A. Creating and Presenting · Creating Art: The Creative Process, Design and Studio Techniques

Art That Communicates: Ideas, Information and Messages

A1.1 A2.2 C1.1About 70 minutes

Learning goals

I can identify the purpose, audience and context of a communicative art work.
I can use symbols, visual metaphor, juxtaposition and text-image relationships to communicate a message.
I can design for a viewer using visual hierarchy, legibility and the principles of design.
I can create an art work that communicates a point of view on an issue that matters in my community.

Words to know

audience
The people an art work is made for or will be seen by.

context
Where, when and how an art work is seen, which affects its meaning.

visual metaphor
An image that joins two things so that one stands for the other, such as a melting globe for climate change.

juxtaposition
Placing two contrasting images or ideas side by side to create meaning.

icon
A simple image that represents an object or action, such as a phone symbol.

visual hierarchy
Arranging elements so viewers notice them in a planned order of importance.

legibility
How easily text can be read.

typography
The style, size and arrangement of letters.

call to action
A short instruction telling the viewer what to do, such as "Join the pledge".

Remember from Grades 7 and 8

In Grade 7 you studied signs, symbols, icons and logos and made art about issues with opposing points of view; in Grade 8 you showed issues from several viewpoints and used a triptych. Grade 9 adds the designer's toolkit: audience, visual metaphor, hierarchy and legibility.

Art with a job to do

Some art is made to communicate: posters, murals, public art, infographics, book covers, protest signs, awareness campaigns. Its success depends on whether the audience gets the message. Before you start, answer three questions:

Purpose: inform, persuade, celebrate, commemorate, warn, or raise awareness?
Audience: who? Grade 9 students, young children, drivers, newcomers to Canada, people who speak another language?
Context: where will it be seen, how big, and for how long? A hallway poster gets about three seconds of attention; a gallery work may get three minutes.

Tools for communicating

Symbols and icons: shared images (a recycling symbol, a stop hand). Check that your audience knows them.
Visual metaphor: combine two things so one stands for the other (a melting globe; a tree whose branches are city streets).
Juxtaposition: put contrasting images side by side (a clean river next to a polluted one; a phone screen next to a forest) so the difference carries the message.
Text and image: the words and picture should work together. They can repeat (the image shows what the text says), add (the image shows something the text does not), or contrast (the image surprises the text, often for irony).
Point of view and framing: a low viewpoint can make a subject heroic; a crop can focus on a hand reaching out.
Colour meaning: consider the audience's cultural associations.

A visual metaphor joins two familiar things so that one stands for the other. A globe (the planet) combined with the behaviour of an ice cube (melting, dripping, a puddle forming) makes viewers think "our planet is melting" in a single glance, without words.

Designing for the viewer

Visual hierarchy: decide what viewers see first, second and third, then use size, weight, contrast, colour and position to make it happen.
Legibility: use few fonts (one or two), large type for headlines, and strong value contrast between text and background. Avoid putting text over busy images.
Simplicity: one clear message. If you can't say it in one sentence, the poster is trying to do too much.
Design principles: designers often summarize them as contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity: contrast to create hierarchy; repetition of colours and fonts for unity; alignment so elements line up along clear edges; proximity so related items are grouped.
Test it: show it to someone for three seconds. What did they remember?

Visual hierarchy on a poster. Size, weight, contrast and position tell viewers what to read first (headline), second (image), third (details) and last (the call to action). The colour of the button-like box repeats nothing else on the poster, so it stands out.

Legibility depends on contrast. Text placed over a busy, similar-valued background disappears. A plain band of strongly contrasting value behind the words makes the message readable from across a hallway.

Responsible messages

Persuasive art is powerful, so use it responsibly:

Accuracy: check facts and numbers.
Respect: avoid stereotypes and images that mock or harm people.
Fairness: if you show an issue with more than one side, show each fairly.
Credit: use your own images or images you have permission to use.
Community voices: when making art about a community, especially a community you are not part of, listen to people from that community and represent them accurately.

Worked example

Let's design an awareness poster

Task: Design a poster encouraging Grade 9 students to put litter in the right bin (garbage, recycling, organics) in the cafeteria.

