OUGD501 Design Context: Communication Theory

OUDG501
DESIGN CONTEXT
COMMUNICATION THEORY

The Shannon-weaver Mathematical Model, 1949

Shannon-Weaver worked for bells telephone lab. Employed by the American army who wanted to make their communication more effective, they wanted to find out when and where their communication was breaking down, mainly looking at radio communication and telephone communication. It has been taken as a model for communication in a wider sense e.g. social and visual.

We then broke down the code applying it to design:

GRAPHIC DESIGNER-CREATING DESIGN-FINAL DESIGN-TARGET AUDIENCE-MESSAGE RECEIVED

Some other class mates started a step further back deciding that the information source would be the brief or client.

Things that could affect the communication negatively:

• Miscommunication of the brief
• Inadequate research, designer is misinformed
• Tone of voice
• Location
• Limits of channel chosen
• Wrong target audience
• Distribution
• Obscurity of message
• Production

NOISE SOURCE: 

Noise can happen at any stage of the process, in accordance to the diagram noise could refer to a buzzing on the line, obstructing the communication. Noise in design could refer to legibility and readability of the brief, computer breakage, irrelevant information.

LEVEL A- TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
How accurately can the message be transmitted?

• Broken software
• Inaccessibility to facilities 
• Level of skill of designer
• Print difficulties

Solutions: designing with an understand of print as a media, and that technical flaws can occur.
LEVEL B- SEMANTIC PROBLEMS
How precisely is the message conveyed?

• Clarity of the message
• Readability and legibility
• Context 
• Target audience
• Typos 

Solutions: Proof reading, copy writing, spell checking
LEVEL C- EFFECTIVENESS PROBLEMS
How effectively does the received meaning affect behavior?

• 
  

REDUNDANCY VS ENTROPY

REDUNDANCY- The path of least resistance

A redundant telephone line doesn't interfere at all. It has to be very predictable and easy to understand.
Phatic communication like a hand shake is widely known as a term of professionalism / greeting. If the hand shake was unexpected with a joke electric shock it's now not redundant and it entropic.

• High predictability
• low information
• Phatic 

Entropy- a moment of bleeding and loss of information at certain point.

• Unexpected
• High information
• Unique
• Fine art, one piece can have a lot of connotations.
• Challenge
•   Destabilize