Introduction to Multimodal Analysis: Second Edition

Description

Introduction to Multimodal Analysis is a unique and accessible textbook that critically explains this ground-breaking approach to visual analysis. Now thoroughly revised and updated, the second edition reflects the most recent developments in theory and shifts in communication, outlining the tools for analysis and providing a clear model that students can follow. Chapters on colour, typography, framing and composition contain fresh, contemporary examples, ranging from product packaging and website layouts to film adverts and public spaces, showing how design elements make up a visual language that is used to communicate with the viewer. The book also includes two new chapters on texture and diagrams, as well as a helpful image index so students can clearly understand how images and multimodal texts can be analysed from different perspectives. Featuring chapter summaries, student activities and a Companion Website hosting all images in full colour, this new edition remains an essential guide for students studying multimodality within visual communication in linguistics, media and cultural studies, critical discourse analysis or journalism studies. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents Images Preface to the Second Edition Introduction What is the specific approach taken in this book? The social uses of design features Outline of the chapters 1 What is multimodal analysis? The idea of choice in communication Semiotic choices Materials and affordances Discourse Discourses and social practices The shift to multimodal communication Technologization Integrated design A new commodified communication setting moral standards Coding of semiotic resources Distinctions Contextualizations Configurations Identifying codes Inventories The commutation test 2 Pictures and images A semiotic approach: Denotation and connotation Denotation Connotation Three further points Carriers of connotation The meaning of objects in images Settings Visual depictions of people Representing participants Individuals and groups Distance Categorization Anonymization None representation Actions in images Emotional processes Mental processes Verbal processes Material processes 3 Modality: Experiencing the world through images The origins of modality as a linguistic concept Modality markers and scales Degrees of the articulation of detail Degrees of articulation of the background Degrees of articulation of depth Degrees of illumination – articulation of light and shadow Degrees of articulation of tone Degrees of colour modulation Degrees of colour saturation Degrees of articulation of colour differentiation Kinds of visual modality Naturalistic modality: The truth of our eyes Sensory modality: The truth of our feelings Abstract or technical modality: The truth of the intellect Perspective in images Engagement and frontal perspective Direct address Potential address Non-frontal perspective Angles Horizontal and oblique angles Vertical angle Oblique angles Distance 4 The meaning of colour in visual design Patterns in colour as a semiotic resource Colour as a semiotic system How colour communicates ideas How colour communicates attitudes How colour creates coherence The value of colours Semiotics of colour The dimensions of colour Brightness Saturation Purity Modulation Differentiation Luminosity Fluorescence Hue 5 The meaning of typography Typeface and design Typography as a semiotic system How typeface communicates ideas How typeface communicates attitudes How typefaces create coherence Inventory of typographic meaning potential Weight Expansion Slope Curvature Connectivity Orientation Regularity Flourishes 6 Textures and materiality Texture as a semiotic system How textures communicate ideas How textures communicate attitudes Textures and composition The dimensions of texture Rigidity Relief Regularity Naturalness Viscosity Liquidity Materials Wood Glass Concrete Brick Paper Carton/card Plastics Metal Stone 7 Composition and page layout Some basic principles of salience Potent cultural symbols Size Colour Tone Focus Foregrounding Overlapping Framing Segregation Separation Integration Overlap Rhyme Contrast Images and composition: Coordination and hierarchies Photographs, hierarchies and rhyming Photographs and coordination 8 Diagrams and flow charts Classification Classification and writing Processes Imperatives Infinitives People Visual classifications Graphic shapes Size and weight of graphic elements Composition and orientation Centre-margin Bottom-up Left–right Cycles Pathways Networks Composition and grouping Framing Symbolization Causality Directional flow Temporality Bibliography Image index Index