Narrative

Image
The how & why of
visual storytelling
By Daniela Molnar
Stories are integral to human culture.

Visual stories are a powerfully direct

method of conveying information,
ideas, and cultural wisdom.
Part 1: How do images
communicate?

Part 2: Types of
narrative images
Part 1: How do
images communicate?
Images tell stories using semiotics, a
sort of visual grammar.

> Semiotics <

Visual cues, or signs, are combined
into patterns that transmit messages
to the viewer.
Philosopher/scientist Charles Sanders Peirce (1839 - 1914) categorized signs as

iconic symbolic indexical

An iconic sign looks like what it represents -- a
portrait or a scientific illustration, for example.
A symbolic sign does not look like what it represents and
its meaning must be learnt. Its meaning is fundamentally
arbitrary because it is based on cultural associations. For
example, a stop sign, a flag, a traffic light, a companys logo,
or the Statue of Liberty.
An indexical sign is a clue that links meanings. Its
association with this meaning is not arbitrary but is
physically or causally connected. Smoke, for example, is
an indexical sign of fire; a pointing finger is an indexical
sign of whatever it is pointing at; 90 degrees on a
thermometer is an indexical sign that it is hot out.
 heart

iconic symbolic indexical

 All of these types of signs are used in combination in
visual communication. This is how images tell stories.

iconic, symbolic, & indexical

Walton Ford, Falling Bough, 2002

Iconic: This is an identifiable scene; the log looks like a log, the pigeons like pigeons, the sky like a
sky, etc. We can look into this landscape as we look at the world.
Symbolic: In cultural terms, the passenger pigeons represent societal shortsightedness, bloodlust,
and violence against nature. They also represent species extinction, and, more broadly,
environmental destruction.
Indexical: The falling log suggests imminent danger or destruction. The sunset colors suggest a time
of transition. The strong diagonal composition creates a sense of unease in the viewer.
 Images have the power to impact how
cultural messages are transmitted
and received. This gives them the
power to alter the culture itself.

In March 2010, the Obama administration appointed Edward Tufte to a panel

advising the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (RAT Board), which
monitors the way the $787 billion in the stimulus package is being spent.
Republicans released the above graphic explaining how the Democratic
healthcare plan willor won'twork. The process looks horrifyingly
complex; how will we get our insurance?!
This chart, which explains the same process, was released by the
Democratic party. Its soothing tones and rounded edges suggest that
the new system will be as delightful as ice cream on a sunny day.
Part 2: Types of
narrative images
> Flavored <
A subjective, editorialized depiction of
a thing, person or place. The story is in
the implied viewpoint.
Another term for the flavor of an
image is its connotative meaning.
Many images have a denotative
meaning that differs from their
connotative meaning. The denotative
meaning is the literal meaning of the
image, while the connotative meaning
is the implied meaning, or the flavor.
Flavor can be thought of a meta-
narrative that is present in all
images in varying degrees.

F la v or ed

Linear Paneled

Aggregate
 Some of the most obvious examples of flavored images can be found in advertising.

The literal, or denotative meaning of the original ad: This guy is a pretty smooth
character and he smokes Camel cigarettes.
The implied, connotative, flavored meaning of the original ad: Our cigarettes will make
you rich, sexy and powerful.

The literal, or denotative meaning of the Adbusters ad: Joe Camel is now Joe Chemo and
he is sitting sadly in a hospital bed alone.
The implied, connotative, flavored meaning of the Adbusters ad: Cigarettes will not
make you rich, sexy or powerful, but they will kill you.
Even scientific images can be flavored.
The author of the
Pernkopf Anatomy atlas,
Eduard Pernkopf, was a
leading Nazi who purged
the University of Vienna
medical faculty of Jews.
It is thought that the
cadavers portrayed in
the Atlas paintings are
likely victims of Nazi
concentration camps.

The denotative, literal

meaning of this
illustration: this is how
the muscles of the face,
throat, and shoulder
look.

The connotative, flavored

meaning: some human
life is disposable.
> Linear < Depicts the passage of time
and/or space in a single image

> Aggregate < Depicts (non-temporal)

relationships between things in a single
image composed of multiple parts

> Paneled < Depicts the passage of

time and/or space in multiple
sequenced images
 > Linear < Depicts the passage of
time and/or space in a single image

Piero della Francesca, Battle between Heraclius and Chosroes, c. 1460

Piero della Francesca, The Discovery and Proving of the True Cross, c. 1455
Chauvet Cave
Maria Sibylla Merian
Hadley Hooper, illustration about Parkinsons disease
> Aggregate < Depicts relationships
between things in a single image composed
of multiple parts

Wendy Zomlefer
Lilian Snellling, Aerides houlletianum
From Colors 13, the wordless issue. Art directed by Tibor Kalman
Galileos engravings of the moon in Sidereus Nuncius, 1610
Robert Weaver, April 1959, Esquire
> Paneled < Depicts the
passage of time and/or
space in multiple
sequenced images

Bayeux tapestry, c. 1077.

224 ft long embroidered cloth which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England as well as the
events of the invasion itself.
Luoshenfu, Gu Kai Zhi, 344-406 CE
ST
MATTHEW
I S LAN D
How paneled images tell stories

> Closure <

> The frame as time <

> Transitions <

> Interdependent
words & images <
 > Closure <
Closure is the psychological leap that is essential to make paneled
images work. Closure occurs in the gutter, in the space between panels.
 > The frame as time <
The frame is a unit of time it can be a second, a minute, an hour, or an eternity.
The dimensions (and shape) of the panel are as important as the space between
the panels, as well as the placement of the panel on the page.
 > Transitions <
There are six major types of transitions between frames, each
of which has a different effect on the pacing of the story.

moment-to-moment subject-to-subject aspect-to-aspect

requires very little closure shows different people or things transitions between aspects of a
in a scene or idea place, idea, or mood

action-to-action scene-to-scene non-sequitur

single subject in a process spans significant distances of no logical relationship - lots of
time or space closure required
scene-to-scene
spans significant distances
of time or space

aspect-to-aspect
transitions between aspects
of a place, idea, or mood
> Interdependent words & images <
Most, though not
all, comics rely on
a combination of
words and images
to convey an
idea. If the story
is driven mainly
by the imagery,
then the words The words are telling most of the story here
can wander in
many directions.
If the story is
driven mainly by
the words, then
the images can
wander, becoming
more abstract and
The image is telling most of the story here
utilizing more
closure.

No words
Suspended In Language: Niels Bohrs Life, Discoveries, And The
Century He Shaped By Jim Ottaviani, Illustrated by Leland Purvis,
Roger Langridge, Jay Hosler, Steve Leialoha, Linda Medley, Jeff Parker
Other titles by Jim Ottaviani Published by G.T. Labs
Clan Apis By Jay Hosler
how
why
Visual stories are a
uniquely powerful
way to communicate.

They have the power

to change the way we
understand the world.