the container, the more intense is love. A variation of the CONTAINER metaphor is LOVE IS IN THE HEART, where the heart is a container with blood as a fluid pumping through it; the heart can therefore be considered to be the seat of the emotion of love. The major way of conceptualizing love's intensity is HEAT. HEAT manifests itself primarily in the LOVE IS FIRE metaphor. The entailments of this metaphor teach us the following thing of the concept of LOVE: since the thing burned is unable to function normally, a person in love is unable to function normally. Another entailment leads us to the concept of EMOTIONAL PAIN, considering that fire can burn us and cause pain. The physical experiences of getting burned by fire structures the emotional pain caused by love.

According to Kövecses (1986:87), following physiological effects are assumed by our folk model to accompany love: increased body heat, increased heart rate, blushing, and interference with accurate perception. Furthermore, the model shows that as love increases, its physiological effects increase and that there is a limit beyond which the physiological effects impair normal functioning, where the metonymic principle implies that the physiological effects of an emotion stand for the emotion.

The lover is considered to be a passive object that undergoes love. The emotion appears to be A NATURAL FORCE, A PHYSICAL FORCE (MAGNETIC, CHEMICAL, GRAVITATIONAL, etc.) or MAGIC. The lack of control of the lover is besides the earlier named metaphor LOVE IS INTERFERENCE WITH ACCURATE PERCEPTION represented by LOVE IS INSANITY and LOVE IS A RAPTURE.

The passivity of the lover in the ideal love model conflicts with different concepts of the typical love model. First of all, it is contradicted by the concept of LOVE IS A HIDDEN OBJECT. Within this concept, love is not coming along; instead we must go out and find it. The concepts of LOVE IS A GAME and LOVE IS WAR confirm the more active role of the lover. Furthermore, the lover doesn't tolerate his lack of control over love, but fights it: LOVE IS AN OPPONENT. Considering that LOVE IS A CAPTIVE ANIMAL and a BEAST INSIDE A PERSON, and can therefore cause harm to others and to ourselves, to control the emotion of love is primordial.

3. METAPHORS OF ROMANTIC LOVE IN ASTERIX

In this chapter the different metaphors in Asterix will be pointed out, analyzed, also with regard to their creative illustrations, and compared with Kövecses' data basis of conceptual metaphors of romantic love. First of all the LOVE IS UNITY metaphor will be observed, afterwards THE BODY IS A CONTAINER FOR THE EMOTIONS metaphor, the LOVE IS A HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER metaphor and as well how the physiological effects of love impair normal functioning. Besides the LOVE IS A COMPETITION metaphor will be taken into account and finally the metaphors of LOVE IS KINDNESS and LOVE IS HAPPINESS.

3.1 LOVE IS UNITY

The central metaphor of the concept of romantic love, LOVE IS UNITY, implies that the lovers are two equal parts, which need each other and can't live without each other. In "Asterix als Legionär" this metaphor can be found in two different pictures. Figure 1 and 2 is showing Falbala, who is shocked and crying because her fiancé Tragicomix is abducted, and figure 2 shows Obelix crying, because he noticed that Falbala has a fiancé. The grounded metaphor is THE PHYSICAL ABSENCE OF LOVE IS PAIN. The other part is needed to be a "whole". The indexial signs are open mouth (1/1), wide-open eyes (1/2) and the hand in the face (1/3) for shock and anxiety; crying with the face lying in the hands (figure 2/1) and a sagged Obelix crying in the arms of Asterix (figure 3/1). The bold face and the jagged line in the text balloon as pictorial signals underline this. The bold face letters (figure 3/2) expresses the loudness of the spoken unhappiness. The jagged line (figure 1/4) also aims at the primary effect of expressing loudness and emphasis of Falbala's disappointment, fear and pain.

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Fig. 1: Falbala. Signs of pain:

(1) open mouth, (2) wide-open eyes, (3) hand in the face, (4) jagged line (from Asterix als Legionär)

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Fig. 2: Falbala, Asterix, Obelix.

