VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

DOES GRAPHIC DESIGN BELONG TO THE REALM OF TRANSLATION? SO WHAT IF IT DOES?

POLINA JOFFE UNIT 1.2 TEXT / CONTENT

Essay summary Literary translation into visual form As the founders of Visual Editions, I feel that the visual aspect of books and the role of the designer as an interpreter

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

In this essay I will explore the importance and impact of translation in literature and how these principles are applicable to design. For this the first step will be defining the meanings of translation and remediation in the context of the essay. As F. R. Amos states in Early Theories of Translation, there has never been uniformity of opinion with regard to the aims and methods of translation. I will explore if this is really so, or if there are differences of opinion and definition and whether this applies to remediation in the same way. The focus of the essay will be in understanding the importance and role of the translator and/or designer

of the message, can add to the way books are experienced and read. it adds to the way we experience what we read and the way we absorb and understand the way stories are told: through words and pictures. I hope to conduct a few informal interviews with writers to find out how they feel about such visual interference and if they think that it adds to the message or distracts the reader from the message. Is this the same question as having a goblet that makes the wine taste even better, or does it just distract from the true taste? In the conclusion I will revise the main aspects of what I have discovered, and make a statement on whether the interference of a designer as an interpreter of the message adds or distracts from content and why.

SUMMARY

as the communicator of the message. The message is transformed by the understanding of every individual reader and is different to each one. This is why the translator and/or designer can never be neutral and it is their interpretation that we see. I will also explore different ways of expression in one language, looking at literary movements such as Oulipo. Further along in the essay I can start exploring the role of the designer as an interpreter. Graphic designers use similar tools as translators in interpreting and finding the most important aspects of a message that they need to visually represent. As well as looking into the likeness of these tools, I will also explore the differences. When looking at the designer as a translator I will look at publishers such as Visual Editions, and hopefully conduct an interview with Anna Gerber about her views on the designer as interpreter.

Alexandre Liziard dition srigraphie. Travail autour du songe. Another piece by Alexandre Liziard whose work I really admire If this is a reflection of the dream does that make this a work of translation / interpretation / remediation? Isnt translation in a sense the everyday act of speaking as a way of translating oneself to oneself (and then oneself to others)?

I went to my friend Elanor Dymotts debut book launch last night, and it was great. Firstly I am very happy about all the reviews her book is receiving, but also, i

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

had a chance to chat to some people from the book publishing industry. It was a bit too busy a party for proper conversation, but I feel i got some insight. On another note, I like the feel of the paper of this book and the lovely red edges. I lok forward to reading it, and hopefully meeting up with Elanor sometime to talk about visual writing and get insight into how a writer might feel about it.

BOOK LAUNCH

On Translation Language is one yet languages are many. In this very distinction lies the primordial

There is no perfect form of expression I have been putting a lot of thought into the coice of text for me to work with and I noticed that quite often i think no, I cant mess with that! I will just ruin the beauty of it. But then I realised that surely that is something every interpreter might encounter. Whether when remediating a novel into a form of visual writing, a screenplay or into another language. So I looked into some of the problems and truths about language.

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

need for translation. What all languages share in common is a capacity to mediate between a human speaker and a world of meanings (actual and possible) (Kearney 2006, p xiii) Now is this not talking about design?

To express oneself in any way is a language. Whether it is speaking, writing, improvising or visualising your thoughts. The plurality of language, makes the encounter with the other a condition that requiers us to give up the dream

QUOTES

of a perfect language and of a global translation without residue. The partiality and the finitude of individual languages is then viewed not as an insurmountable obstacle but as the very precondition of communication among individuals. (Jermolino)

These thoughts made me feel better.

R. L. Stevensons Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde By Alberto Hernandez

Hybrid Novel Hybrid novels can be seen as image-text hybrids where written text and a number

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

of graphic devices work together in order to hold the readers interest, enhancing the books interactivity and giving the printed page a multidimensional visual surface. This kind of books require the readers actions, they demand to be handled and experienced. -Alberto Hernndez

HYBRID NOVEL

Briana Garelli My Unborn daughter

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

27 March 2012 Catherine Tonge The Tigers Bride Volume 8

Hybrid novel accorning to Hernandez A hybrid novel, according to Alberto Hernndez, can be seen as a hybrid

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

image-text novel, not a childrens book, graphic novel/comic or gift book, but a book where written text and graphic devices such as illustration, photography, information graphics or typographic treatments may interject in order to hold a readers interest. This combination adds interactiveness to the book and also gives the printed page a multidimensional visual surface. A hybrid novel is a kind of book that requires the readers actions and also to be handled and experienced. (Apostolos Mitsios)

HYBRID NOVEL

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

Jung+Wenigs version of Robert Louis Stevensons novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

Ten Poems from Hafez: Jila Peacock This poem is of course called deer Again not really what I am looking for when i talk about visual translation. But this publication looks quite nice. The library copy I have at home is not even nicely printed.

WORD & IMAGE

Breach John Ecko 2008 This is what I would not like to do when exploring visual writing. Very literal. But then again, he must have been trying to achieve something very different from me..

