Using visuals to enhance viewer perception

Competency

Analyze and interpret perceptual elements of visual media communication to identify effective visual messages.

Scenario

You have been hired by a large law enforcement agency to analyze the images used on advertising billboards in both urban and suburban regions. The billboards visually display a new campaign message to improve neighborhood safety.

During your analysis, you find that the images used on billboards in the urban areas are exactly the same as the images used in the suburban areas. Both images show parents happily talking with law enforcement officers while children run over green lawns having a fun balloon fight. You decide that these images are not sending proper perceptual messages. You decide to create Talking Points for the law enforcement agency to share with the administration

In addition to your talking points, you realize you will also need to find two new images that are quite different from one another. One image will be used on the urban billboard, and the other image will be used on the suburban billboard. In your presentation, you will compare and contrast how each image utilizes the following:

1. Compare      and contrast the visual elements of cultural familiarity. Explain why it      is important to use culturally familiar visuals that are quite different      in the urban and suburban billboard images. Include specific visuals in      your visual analysis.
2. Identify      specific visual examples of the following cognitive elements: memories,      experiences, and expectation. Compare and contrast how urban and suburban      viewers may be affected differently by those specific cognitive visual      elements.
3. Explain      the difference between urban and suburban viewers’ emotionally engagement      with each of the billboard images.
4. Identify      visual semiotic codes in both images: metonymic, analogical, displaced,      and condensed. Discuss the importance of using these codes. Include      specific visuals in each part of your visual analysis.

As you outline your ideas for talking points and images, you decide to document your analysis while analyzing the two visuals for added clarity.

Grading is based on 

1. Thoroughly compares and contrasts the cultural familiarity elements in both urban and suburban images using specific visual examples.

2. Thoroughly analyzes the cognitive elements and viewer effects in both urban and suburban images using specific visual examples.

3. Thoroughly analyzes the emotional engagement of urban and suburban viewers using specific visual examples.

4. Thoroughly analyzes the semiotic codes in both urban and suburban images using specific visual examples.