Signs of pain: (1) crying with the face in the hands (from Asterix als Legionär)

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Fig. 3: Obelix, Asterix, villager.

Signs of pain: (1) sagged Obelix crying in the arms of Asterix, (2) bold face letters (from Asterix als Legionär)

3.2 THE BODY IS THE CONTAINER FOR EMOTIONS

Furthermore Kövesces identified THE BODY IS A CONTAINER FOR THE EMOTIONS metaphor. A variation of the CONTAINER metaphor is the more basic LOVE IS IN THE HEART, where heart is the seat of the emotion of love. In Asterix we can also find the complementary metaphor UNHAPPY LOVE IS BROKEN HEART. In figure 4/1 and 5/1 Obelix is surrounded by hearts expressing his love as pictorial rune. The hearts are the container of his emotions. This container can be broken when the love is one-sided and thus unhappy (figure 6/1). The unhappy love is furthermore supported by Obelix's facial expressions. His wide open eyes underline his shock and pain (figure 6/2).

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Fig. 4: Falbala, Asterix, Obelix. Signs of love: (1) hearts around Obelix (from Asterix als Legionär)

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Fig. 5: Asterix, Falbala, Obelix.Signs of love: (1) big heart (from Asterix als Legionär)

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Fig. 6: Asterix, Falbala, Obelix. Signs of unhappy love: (1) broken heart, (2) wide open eyes (from Asterix als Legionär)

3.3 LOVE IS A HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER

As already mentioned, the major way of conceptualizing love's intensity is HEAT. HEAT manifests itself primarily in the LOVE IS FIRE metaphor. We can also find this conceptual metaphor in Asterix. According to Kövecses (1986:87), physiological effects like increased body heat or blushing are connected to this LOVE IS FIRE metaphor. In figure 7/1, 8/1 and 9/1 we can see Asterix and Obelix with blushed faces. The wide open eyes (7/2 and 8/2) underline their overheated, congealed body state. In figure 9/2 there are also pictorial runes of smoke above Obelix's head. It can't be interpreted as a realistic source in the story and thus has to be the smoke of the already boiling hot fluid in the container, based on THE LOVING PERSON IS A PRESSURIZED CONTAINER metaphor.

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Fig. 7: Tragicomix, Falbala, Asterix. Signs of Love: (1) blushing, (2) wide open eyes (from Asterix als Legionär)

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Fig. 8: Tragicomix, Falbala, Obelix. Signs of love: (1) blushing, (2) wide open eyes (from Asterix als Legionär)

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Fig. 9: Falbala, Obelix. Signs of love:(1) blushing, (2) smoke (from Asterix und Latraviata)

3.4 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF LOVE IMPAIR NORMAL FUNCTIONING

3.4.1 LOVE IS UNCONTROLLED POWER

Furthermore as love increases, its physiological effects increase and these physiological effects impair normal functioning. This conceptual metaphor is illustrated in Asterix in a very creative way. LOVE IS UNCONTROLLED POWER: The strong Obelix loses control of his body and immense power. He is running against trees and so roots them out (figure 10/1) or he is kicking at a tree and so cuts the tree down (figure 11/1). The onomatopoeic use of "Kracks" (fig. 10/2 and 11/2) to visualize the uprooting of trees underlines the intensity of the uncontrolled power.

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Fig. 10: Obelix, Asterix, Falbala, Miraculix. Signs of love: (1) running against trees, (2) onomatopoeia "Kracks" (from Asterix als Legionär)

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Fig. 11: Asterix, Obelix. Signs of love: (1) disrooting trees, (2) onomatopoeia "Kracks" (from Asterix als Legionär)
[...]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
GRIN - Conceptual Metaphors of Romantic Love in Western Comic and Japanese Manga

