Abstract
In the world of visual communication many message-making strategies
are used to convey information to a defined audience. The ways in which
these strategies are used can greatly impact the meaning and success of
a graphic design solution. Often strong emotion is employed to intentionally
influence a defined audience. In addition, the format and context in which
facts are presented in a message are also greatly effective.
When looking at the potential communication power that solutions can
hold, it is important to assess the types of messages being communicated
and related ethical responsibilities that accompany them. This thesis study
focuses on single-page, printed promotional messages specifically created
to have strong influences on their respective viewers. When creating
promotional messages the client may have specific motives, responsibilities,
content and requirements that the designer should be aware of. Both the
client and designer may share the responsibility for how that content is
represented. The audiences of these messages are also responsible to
think critically about the messages being presented to them.
This thesis aims to define clearly the ethical responsibilities of the client,
designer and audience when examining promotional messages. These
definitions are defined through research done within the areas of graphic
design and related fields, and the analysis of the semantic and syntactic
decisions made in relation to selected, relevant promotional messages.
The analysis of existing promotional messages led to a design application
that focuses on the development of multiple, potential symbols for a single
entity in order to examine how the interpretation of a message varies when
different message-making strategies are used. The strategies used in this
application focus on specific syntactic decisions that relate to the diverse
factual and emotional goals of each solution.