Visual Semiotics for Visual Communication

The course ‘Visual Semiotics for visual communication’ is crafted to have a strong understanding of semiotic landscape of visual context. In other words, it gives a deeper know how of the grammar of visual language essentially communicated through visual medium in two dimensional form. However it supports multi-modality of visual media such moving images. Objects designed by human beings are subject to visual perception, to its users or viewers. Based on this perception various decisions are taken, or emotions are evoked. The success or failure of the design often depends on the communication it establishes with its viewer through visual means. Now, it is becoming evident, the knowledge of the underlying principles of these perceptions are related to visual semiotics. And thus knowledge and application of the same would result in efficient, engaging and effective visual communication. This introductory course aims at acquainting the students with basic terminology, fundamentals, theory and its process of application. It gives students a better grasp to analyse existing modes of visual communication, as well as to come up with better design propositions.

Week 1: VISUAL COMMUNICATION: Human Communication; Information, Communication and Media; Visual Communication; Professional areas of visual communication;

Week 2: VISUAL SEMIOTICS: Landscape of Semiotics; Syntax; Semantics; Pragmatics; Visual Semiotics;

Week 3: VISUAL PERCEPTION & SEMIOTICS: Gestalt’s Laws of perception; Affordances; Conceptual Model; Metaphor, Meta-code; Connotation, Denotation;

Week 4: USAGE OF VISUAL SEMIOTICS IN VISUAL COMMUNICATION: Representation, Abstraction; Visual Narrative and visual semiotics; Visual Persuasion and visual semiotics; Images and Text in visual semiotics; Applications and Implementation;