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
1. INTRODUCTION 2. KÖVECSES' CONCEPT OF ROMANTIC LOVE 3. METAPHORS OF ROMANTIC LOVE IN ASTERIX 3.1 LOVE IS UNITY 3.2 THE BODY IS THE CONTAINER FOR EMOTIONS 3.3 LOVE IS A HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER 3.4 THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF LOVE IMPAIR NORMAL FUNCTIONING 3.4.1 LOVE IS UNCONTROLLED POWER 3.4.2 LOVE IS UNCONTROLLED BODY LANGUAGE 3.4.3 LOVE IS INABILITY TO FUNCTION NORMALLY 3.4.4 LOVE IS MAGIC 3.5 LOVE IS A COMPETITION 3.6 LOVE IS HAPPINESS 3.7 LOVE IS KINDNESS 4.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Using Austrian newspaper cartoons as examples, this article explores the 'grammar' of visual metaphor. It is argued that visual metaphors cannot be described adequately in formal terms only. Rather, they must be considered as visual representations of metaphorical thoughts or concepts. A cognitive definition of metaphor must not, however, distract from potential variations in meaning and impact arising from the mode of communication through which metaphors are expressed. This study suggests that many of the dissimilarities between verbal metaphor and its visual counterpart result from differences regarding what the two modes are able to express easily and efficiently.

Böke, K. (1997) 'Die "Invasion" aus den "Armenhäusern Europas": Metaphern im Einwanderungsdiskurs', in M. Jung, M. Wengeler and K. Böke (eds) Die Sprache des Migrationsdiskurses: Das Reden über 'Ausländer' in Medien, Politik und Alltag, pp. 164-93. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag.
Google Scholar

El Refaie, E. (2001) 'Metaphors We Discriminate by: Naturalized Themes in Austrian Newspaper Articles about Asylum Seekers', Journal of Sociolinguistics 5(3): 352-371.
Google Scholar

Gombrich, E.H. (1971) 'The Cartoonist's Armoury', in E.H. Gombrich Meditations on a Hobby Horse and Other Essays on the Theory of Art, 2nd edn, pp. 127-142. London: Phaidon.
Google Scholar

Kress, G. (1993) 'Against Arbitrariness: The Social Production of the Sign as a Foundational Issue in Critical Discourse Analysis', Discourse & Society 4(2): 169-191. |
Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Lakoff, G. (1993) 'The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor', in A. Ortony (ed.) Metaphor and Thought, 2nd edn, pp. 202-251. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Google Scholar

Seitz, J.A. (1998) 'Nonverbal Metaphor: A Review of Theories and Evidence', Genetic, Social and General Psychology Monographs 124(1): 95-119.
Google Scholar

Van Leeuwen, T. (1993) 'Genre and Field in Critical Discourse Analysis: A Synopsis', Discourse & Society 4(2): 193-223. |
Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Wodak, R. and Van Dijk, T.A. (eds) (2000) Racism at the Top: Parliamentary Discourses on Ethnic Issues in Six European States. Klagenfurt: Drava.
Google Scholar

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Understanding visual metaphor: the example of newspaper cartoons - Elisabeth El Refaie, 2003

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Using Austrian newspaper cartoons as examples, this article explores the 'grammar' of visual metaphor. It is argued that visual metaphors cannot be described adequately in formal terms only. Rather, they must be considered as visual representations of metaphorical thoughts or concepts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Introduction

"The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another" (Lakoff and Johnson 1980: 5). Lakoff and Johnson's description is an attractive one, since it suggests that what people do with metaphor is no less important than what it is. Moreover it allows for non-verbal manifestations of this trope. A crucial element in the cognitivist approach to metaphor fathered by Lakoff and Johnson (and anticipated in the collection by Ortony 1979) is that metaphor is primarily a matter of thinking, and only derivatively a matter of language. But while much fine work has been done by Lakoff and Johnson and their followers, the vast majority of studies still only discusses verbal manifestations of metaphor.

In this series of eight lectures, the focus will be on appearances of metaphor that are not, or not exclusively, verbal. The emphasis will be on visual manifestations of metaphor, but since pictures, in whatever form, are more often than not accompanied by words, many "pictorial" metaphors are in fact hybrids involving language. Moreover, once the discussion shifts to moving images (films, videoclips, commercials), a third channel of information must often be taken into consideration: the aural, a heading under which both (non-verbal) sound and music will be considered. In effect, therefore, this course gradually broadens from verbal, via pictorial, to multimodal metaphor.

