1. Seminar / The communication Theory / Study Task 1.

14 / 10 / 13

OUGDG502 / DESIGN CONTEXT
THE COMMUNICATION THEORY.

SEMINAR 1.

THE SHANNON-WEAVER MATHEMATICAL MODEL.

- A telephone loan that did research for the American Army, How communication is broken down regarding telephone and radio.

- This model has been taken and applied to a much wider range of communication such as a social one.

- There are at least 5 stages and on any of these stages communication can break down and go wrong.

COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS

- LEVEL A (TECHNICAL PROBLEMS)

How accurately can the message be transmitted?

- LEVEL B (SEMIOTIC PROBLEMS)

How precise the message is conveyed?

- LEVEL C (EFFECTIVE PROBLEMS) 

How effectively does the received meaning affects behaviour?

This is the Graphic design equivalent to this model that we came up with as a group.

The 'noise source' regards interruption and interference on the radian line. When regarding Graphic design, This interference of noise can come in forms such as, equipment failure, Designer distraction or readability and legibility.

This noise source can come in many forms and interferre with the different stages of the message being delivered as well as breaking down communication.

EXAMPLE OF POSSIBLE BREAKDOWN DURING STAGES

/ REGARDING GRAPHIC DESIGN:

STAGE 1 (Client/Brief)

- The client supplies a brief that is insufficient in information and clarity.

- The brief and message of specifics has been miss communicated.

STAGE 2 (Designers understanding / Ideas)

- Mis-understanding of the clients needs and preferences.

- Lack of motivation from the design / Un-interested in the brief.

- Bad research, lack of research or mis-directed research.

STAGE 3 (The design process / decisions / making)

- Poor design choices and considerations.

- Irrelevant information and content.

- Inconsiderate of ethos and relevant audience.

STAGE 4 (Finished product)

- Unclear message, miss-directes message. 

- Poor aesthetics, unrelated to the specific product.

STAGE 5 (Audience Understanding)

- The wrong target audience.

- The product is not understandable to the audience (illegible, unreadable, not specific).

- Goes un-noticed, not intriguing to the audience.

It is important to know that if something in encoded incorrectly then it will be decoded incorrectly.

EXAMPLE OF POSSIBLE BREAKDOWN DURING THE 3 LEVELS:

/ REGARDING GRAPHIC DESIGN:

(AND HOW THIS CAN BE OVERCOME)

LEVEL A (TECHNICAL PROBLEMS)

- Equipment failure, Printing disruption, delayed delivery.

(Allow time in the schedule to over come any issues there might be)

(Understand restrictions surround possible production processes).

LEVEL B (SEMIOTIC PROBLEMS)

- Mis-enturpritation of the brief, Readability and legibility.

(Communicate well and regularly with the client) 

(Ensure the message being delivered is receivable and relevant to the desire audience)

LEVEL C (EFFECTIVE PROBLEMS) 

- The success of the design.

(Relevent response)

(Ensure the product is located in the correct location considering audience and content)

(Make sure the product gets enough publicity)

  

ENTROPY

- The path were things can be lost or interfered with.

(When there is a leak in a gas pipe, gas is lost)

REDUNDANCY

- The path that had the least resistance.

(The telephone line is clear there for it is redundant)

- Accurate communication has to be predictable, relatable and understandable.

For example, if somebody holds there hand out to another for a handshake, this is a universal understanding of a sign of friendship. This is a act contains a low amount of information. However if the hand being held out had a joke electric buzzer attached and the other person gets a shock from it this is known as 'entropic'. This is because this act contains a lot of information and is not expected or predicted.

An example when this is related to art and design:

A Fine-artist = aims for entropy / less communication / unexpected.

A Graphic designer = aims for redundancy / good communication. A Graphic designer can be entropic but they have to be aware of the risks in doing so and ensure the message is still being received correctly.

*  *  *  *

STUDY TASK

Apply the Shannon-Weaver model to an existing piece of communication.

'SMOKING ISNT JUST SUICIDE, ITS MURDER'

The campaign is to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking around children and was created by Draftftb + IDB and creative director Rodrigo Gomez.

STAGE 1

CLIENT & BRIEF / INFORMATION SOURCE.

To create a visual appeal that shows the dangers of smoking. The appeal needs to be hard hitting but truthful to inform and pursued the audience against smoking. The audience are people that smoke which can be a wide age range from at least 18 onwards. The imagery and message has to be suitable to be viewed in public and have an effect without being deemed unethical or inappropriate.

STAGE 2

DESIGNER UNDERSTANDING & IDEAS / TRANSMITTER (ENCODER).

Research into what the effects of smoking has not only regarding the smokers health (which is the most obvious) but also how it can affect other aspects of a smokers life.

 Important aspects of many peoples lives  around the target audience age is that of their families and children. To most people the most precious things in their lives are their children. Research into the effects of how passive smoking can put children at risk and the health repercussions that could occur.

STAGE 3

THE DESIGN PROCESS, DECISIONS & MAKING / CHANNEL.

Thinking of ways in which the message of passive smoking and the dangers of it can be put across. Shocking the directed audience can give a realisation of the facts and dangers to the most innocent people effected by the act the audience choose to take. 

Using an innocent child that has no say in the matter when a pedant or adult smokes plays on the conscience of the smoker. Cigarette smoke can be uncomfortable and suffocating to others especially considering younger smaller bodies and lungs. Smoking is well known for being a killer whether it be through some kind of cancer or other diseases. 

Death is the ultimate price and is something that nobody can deny, there for it is scary and hard-hitting when we are hit with are own mortality. It is even worse when the mortality of a small child (whose life is just beginning) is jeopardised by something that is so easily prevented.

STAGE 4

THE FINISHED PRODUCT / RECEIVER (DECODER).

Using the distressing image of a child crying and screaming hits hard with people even if this image is presented on its own. A child being hurt or upset is hard to see as they are small and vulnerable and need the protection and love from pedants and adults.

Using the smoke around the head of the child hints at the reason to why the child is upset and distressed and places guilt with the pedant or carer as they are the once that are responsible for the child but also for the smoke surrounding the child's face.

Having the added feature of the shake resembling the shape of a plastic bag creates an even more distinguished situation. Everyone knows the dangers of having plastic bags around children as they have potential to suffocate a child if the become entangled in them. Having the smoke resemble this plastic bag symbolises that the cigarette smoke does exactly the same thing to a child however the smoke is invisible so it is not as recognised as the act of having a bag over a child's head.

STAGE 5

AUDIENCE UNDERSTANDING & INTERACTION / DESTINATION

The advertising campaign is very powerful in an almost brutal way. The image is of a distressed child surrounded by smoke in the shape of a bag with the message 'Smoking isn't just suicide, its murder'.

The image its self in hard hitting however paired with the blunt message implies that, smoking around children is as bad as holding a plastic bag over their heads. The comparison between the obvious and horrifying act of suffocation through a plastic bag and the not so obvious act of suffocation through smoking gives a strong sense of realisation into the consequences of passive smoking.