Graphic design is an area that allows creating unique visual objects intended to perform different functions, for instance, advertising, warning, selling, and other purposes. In their work, designers actively resort to the use of text and images to create capacious and, at the same time, concise messages. According to Walker (2017), pictures and text dynamically intersect and complement each other to create a specific visual language. Both these elements can serve basic roles in a message. For example, a bright and catchy picture, which becomes recognizable as it spreads, can be supplemented with a slogan that conveys the meaning of an already understandable idea. When speaking about the text as the main instrument of influence, one can pay attention to advertising materials in which the image, as a rule, complements words and carries the function of an auxiliary but not central component.
At the same time, in some cases, images can be handy tools to convey the message without words. One can observe such an algorithm in the graphic works of Jonathan Barnbrook, who is known for his memorable posters. Barnbrook is familiar to many for his distinctive Olympic emblems, which he designed under the name “Olympukes” (“Olympukes,” n.d.). On these badges, he displays ambiguous messages associated with controversial events and vices in the world of sports, which are not accepted to be publicly disclosed. His works are an example of how relevant issues may be revealed through a few graphic details, and a public resonance can be created. Thus, images can exist in graphic design separately from the text, which sometimes increases the power of such a message and adds more meaning to familiar objects or phenomena.
References
Olympukes. (n.d.). Barnbrook. Web.
Walker, S. (2017). Research in graphic design. The Design Journal, 20(5), 549-559. Web.