Why this course?

There are at least four reasons why the study of non-verbal and multimodal metaphor is a relevant pursuit (see also Forceville 2006, 2008).

1. A complete theory of metaphor cannot ignore the non-verbal. The cognitivist paradigm insists that verbal metaphors are manifestations rather than reduplications of thought, and thereby forcefully suggests that thought can give rise to non-verbal or multimodal metaphor. However, the cognitivist paradigm hitherto largely disregards the non-verbal. Examination of non-verbal representations should help further substantiate (or cast doubt upon) elements of the already extensive body of research based on verbal representations of metaphor. At present, metaphor theory's excessive bias toward the verbal may inadvertently but systematically hide aspects of metaphor. A theory of metaphor that aims at completeness cannot afford to ignore pictures and multimodal representations (see also Johnson 2007).

2. Understanding culture requires studying information inhering in nonverbal form. The cognitive approach to metaphor has - in line with its nomenclature - primarily investigated the relation between mind and language, and hence has tended to be prejudiced toward those aspects of metaphor that help lay bare mechanisms of thinking. Recently, however, more attention has begun to be paid to the interaction between metaphor and culture (e.g. Emanatian 1995, Shore 1996, Gibbs 1999, Kövecses 2005). The cognitivist tradition of metaphor has developed the notion of Idealized Cognitive Models (ICMs, Lakoff 1987: chapter 4) or folk models, which reflect how communities make sense of their surroundings and endow them with meaning. Again, however, there has been a bias favouring verbal representations of such ICMs. Examining multi-medial metaphors thus contributes to a better understanding of culturally embedded knowledge and beliefs.

3. The study of non-verbal metaphor provides tools for the analysis and production of pictorial representations. Applicable theories of the image, as opposed to learned reflections on it, are still relatively scarce, particularly in the area of static, non-moving images. (In the area of moving images, film narratology has contributed a growing body of very useful work.) Understanding multimodal metaphor provides a fruitful angle on the strategies that people employ to produce and interpret images. Multimodal metaphor is thus not only of interest to students concerned with metaphor, but also to researchers and practitioners of non-verbal communication.

4. "The medium is the message." Michael Reddy's article "The conduit metaphor" (1979), which George Lakoff acknowledges as fundamental to the cognitivist theory of metaphor (1993: 203), argues that verbal communication in Western society is implicitly based on the notion that a speaker or writer "packages" her thoughts in words, which she subsequently dispatches, as if by some sort of aerial cable-way, to the listener or reader. The latter then only has to "unpack" the parcel to find the meaning put there by the communicator. Reddy shows that this conception of communication is not a neutral, objective description of what happens, but embodies a metaphor (the conduit metaphor). Like any other metaphor, this conduit metaphor highlights some aspects of the topic under discussion (here: communication) and hides others. Most people, however, are not aware of the metaphoric nature of this model of communication, and thus mistake a necessarily partial description of the communication process for the whole story.
In fact, Reddy's approach here reveals that the consequences of that cliché of communication studies, Marshall McLuhan's "the medium is the message," are still not sufficiently taken into account. As Chesebro and Bertelsen (1996) formulate the matter, in more general terms,

Communication technologies and media are currently treated as neutral conduits through which ideas are expressed. The assumption here is that ideas can be adequately and comprehensively described, interpreted, and assessed independently of the channels used to convey these ideas. ... The unique message-generating capacity of each communication technology or medium itself has been all but ignored (1996:170)

They conclude that communication channels deserve sustained investigation because of their status as "message-generating systems affecting our cultural, symbolic, and cognitive systems" (ibid.). Investigating non-verbal metaphor thus also alerts us to how a change in medium will inevitably affect its alleged content. For present purposes, this can be rephrased as the statement that a pictorial or multimodal manifestation of a cognitive metaphor will not convey the same information and attitudes as a purely verbal manifestation of that same cognitive metaphor.