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

From Calligraphie arabe vivante by Hassan MASSOUDY It is easier for me to see everything as one thing than to see one thing as one thing - Antonio Porchia These calligraphic texts are looking a lot more appealing to me even though the idea is the same (especially in the first image). This is still not what I am looking for, but aspects of it are playing nicely.

This Is a Photograph by Paul Thompson The Chase has created an unusual promotional campaign for photographer

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

Paul Thompson. The twist is that his posters and postcards contain no images whatsoever I wanted to make a genuine attempt to convey an image in words, so that youd have a good chance of picturing it when youre done and so you would feel drawn to Pauls website to see how close you were, says Asbury. At the same time, I wanted to highlight the comical impossibility of conveying a picture through language, because we all respond to them so differently. A picture is never just about how it looks, but what it makes you think and feel.

WORD & IMAGE

All mediums and languages such as the language of images have their strong and weak sides.

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

Words Fail Me

Thoughts on the essay Importance of translation: Bible culture! . Latin Greek. Visual

example of this example, explanation here. It is the translators role to figure out the most appropriate way to do so. Ricoeur, a French philosopher who combined phenomenological description, an approach concentrating on the study of consciousness and the objects of direct experience (Oxford Dictionary) with hermeneutic interpretation, wrote that there are two paradigms of translation: the linguistic paradigm and the ontological paradigm. The first refers to the words that relate to meanings within one language or between languages and the latter to the occurrences of translation within oneself and that between people in everyday life situations.

Flux Bible - mix three different religions in any way you want

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

communication, is translation. Why? Because translation is communicating the same message in a different language or form. In this case the visual language. Sometimes an image can tell a thousand words. Visual communication though depletes some of the original meanings, can say some of them much quicker, more efficiently. Like in branding it is very important to get the whole ideology of the company across in one logo. Most people will not go further than that to find out more about the company. We live in a world whichs pace is rapidly quickening. Information needs to be grasped on to as quickly as possible. How is this done in the print media magazines and newspapers are using means of visual communication to organize the information so the reader would have to read as little as possible. Find bit in Wards book about it. The right not to read? Theories of literary interpretation are invaluable in design discourse, to explain the construction of meaning in visual texts. I believe it is essential for designers to examine literary theory and analyze its creative process in order to then in turn be able to control the similar / overlapping aspects in design. To understand the theory behind what we often might do intuitively. Through this understanding, the designer can gain more control over the intended viewer / reader experience. Through gaining a better understanding of the design function, its practice can become more informed and thus more effective, diverse and eventually more sustainable. (p.10) There is an infinite amount of ways to tell the same story. Exercises in style by Quineau is a great

THOUGHTS

TED: Ideas worth spreading Chip Kidd doesnt judge books by their cover, he creates covers that embody

The book cover tells the story of the content while being pulled off the shelf.

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

the book and he does it with a wicked sense of humor!

WHAT DO STORIES LOOK LIKE?

New plan Does graphic design belong to the realm of translation? If it does so what?

more step in this, with which to make continuum. More visual less verbal or opposite whenever. With such Complex systems are hard to work with without knowledge of theories. Translate to the language of the focus group. 3. Examples. Laws of translation theories and what they look like in design. Images, examples.

VISUAL RESEARCH SUMMARY

Questions: Is graphic design translation and are the theories of translation applicable o design? If the theories are applicable, are they needed? If it is better with theories, what to do? 1. Graphic design follows the basic rules of translation. Give references! Meta language. On the level of metalanguage, graphic design transforms meaning without the necessary use of words. Typography, as part of graphic design is in between, in an interesting place. It binds word and image together. By that it differs. Boundaries between word and image are loosened and blurred in typography and typographic design. Graphic design is not word whereas typography can keep the verbal part. It is on the border of the two. Intermingle. Additive power, boost each other. Word + image. 2. It is preferable for a graphic designer to also know the theory. Why, because. Tacit knowledge. Knowledge passed from person to person, from teacher, from peers. Only intuition is not enough. 1 out of 10 will do great things on intuition alone, but most need theory to be able to control the quality. Quality is achieved by stability. Not on inspiration. Tacit knowledge & intuition may result in repetition of the same mistakes. Might not explore things wider. In visual communication, we can learn from other fields. Knowing the theories. From music and even medicine. Clinical experience. Light bulb as a symbol for ideas. Word , visual, typography is one

4. Future: Pedagogical theories. Why intuition and tacit knowledge are not enough. How to raise the general level of graphic design? It can be improved by adding it to the curriculum. 5. Education today doesnt include these theoretical aspects. Need to note, pay attention to this and fix it so that the future designer can score the goal at any time. If you get a commission but have no inspiration, foot hurts. If you know the theory you will still do a good job. Talent + technique (skill, practice, procedure) = best work. Literacy, a pinned down technique, mastery, repetition.

PLAN

LIght Reading. Old Bricks Into Classic Books Daryl Fitzgerald has given the citys old bricks a new lease of life by transforming them into antique books.