signs, indexes, and symbols

sign: an entity which signifies another entity
thunder is a sign of a storm
the biohazard sign has no visual relationship to what it represents

symbol: an object, picture, written word, or sound that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention.
names are symbols that represent individuals
a red octagon is a symbol for "stop"

index: have a correlation in space and time with its meaning
body language is an example of an index of emotions
a wave is a symbol of a greeting

"This Means That" notes:

- This text discussed the differences between and types of symbols, signs, and indexes. In addition, the text discusses how we as individuals and humans as a collective interpret these signs and symbols. I loved how the book was interactive, as it allowed me to discover for myself how I view the meanings of symbols, giving me a greater understanding of how potential clients could view symbols and indexes used in icons. The meanings of some symbols and icons could be more recognizable to the designer, and not picked up on by the consumer.

- Some symbols where the relationship between the symbol and meaning is obvious like a lion meaning strength, while some are less obvious and you have to understand the meaning of the object before hand, such as a sword meaning truth.

- Key concepts: simile, metaphor, metonym, synecdoche, irony, lies, impossibility, depiction, and representation- all of these concepts can help us produce new insights into the meanings of objects images and texts.

- Synecdoche- using a part of something to stand for the whole thing or the whole thing to stand for a part. This could be using a personal story about malnourishment to raise money for a charity instead of providing abstract statistics as a whole, or showing images of just elvis' hair, and people think of elvis as a whole from seeing that part.

- metonym: when one thing is substituted for another in a piece of communication

- Many signs have to be learned with the conventions of the language in which they are embedded before they can be used

book jacket examples: successful & unsuccessful.

I like the juxtaposition in the title and how it is played with in a visual way with the lampshade being slightly crooked, but I don't think the type also needed to be slightly off as they have done with the "F". I think just the visual aspect with neat text would have looked cleaner and better displayed the juxtaposition of the title.

I like how the subject matter was approached in this cover design. Though it is about love, it is a more scientific approach, and therefore does not require a fanciful, lovey-dovey cover. The color red is associated with love and passion, and one chair leaning, almost gravitating, toward the other reminds us of the connection felt when in love. This cover also takes a more modern and artistic approach which is visually appealing and clean.

Typographic and visual elements are balanced very successfully in this design, and the cigarettes forming the United States tells the reader what the book will be about in a creative way. The fact that the subtext is in a cigarette package label is a nice solution as to where to place more text in a way in that it belongs.

Though this is an extremely creative concept, and conveys to the reader what the main contour of the novel is at a glance, I feel as though it is too busy for a cover. It may be eye-catching on a shelf, but it can be difficult to read the specific details of the title and author's name in a quick second. Overall, the design is too bold for a cover and the various markings and colors as well as type mixed with script gets quite confusing for the eye.