Lectures

The eight lectures have been designed in such a way that they should be comprehensible to students without specialist background knowledge in metaphor. The information and understanding being presupposed is that which has been offered in the previous lectures of the course. The course aims to be as practical as possible. That is, there is a constant shift between theory and concrete examples. Where appropriate and possible, pictures are provided that embody the concepts discussed.

References

Black, Max (1962). Metaphor. In: Black, Models and metaphors. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 25-47.

Black, Max (1979). More about metaphor. In: Andrew Ortony (ed.), Metaphor and thought. Cambridge: Cambridge UP,19-43 (second edition: 1993).

Chesebro, James W., and Dale A. Bertelsen, Analyzing media: communication technologies as symbolic and cognitive systems. New York/London: Guilford Press, 1996.

Emanatian, Michele (1995). Metaphor and the expression of emotion: the value of cross-cultural perspectives. Metaphor and Symbolic Activity 10:3, 163-182.

Fauconnier, Gilles, and Mark Turner (1998). Compression and global insight. Cognitive Linguistics 11, 283-304002E

Fauconnier, Gilles, and Mark Turner (2002). The way we think: conceptual blending and the mind's hidden complexities. New York: Basic Books.

Forceville, Charles (1988). The case for pictorial metaphor: René Magritte and other Surrealists. In Aleš Erjavec, (ed.), Vestnik IX: 1. Inštitut za Marksist¬ične Študije, Ljubljana, 150-160.

Forceville, Charles (1996). Pictorial Metaphor in Advertising. London/New York: Routledge. [Paperback published in 1998].

Forceville, Charles (2006). Non-verbal and multimodal metaphor in a cognitivist framework: agendas for research. In: Gitte Kristiansen, Michel Achard, René Dirven and Francisco Ruiz de Mendoza Ibáñez (eds.), Cognitive Linguistics: Current Applications and Future Perspectives. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 379-402.

Forceville, Charles (2008). Metaphor in pictures and multimodal representations. In: Raymond Gibbs, Jr. (ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 462-482. http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521600863)

Gibbs, Raymond W., Jr. (1999). Taking metaphor out of our heads and putting it into the cultural world. In: Raymond Gibbs & Gerard Steen, Metaphor in cognitive linguistics. Amsterdam/ Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 145-166.

Johnson, Mark (2007). The Meaning of the Body. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Kövecses (2005). Metaphor in culture: Universality and variation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lakoff, George (1987). Women, fire and dangerous things: what categories reveal about the mind. Chicago: U of Chicago P.

Lakoff, George (1993). The contemporary theory of metaphor. In: Andrew Ortony (ed.), Metaphor and thought (2nd edition). Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 202-251.

Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Reddy, Michael (1979). The conduit metaphor. In: Andrew Ortony (ed.) Metaphor and thought. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 284-324. (A revised and expanded edition of the book appeared in 1993).

Ortony, Andrew (ed.). Metaphor and thought. Cambridge: Cambridge UP (2nd edition 1993).

Shore, Bradd (1996). Culture in mind: cognition, culture, and the problem of meaning. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Turner, Mark, and Gilles Fauconnier (1995). Conceptual integration and formal expression, Metaphor and Symbolic Activity 10, 183-204.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Semiotics Institute Online | A Course in Pictorial and Multimodal Metaphor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another" (Lakoff and Johnson 1980: 5). Lakoff and Johnson's description is an attractive one, since it suggests that what people do with metaphor is no less important than what it is.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How many invisible "energy slave" workers does it take to fuel our modern lifestyles?

Today, global action to stop climate change is inconceivable. Yet, in 1938, global action to stop Nazi Germany was also inconceivable. The world was in Hitler denial.

Roughly half of the world's entire oil supply is gone; half is left. How will our society choose to use the oil that remains?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Metaphors comic - Stuart McMillen and Nick Barter graphic novel

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How many invisible "energy slave" workers does it take to fuel our modern lifestyles? Today, global action to stop climate change is inconceivable. Yet, in 1938, global action to stop Nazi Germany was also inconceivable. The world was in Hitler denial. Roughly half of the world's entire oil supply is gone; half is left.

