Thursday, March 22, 2012

The effect images and font have on our opinions

Everything from images to font size and style can influence a person’s decision to look further into a topic or item. This week in class we explored how we can acquire different feelings or vibes from different styles of writing or unique images. Everybody can agree that an automatic feeling of seriousness can be associated with a professional font like Times New Roman or a light hearted, humorous approach can be taken with the font style, Comic Sans. Our own unique perceptions on an image or phrase can affect how we interpret a message, for instance, in a campaign ad or written slogan using different fonts or images.

For example different fonts can convey different opinions:
Serious

Comical

Fun

Professional

Elegant
 Also an image of the president smoking a cigarette while wearing casual clothing will be taken differently than image of the American president signing an important piece of legislation into law with a fresh suit and tie on. When we see the picture of President Obama smoking, this seemingly innocent action (tons of people smoke, right) turns the President into some kind of super villain.  Seeing the President smoke, at least for me, does not convey a positive image. President Obama’s critiques have used this image to their advantage to show that the President is malicious and irresponsible because of his smoking habits.
                The second image of President Obama signing a bill, portrays a positive image. This picture shows President Obama working hard on a bill as other people look on in approval. This image can be used to make President Obama look like a good leader because he is diligently working at a piece of legislation that could possibly help out the American people. Critics can not argue with the picture of Obama working hard because the picture does not offer any leverage for criticism.


Images obtained from Flickr.com

Both of these images can be used to convey different messages about the president to certain groups of people. They both have different meanings, one is meant to cast a negative light while the other seeks to put the president in a positive light.
Check out some of these links for negative and positive images.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57410289/prosecutor-marine-posted-negative-images-of-obama/- Describes How a US Marine used images and words to negatively display the President and his works.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/business/media/08adco.html In this New York Times article, positive images are explored in advertising and how companies use them to sell products.

2 comments:

  1. Very true images can be interpreted in numerous ways. Also, these days images can be altered to drive home a particular point about the desired person. It's up to us to use our knowledge to formulate an educated opinion of each image we come across.

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  2. I agree, visual tools are the most effective way to get a message across! It can be a really useful tool, or extremely detrimental!

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