Purpose and audience: persuade Grade 9 students; context: cafeteria wall, seen for a few seconds while carrying a tray.
One message in one sentence: "Three bins, three seconds: sort your lunch."
Visual idea: a visual metaphor: the three bins drawn as three hockey nets, with a lunch item flying into the right one. It uses something the audience loves and turns sorting into a game.
Hierarchy: 1. Headline "Score in the right bin" in huge bold letters at the top. 2. The image of the nets. 3. Small icons under each net (bottle, banana peel, wrapper). 4. Call to action at the bottom: "Sort it. Every lunch."
Colour: match the actual bin colours used in the school so the poster connects to the real bins; a plain dark background behind white text for legibility.
Principles: repetition of three nets (rhythm, unity); emphasis on the flying item via contrast and diagonal movement; alignment of icons under each net.
Test and revise: a friend looks for three seconds and remembers "hockey nets, sort lunch": the message works. They suggest bigger icons, so you enlarge them.

A poster with a single message, a sporty visual metaphor, a clear four-level hierarchy, legible high-contrast text and colours matched to the real bins, tested and revised with a viewer.

The three-second test

Tape your design to a wall, walk past it at normal speed, and ask: what did I notice? If the answer isn't your main message, enlarge it, simplify everything else, or increase contrast.

Just for fun

How many fonts does it take to ruin a poster?

Just one more than you need.

Hands-on activity

Message-making project

You need: paper or bristol board (at least 28 cm × 43 cm), pencil, markers or paint, collage materials, ruler; or a free design or drawing program.

Choose an issue that matters to you or your community: litter in a local park, accessibility, kindness online, local wildlife, a community event, food waste.
Research three accurate facts from a trustworthy source (a government, public health or reputable organization website). Write them down with the source.
Write your one-sentence message, purpose, audience and context.
Brainstorm 10 visual ideas, including at least two visual metaphors and one juxtaposition. Thumbnail 4 of them.
Plan the hierarchy: headline, image, details, call to action. Choose one or two fonts and a limited colour scheme.
Create your final poster.
Three-second test with two people. Record what they remembered, revise once, and write a short reflection on how your choices communicate the message.

Safety: if your poster will be displayed in public, get permission from the property owner or your school. Don't include personal information.

Your turn

What three questions should you answer before designing a message-based art work?

Explain visual metaphor with an example.

What is juxtaposition? Give an example.

List three ways to create visual hierarchy.

Why should you avoid putting text over a busy photo?

What is a call to action?

Why does audience matter when choosing symbols?

More practice: warm-up

What is legibility?

How many fonts should most posters use?

Name one purpose a poster might have.

What is an icon?

In a poster, what is usually read first?

More practice: on your own

A poster about a school dance has six fonts, three images and the date in small letters at the bottom. Give three improvements.

How could the same message ("Read more") be designed differently for 6-year-olds and for Grade 9 students?

Explain how text and image can contrast for irony, with an example.

Why is accuracy especially important in persuasive art?

Describe how repetition and alignment help an infographic.

Challenge

Design (in words) a public mural for a library wall that communicates "books connect us". Describe the visual metaphor, hierarchy, colour scheme and how it suits the context.

Compare how a fine-art work and an advertisement might communicate about the same issue, such as plastic waste.

Explain how a design could unintentionally send a harmful message, and how an artist can prevent it.

Check your understanding

Quiz

A melting globe used to stand for climate change is an example of...

Which three questions guide message-based art?

Which change would most improve legibility?

A clean river shown next to a polluted one uses...

In visual hierarchy, the element meant to be noticed first is usually...

"Sign the pledge today" at the bottom of a poster is a...

For parents and teachers

Communicative art connects strongly with media literacy. Look at ads, posters, signs and album covers with your teen and ask: Who is the audience? What is the message? What did you notice first and why? Common difficulties: trying to say too much on one poster, too many fonts, and text that is hard to read. The three-second test is easy to help with. Encourage accurate facts from trustworthy sources and respectful representation of people and communities. If the poster will be displayed in public, get permission first.