Words and Images

Words itself plays as an image too. A word itself plays as a signifier for an object. For example, what does the word "table" bring to mind? Most could possibly say that it is brown, has four corners, has four legs, etc. Many words are able to bring forth an image of what it looks like to a person. Words have become a symbol for an object that could actually be anything.

The picture on the left is a good example of what images we see pop up in our minds when we see the word. Most of the time, when people are presented with the word "red,"they are most likely going to picture that color in their mind. Everyone in the word would associate the color red with the word red, but when presented with a picture such as the one on the left, people tend to pause or say the wrong word presented to them. It is because it falls out of their regular schema of what the word is suppose to symbolize.

As a designer, we are challenged to think outside of the box. We need to remove ourselves from what is hidden within language to design what we can to improve or better our world. So the next time we are presented with the word "table," we are to think of something outside of the box such as a table with three corners instead of four, with three legs, the color teal, or that it is thirty feet long. This way, new and different images would be present in your minds when the word comes across.