A Study on Visual Communication Based on Semiotical Analysis - Focused on the Mobile Design -

Visual culture that reflects environments of a learner is covered by design education within an art curriculum and the domain of design education is widening as multi-orientation in visual culture related phenomena becomes diversified. However, the domain of design education within a curriculum where visual cultures are reflected, tends to be limited to providing simple resources such as providing basic knowledge, etc., and shows its limitations in providing frameworks on its ideology which serves as guideline for building sense of appreciation and understanding. In this study, the researcher has focused on the communications exchanged within the realm of visual culture and proposed segmentation on classifications and elements which serve as basis for judgments made by an observer, so that the study may help learners to improve their critical reasoning by building objective and systematic understandings in approaching the visual culture. Communications are conducted in a culture through diversified media. Moreover, such communications as visual communications based on semiotical analysis put emphasis on transmitting respective meanings through procedural, cultural and grammatical symbols, and storing and extracting social, psychological and visual meaning innate in elements. Such symbols as social and psychological elements have their base in national and social consciousness. In addition, an identical symbol may be recognized otherwise, depending on the perspective of the observer, following changes in social, economical and cultural environments. As meaning and value of a visual symbol change depending on the background on creation of such visual image, or recognition at the time of observation, thus it is crucial to make judgments by basing on the social and cultural significance and value, not by basing on the meaning of the visual image itself alone. In this study, the researcher has taken procedural, cultural and grammatical approaches in conducting semiotical analysis on the visual communication proposed by the study and provided an objective and segmented index that can be used to understand and interpret visual images. Moreover, the researcher has conducted a case study on mobile phone, which is a product that is the most closely related to living environment, and extended its domain from a simple visual image medium to complex media comprised of diversified visual image transmission procedures and cultural environments