OUGD501 Communication Theory Task

Apply Shannon & Weaves model to an example of communication. How widely is this applicable? How useful do you find this sort of exercise?

What are the main communicative functions of redundancy? What do we mean by saying the English language is 50% redundant?

Discuss the ways in which convention can be said to facilitate understanding. Think of visual communication that breaks or extends specific conventions. How does this affect the desire to communicate or the audience they reach?

The piece of Graphic design I decided to compare to Shannon & Weaves model was a piece of work done by Creative Spark for Welcome to Yorkshire for The Yorkshire Film Trail. The brief was to help them promote the wealth of Hollywood movies and TV programmes that had been filmed in the Yorkshire area. The aim was to create a film-buff's tourist guide to Yorkshire. It was up to Design Spark to to come up with a different way of showing it. Welcome to Yorkshire wanted it to be fun, but still keep a real commercial appeal. So Design Spark idea was to create an old theatre style film that featured a 3D visual map highlighting iconic objects from the films and shows. They also created a 'fly through' movie that was a teaser for the campaign. All of this was supported further by a giant A2- Size map that folded down into a pocket size users' guide.

http://www.creativespark.co.uk/work/the-yorkshire-film-trail 20/10/13

From the previous session we learnt and that within this piece of Graphic design the Information source is the Client and brief. Transmitter (encoder) is the Designer. Chanel is the piece of work being created. Receiver (decoder) is the audience receiving the message and the destination would be the audience understanding the message. 

The designs below have been successful as they are what the client had asked for and more. They are fun quirky yet still give off the feel of a coast. However the only thing that shows Yorkshire or a stereotypical view of Yorkshire isn't there. The silhouettes within the logo don't represent Yorkshire they just represent the coast which in my opinion lets the design down as without the lettering underneath that says 'Yorkshire coast' you wouldn't have any idea it was about Yorkshire. The map and front cover however do fulfil the brief a lot better in which it appeals to the film maker audience that it was applying to, it has the film symbols along with certain symbols that represent Yorkshire. the fact that the symbols look as if they have been stuck onto the page makes it look a lot more engaging and interactive, as if that any minute they are going to move around the page.

I would say that the design is primarily redundant in that it is stereotypical and obvious in what it is representing. Adding the film maker snap board and lights. Adding in the sheep which stereotypically would be seen as a Yorkshire motif. I would say that the fact it is made for film makers about films made in Yorkshire, emphasis on the Film, would make me question as to why it looks so animated and cartoon like would make me believe that in that sense it would be seen as to have an entropic communicative act.