The Suitability of Visual Representation - Essay Example

The Suitability of Visual Representation Association is a daily occurrence. We make associations on the basis of songs that we hear, on the basis of things that we smell, and on the basis of things that we see. How we think is largely a consequence of how we make associations. This is a cognitive process and it is highly individualistic; on the other hand, there are well-established associations to that are common to many people. This essay will focus on visual representations and association, the meaning of such visuals, and the suitability of a particular representation for the group using it. This essay will use the scales of justice, the Microsoft Windows logo, the Christian cross, the medical symbol of the American Medical Association, and the Lamborghini logo. The scales of justice are commonly associated with the legal profession. The legal profession, ideally speaking, is concerned with the truthful administration of justice. Justice means that people are treated fairly and reasonably. The scales of justice are used to portray this image of the legal profession to the public, and perhaps to remind those in the legal profession of their ethical duties to the notion of justice. The scales of justice are simple, and yet they do portray a very powerful message. The scales represent the concept of balance. The image I selected is interesting because there is an obvious imbalance. Perhaps this is to emphasize the presumption of innocence. Perhaps it is in a state of imbalance in order to demonstrate a commitment to freedom and liberty rather than oppression. The burden is on the person claiming a wrong, perhaps the police or a plaintiff in a civil matter, to prove with solid evidence that his claim is valid. This particular scale of justice was taken from the homepage of a defense attorney. His specialty is defending drunken driving cases. This is a very suitable symbol for people under threat of criminal prosecution. The notion of balance seeks to reassure the client and conveys the ideals of the profession. The Windows logo is one that we see almost daily, and even though it is a very simple idea, it is also a very powerful idea. First, technology is always seen as a very futuristic concept. Groups are always trying to improve and innovate. I think this is an excellent logo for Microsoft. The windows themselves are like windows into the future and into knowledge. This logo is telling us that Microsoft is granting us access to information. That is precisely what they create in their business. The different colors are more difficult to analyze; nonetheless, it seems to me that these differently colored windows represent diversity. By that, I mean that the colors mean that the future and the information are accessible to everyone. Ethnicity doesn’t matter and neither does religion or ideology. The logo thus represents a universal form of access to information and the future development of our world. The Christian cross is a symbol for many religions. There isn’t much color, and there certainly isn’t any decoration. The symbol is powerful enough as it exists. It is powerful because of its association with the Romans for the cruxcification of Jesus. This symbol represents so many things to so many people that it is difficult to summarize its meaning. I chose this symbol because it represents suffering and sacrifice. It represents the imperfect nature of all human beings, of whatever faith or religion, and reminds us of our human weaknesses. Aside from the religious points of view, I still find this to be a powerful symbol on its own merits. I think everyone needs to be reminded from time to time that human beings make big mistakes. We ought to view ourselves, and our lives, with a bit of humility and caution. It is hard to look at the Christian cross and not feel somewhat chastened. I can’t think of a more suitable symbol for religions or systems of morality. I selected these medical symbols not because they are easy to explain, but because I have always found them to be rather mysterious. I have never, on a personal level, associated snakes or serpents with healing or medicine. The symbol on the right looks very much like a snake wrapped around a walking stick. It reminds me of the old biblical stories where a prophet threw down his walking stick and it transformed into a snake. This seems a reasonable sort of interpretation. The symbol may represent some supernatural power, the power to heal, and thus it has become associated with the medical profession. Unlike the other symbols and logos, I find this particular representation a bit unsettling and disturbing. The snakes seem too detached from the notion of knowledge. Is the practice of medicine nothing more than magic? In my view, the medical profession might consider updating and modernizing these symbols. A better symbol, for instance, might include a stethoscope, a medical oath printed on parchment, or a doctor leaning over a patient. Medicine as a healing art, rather than some supernatural power, would appeal to me far more effectively. Just seeing the snakes on my family doctor’s letterhead doesn’t offer me much comfort or reassurance. This representation, for Lamborghini automobiles, is both strong and a bit surprising. One thinks of Lamborghini as an extraordinarily well-designed and fast car. My first association would be a cheetah rather than a bull. Still, the bull is a strong animal and a masculine representation. Maybe the idea is to appeal to males rather than females. I find this bull to be a pretty nice logo. It represents masculinity and strength. It appears to be full of energy and dangerous. This captures the essence of the Lamborghini experience. The colors, black and gold, are also consistent with these features. Gold is associated with wealth and these cars most certainly are not cheap; quite the contrary, they are extraordinarily expensive. This is a very suitable logo. As an aeronautical engineering student, there are many possible symbols that would be suitable. I could have chosen an aeroplane, perhaps an original model or a modern jet fighter. I could have focused on the engineering aspect and drawn a mechanic working on a jet engine or a propeller. There are other associations that would have been appropriate, such as a man riding an aeroplane, an aeroplane circling the moon, or a boy putting together a model aeroplane. In the end, the most powerful associations, from my point of view, were thought and the aeroplane. I choose thought because that is what an engineer does. He ponders the possibilities and considers the impossible. The aeroplane is the final product of his thought. Thus, my symbol would be a simply dressed man staring out a window at this creation on the tarmac. The window represents a separation between the creating engineer and the technological creation. There are thus both human and non-human elements. The man is the engineer and the aeroplane is aeronautics. This is not a particularly exciting symbol, I admit, and yet it seems to capture the essence of who I am as an aeronautical engineering student. In conclusion, the way in which associations manifest themselves as symbols or logos to particular social and cultural groups is complex. Some, like Microsoft Windows, rely on futuristic associations. Others, like the American Medical Association, rely on very old and almost obscure associations. These associations can be general or they can be very specific. Our symbols seem to be a product of whom we once were, of whom we consider ourselves to be today, and of whom we would like to be in the future. References American Medical Association Crest (2006). www.ama.com Christian Cross (2006) Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_cross Lamborghini Bull (2006). www.lamboghini.com/bgbull Microsoft Windows (2004). Company Logo. www.microsoft.com The Scales of Justice (2006). DUI Fighter. www.duifighter.com/images Read More