# data[].attributes.headline
Understanding Visual Metaphors: What Graphic Novels can Teach Lawyers About Visual Storytelling           - Lenora Ledwon

# data[].attributes.subject
Understanding Visual Metaphors: What Graphic Novels can Teach Lawyers About Visual Storytelling           - Lenora Ledwon

# data[].attributes.headline
How the details of the visual metaphors change to signify the narrative.

# data[].attributes.subject
How the details of the visual metaphors change to signify the narrative.

# data[].attributes.body
- Andrzej Klimowski - the secret
- Chris Ware
-https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/mc-2015-0002/html

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tone is the author’s attitude toward a subject. A mood is the feeling a reader gets from a piece of writing Activity Visual Thinking 1. Take out 2 different coloured pencil crayons and one black 2. Choose to draw your own picture or work with the image given 3. Use the black to

# data[].attributes.body
Comic sequence for The New York Times.
Robert Olmstead -  The Coldest Night

# data[].attributes.body
Examples of Aspect-to-Aspect transitions to create atmosphere

# data[].attributes.body
Cover for Smoke Signal Magazine

# data[].attributes.body
Cover for Life, Love and The Archers - Wendy Cope

# data[].attributes.body
Cover and Comic sequence for NOBROW No.9 - It's Oh So Quiet

# data[].attributes.headline
An Introduction to Graphic Novels: Sequences - Anise Shaw

# data[].attributes.subject
An Introduction to Graphic Novels: Sequences - Anise Shaw

# data[].attributes.body
Aspect to Aspect

"Our fifth transition is a bit of an anomaly. While all of our previous transitions have dealt with the passing of time, Aspect to Aspect deals with no time at all. It effectively freezes time to establish a mood, feeling or emotion of a scene. Think of this transition as “the wandering eye”, looking around and taking quick snaps to understand what’s going on. Aspect to Aspect has not been a popular transition in most mainstream North American comics, mostly due to page count. Japanese comics and graphic novels, with their longer format, use aspect to aspect as a tool to help the reader become emotionally invested in what is happening. The master of the aspect to aspect transition will use it to help pace a comic, create a mood and establish something that has happened all at once."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
by Anise Shaw

July 6th, 2011
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
These lessons are intended for beginners, those just trying their hand at comics for the first time and feeling overwhelmed. Feel free to discuss more advanced concepts in the comments!

Recently I was asked to teach an adult graphic novels class at Bonsor Community Centre in Burnaby. I jumped on the opportunity to work with an adult group, something that I don't always get to do. As I was creating my lesson plans, I immediately had the idea that I should also put them on the Internet for others to follow along with the class. I also gave out my website address so my students could come back here to refresh their memory and look for supplementary material. These lessons were originally posted to my website, Epidigm, but I thought that people who frequent the Cloudscape website might also find them useful.

Feel free to follow along with these lessons. I will be including the exercises and projects we did in class so you can do them at home as well. If you want to post links to your results, I may be able to come by and give critique (which is a hugely important part to learning, don't avoid it!).

To see more tutorials about making comics, check out Cloudscape's Comics 101 page.

Introduction to Graphic Novels

Before we get started on the actual learning, sometimes it's nice to understand why you might be taking this course. I like to ask a few preliminary questions to find out what we already know.

Why are you interested in making graphic novels?

What is a graphic novel to you?

What do you hope to be able to do after these 8 weeks are over?

A graphic novel is a long form comic that can be about any subject your heart desires. The graphic novel has become a popular medium due to its breadth of content and long, involved storylines. Many graphic novels are one shots, like Craig Thompson's Blankets, while others are serialized. In this class I will get you started on starting your own graphic novel, but we will not have time to do more that a short story.

In this class, I will consider you a comic artist and help you from that context. The next question, of course, is what does it mean to be a comic artist?

