Back in the days, in Africa, the town crier would go about with his gong to convey the King’s messages to the people in the community, though it yielded effect for mass communication but this is a strategy that was really energy sapping. In the 21st century, mass communication is the reaching of the public for a purpose in which such purpose (delivered via a media product) could be to inform, entertain or correct a social vice (i.e. educate). A media product can be created in various dimensions: TV/ Radio programme, Advert campaign, Newspaper daily report, Newsletter, an internet weblog, a multimedia title et cetera. They are also the “content”; I can continue mentioning examples without exhausting the list. Odden (2013)1 described “content” as the information directed towards the end-user (i.e. audience) meant to be expressed through some medium: writing, speech, or any of the various arts. On the other hand, “graphics” is an art- another subject matter on its own.
Content is in three folds: Syntax (information), Semantics (meaning) and practice i.e. purpose (Wuerfel 2011)2 but the point is whatever the content delivered as a product, “graphics” plays a major role in integration of media elements, packaging, fine-tuning, and aesthetics making the product ready for consumption. It is proper to stress that part of the readiness is the rendering of such product into a format that is compatible with the mode of distribution (most especially if the product is technology driven e.g. a movie, an interactive product et cetera).
The growth of internet is a continuous development but its proliferation virtually into every area comes with another challenge which in one way or the other has affected how products of the media are channeled. A lot now has to be more considered:
Psychological Aspect: how do the targeted audiences reason, especially in this computer age where some norms of the past do not count anymore?
Socio-cultural factor: how the audiences inter-relate and how will the media content foster peaceful co-habitation?
Technological Interference: The means of accessing the content is not stagnant thus communicators have to take cognizance of this at every stage of production. The dynamism in technology has re-invented mainframe to compactible notebook, cathode ray tubes to flat panels; pre-press in publishing is fading-off while mobile technology is spreading like fire. In view of this, as a media practitioner, is your Television programme considering “HD” audience or is it still relying heavily on Standard definition? You already know what that means; you wouldn’t want to lose your fans.
Multimedia Content (Programmes): Audience are demanding for more these days. Does the content fit the spectrum of different available platforms: TV, Radio, Internet, Mobile technology, Prints or is it just solely a single-platform media product?
All of these are challenges that are not to be trivialized owing to the fact that consumers of the media products have changed tremendously. They want to customize and interact with the product most importantly with their accessibility to computer technology and internet. Such tailored approaches hold designers accountable for understanding the ways in which various audiences are either alike or different (AIGA-NASAD 2016)3. But I will go a step further that such tailored approaches is also an eye opener for the designer to know that much has to be achieved to be tagged a designer for mass communication.
Mass communication is said to be mainly concerned with how contents for mass consumption persuades and affects the behavior, attitude, opinion and emotions of persons receiving the information so that the “decoder” will probably take an action (either to buy a product or stop a bad behaviour). According to some experts, the quality of a media product starts with the quality of its content; I wouldn’t dispute that notion but from my own perspective, somewhere in between, this is vividly where “graphics” comes in. Oh, sorry, you are wondering, what is the point? Okay let me ask you, how will the product persuade if it is not pleasing to the eye? Even an intangible product- a TV talk show has to be presented under a good set. I hope you know that the architect of the screen known as Production designers who are equally sound in graphics are responsible for this. Another good example is a big monster in the sky (an animated film- a movie of course) that, all of a sudden vanished into the thin air. If I may ask, how do you want to depict and present the “abruptness” and secondly the “vanishing”, if your knowledge of graphics is not of good standing let alone the monster…?
Or what is the essence of a quality content that lacks quality packaging. A hybrid website with good features will lose its credibility if it is poorly designed, rendered and delivered. Research has even shown that online audiences are not that patient. Any malady at all, they leave your site and go. The good look and feel (aesthetics) comes first (in any media product) which is sure to be attention capturing; this will persuade the audience to browse through and digest the quality content of such web app.
Should we inferably conclude that the quality of a media product or multimedia content ends with the quality of its visual appeal which in turn brings the product to a finished and complete product? Interestingly, the latter (visual appeal) comes first either on transmission, after distribution or in publication but whatever, my conclusion is that as visual is concerned, “graphics” is an indispensable tool in Mass communication.
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REFERENCE:
1. Odden Lee (2013): What is content? Learn from fourty plus definitions.
2. Wuerfel, Jens (2011): What is the difference between “content” and “media”?
3. AIGA/ NASAD Briefing Paper: General Education and the professional study of Graphic design.
accessed on 10/11/16
AIGA: American Institute of Graphic Arts
NASAD: National Association of Schools of Art and Design
