Iconic Communication

Do pictures enhance the communicative power of text? Our society is becoming a more visual culture day-by-day. This book offers detailed analyses of how to combine words with pictures to communicate clearly across cultural barriers. While some information is better communicated by one kind of media than another, some information is communicated most effectively through a combination of media. This book presents a critical framework within which iconic communication systems can be developed to truly bridge linguistic and cultural gaps and to provide effective computer-based systems for conveying information on a global scale. With valuable insights for the Information and Communication industries, this book draws on the work presented at several conferences on the subject and is designed primarily for graphic designers and human-computer interface developers as well as supplementary reading on degree courses in Information Technology. PART 1: FOUNDATIONS -- Human communication processes / Philip Barker -- On the possibility and impossibility of a universal iconic communication system / Andrew J. King -- The limits of iconic communication / John Roscoe -- PART 2: BACKGROUND -- Some pictorial symbol systems for public places / Ian McLaren -- Double vision / Michelle Gausman, Clive Chizlett -- Communication through icons / Masoud Yazdani -- PART 3: PROPOSALS -- Do you see what i'm saying? / Stuart Mealing -- IconText: an exploration of the limitations of iconic languages / Colin Beardon -- Visualisation of textual structures / Graziella Tonfoni -- PART 4: DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOTYPES -- The augmentation of textual communication with user-created icons / Leon Cruickshank, Lon Barfield -- VIL: a visual inter lingua / Lee Becker, Paul Leemans -- PART 5: RESEARCH OUTCOMES -- Icons in the mind Designing and evaluating icons / Philip Barker, Paul van Schaik -- Evaluating appropriate interface metaphors / Paul Honeywill. Do pictures enhance the communicative power of text? This book explains how to combine words with pictures on the computer screen, to communicate clearly across the cultural barriers that new technologies are breaking down.The Internet is making our culture a more visual one, day-by-day. But some kinds of information are better communicated by one kind of media over another, and other kinds of information require a combination of media. This book presents a framework within which iconic communication systems can be developed to truly bridge linguistic and cultural gaps and to provide effective computer-based systems for conveying information on a global scale. With valuable insights for the Information and Communication industries, this book is designed primarily for graphic designers and human-computer interface developers as well as supplementary reading on degree courses in Information Technology. Do pictures enhance the communicative power of text? This volume explains how to combine words with pictures, to communicate clearly across the cultural barriers that technology are breaking down. Edited By Masoud Yazdani, Philip Barker. Includes Bibliographical References.