We think in sequence and pictures

We are prepared to show our art to a wide audience

We work in a reproduced medium, and must always have technical restrictions in mind

Our goal, no matter what kind of comic we make, is to make something clear, understandable and interesting.

Being a comic artist will take a bit of extra work, and there are things you can do outside of class to help improve your skills and get you into the mindset of making comics.

Try to do life drawing, I like to go once a week whenever I can.

Your sketchbook is your lifeblood, have one with you all the time. Having a pencil in your hand and actually drawing in this sketchbook will help too.

Spend time pulling apart TV shows and movies, comics' sister sequential mediums, shot by shot. How do they deal with the camera, audience, story, etc?

Copy down conversations, listen to how people speak.

Read actively, especially comics, and pull it apart.

Start small. Short stories, one page comics and work yourself up to something bigger.

Sequence

We're going to study six sequence transitions as discussed by Scott McCloud in his book Understanding Comics. The essence of a comic is its panels, and the magic between those panels is our sequence. All of a reader's assumptions happen during this sequence in what is called closure. Closure is our ability to take similar looking images and create a relationship between them. I highly recommend picking up a copy of McCloud's book, as it's essential reading for all comic artists.

McCloud has conveniently categorized these six transitions for us, but it's important to remember that all categories are meant to be broken. By learning how to use these transitions, you may warp them to whatever benefit they will serve for your comic making purposes. Our panel is time. The particular unit of time that the panel takes-up is dependent upon its transitions.

6. Non-Sequitur

The final sequence places panels together with no relationship to each other. McCloud argues that the existence of non-sequitur sequences tells us something important: that no matter how dissimilar two images are, when we put them together we automatically start to look for a relationship. This is a crucial point to remember, because it means that during our quest for clarity, we don't have to over explain. In fact, we can explain very little and readers will look for the understanding themselves.

Exercise

Today we're going to warm up with a simple exercise. We're going to write a short one page comic, in which something simple happens, and we are going to focus on using at least three of the above transitions. Extra credit for anyone that uses the first 5 and an extra point for anyone who throws in a non-sequitur. The story of this comic is not so important as mastering the sequence of the panels. For now, keep your panels a uniform size to help emphasize this sequence. When we finish, we will take a look at what everyone has done and quickly discuss it.

Basic Drawing tips

Hold the pencil loosely and at least 2 inches away from the shaved wood of the tip. We want to put little pressure on the pencil while we are sketching

Create the overall page first, the meta details like quick panel layouts, main foci, speech bubbles and general shapes. Then move into the details.

Your eraser is not for erasing mistakes, it is a broom to be used to clean up your sketching work.

Draw lightly, or you will absolutely regret having to erase anything

Use your whole body to draw. Sit comfortably. Use your shoulder and elbow for large details and your wrist and fingers for small details.

Stay loose at the beginning, refine later.

Recommended Reading for Sequence

1. Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

2. Bone by Jeff Smith

3. Anything by Jamie Hernandez

4. Nausicaa by Hayao Miyazaki

Good luck and keep drawing!
Part One | Part Two | Part Three

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
An Introduction to Graphic Novels: Sequences

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
July 6th, 2011 Part One | Part Two | Part Three These lessons are intended for beginners, those just trying their hand at comics for the first time and feeling overwhelmed. Feel free to discuss more advanced concepts in the comments! Recently I was asked to teach an adult graphic novels class at Bonsor Community Centre in Burnaby.

# data[].attributes.headline
Storytelling: Global Reflections on Narrative - Shunichi Ueno

# data[].attributes.subject
Storytelling: Global Reflections on Narrative - Shunichi Ueno

# data[].attributes.body
Visual Storytelling of Japaneseness in Manga, Anime and Japanese Film

"Manga, anime and Japanese films have become one of the most popular visual storytelling mediums in the world. Most critics and researchers have come to a common consensus about the Japaneseness of the artistic techniques: aspect-to-aspect transition, limited animation and pillow shot. Japanese manga artists convey the entire picture through aspect-to-aspect transitions."