Maggie Gust January 30, 2013 Visual and Cultural Language Darren Zufelt Photography: Not-So-Dead After All

The infographic, Is Photography Dead? was produced by Overgram. Overgram, an application for the iPhone, allows users to add text to photos. The main purpose of the infographic was to prove that photography is not dead; it is, in fact, alive as ever. It was created to show viewers how much photography has evolved and how technological advances have transformed modern photography. It begins as a timeline showing milestones in photographic history, then turns into an infographic and shows what photography consists of today, highlighting that cell phones and apps are the new photography tools. In such a fast-paced
Infographic Timeline

technological culture, Overgram created the infographic to prove that photography is at its peak and there is a vast amount of amazing photography tools at our fingertips. At the beginning of the timeline the question, is photography dead? is posed. At the end of the timeline, the question is answered, and viewers find out that photography is, indeed, not dead. Through analysis of form and content and an overall evaluation, it is evident that Overgram achieved their purpose.

Form Analysis Closure Closure is an important topic for discussion for the infographic. What Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics (1993) calls subject-to-subject and aspect-to-aspect are the types of closure in the infographic. Scene-to-scene closure must be used in the timeline portion. McCloud (1993), explains, scene-to-scene transitions transport us across significant distances of time and space (p. 71). The events that the timeline shows occur across major distances of time. Many years separate one major event from the other, causing viewers to use scene-to-scene closure. Subject-to-subject closure takes viewers between subjects while staying within an idea (McCloud, 1993). This type of closure occurs at the end of the infographic when it transitions between the new photography elements. The subject of new photography remains the same, but it switches to different elements within the subject. Colors act as lines to separate subjects. Colors & Lines Colored panels are the main separation between ideas in the infographic. Each panel is a different color in order to distinguish itself from other panels. Overgram most likely used no bold, distinct lines to help viewers understand that everything fits together and the previous panel has to do with the next. Colors also make the infographic visually appealing. An important element of photography is

visual appeal, so it is important that an infographic about photography is visually appealing. Font The infographic contains many different types and sizes of font. Overgram most likely used different fonts to separates the important from the less important. In the timeline portion of the infographic, the milestones are bold and all capitalized. Below, the less important information is not bolded and in lowercase font. Companies and websites are shown the way they are known. This includes the correct color and font size. The infographic contains different companies that have to do with photography which are shown in their correct font. The Big Triangle The infographic includes both realistic and iconic images. Realistic pictures occur during the timeline. The photographs and cameras talked about in the milestones are shown in true photographic form. These photos fall to the far left of McClouds big triangle, because they represent reality. Iconic images are also used. Many do not have a great deal to do with what is going on in the infographic. Viewers have to use closure in these cases and decide on their own what the icons have to do with the infographic. Since a large amount of closure has to be used with the icons, they fall toward the right of the triangle. The words in the infographic fall the farthest right because they portray the literal meaning. The words and photos

considered under the big triangle create word-picture combinations. Word-Picture Combinations The relationship between words and pictures is important topic to analyze within the infographic. The most common combination in the infographic is what McCloud (1993) calls word-specific. The most important information Overgram aimed to get across is in the written word. Without the pictures, viewers would still be able to understand what the infographic is trying to get across, but it would not be as interesting to view. The pictures provide emphasis for the words. In the timeline, when the words talk about milestones in photographic history, the pictures show the photo, or camera, that was the milestone. Graphs are an important element of the word-picture relationship. These are an example of what McCloud (1993) calls an additive combination. An additive combinations means the words and photos add to each other. The words explain what is being shown on the graph and the illustrations show the relationships between what is written. Content Analysis Purpose The main purpose of the infographic was to persuade that photography is as alive as it has ever been. It begins with a timeline that illustrates the milestones of photography and how much it has grown over time. It then explores the social explosion which illustrates photography today. It includes graphs and explanations essential to the purpose. The many elements of the infographic come together well

to achieve the purpose. Overgram challenges the notion that photography is dead since traditional cameras are not widely used. By the end of the infographic, through words and pictures, Overgram proves that photography is not dead. The underlying purpose of the infographic was to promote Overgram. The new and improved app launched in December 2012 (DuPoint, 2013). In order to endorse their product, Overgram included a portion showing how their app contributes to modern photography. This ties in their main purpose by linking different photography tools and apps with their own in showing that photography is still alive. Means of Persuasion Overgrams means of persuasion included ethos, pathos, and logos. Overgram has ethos because it is a well-known app, used by many (DuPoint, 2013). Since it is a photography app, viewers believe Overgram knows about photography. Since the infographic is about photography, Overgram is thought of as a trustworthy source. Pathos is used with the photos. It is an emotional experience seeing how much the photographic history has changed, especially when one is able to see it through photographs. Logos is the strongest of the appeals used in the infographic. There was very logical information and statistics. At the bottom, there was a list of references, which strengthened the logos substantially since Overgram provided backup for their information. Evaluation The infographic is visually appealing, and includes great content. When scrolling through the infographic for the first time, it was evident that it flowed well.

The information fit together very well and everything placed in the timeline was relevant to the topic. This timeline brings new meaning to art in the form of photography. It shows the past events in photography with a timeline. It explains the new form of photography in an infographic by showing how cell phones and apps have changed the photography world. Conclusion Overgram created an appropriate timeline and infographic for their purpose. I, for one, was convinced that photography is alive and well. I even downloaded Overgram on my iPhone and made my own photography creations. Through the analysis of form and content and an evaluation, it is clear that Overgram achieved their purpose.

References DuPoint, P. (2013, January 01). Overgram: Captioning your instagram images. Retrieved from http://iphone.appstorm.net/reviews/graphics/overgram-captioning-yourinstagram-images/ McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding comics: the invisible art. New York: HarperPerennial. Overgram. (2012). Is photography dead? Retrieved from http://visual.ly/photographydead-mobile-photo-explosion