Interactions Between the 3 Levels

 

This is an image of a mood board for web design that incorporates all 3 levels.

REPRESENTATIONAL:

The mood board shows images of actual objects in real life. The items shown under "profile images" are considered representational as they are direct objects that you would see in person. They are direct reporting of a large amount of details. The representational "profile images" help a person in terms of simply being used as a visual aid. As we are all visual beings, perusing through a website creates more interest if we see such images. They relate to the other levels as they can be abstracted into simpler terms or even distilled to a symbol. 

ABSTRACT:

The "background" of a website can be considered abstract. Various designs for a background can be distilled into simple and basic elements, such as geometric patterns. Without the abstract aspect applied, the background can be either be too distracting or too plain. Sometimes abstract items in an image displayed on a page are just simpler forms of the representational. They keep out unnecessary details and keep the important details in, which is usually what a viewer would like to see when viewing a website.

SYMBOLIC:

The "style ideas" of a website can be considered symbolic. The letters we read that form words are quite symbolic since they are used as a source of communication. Also, icons that are displayed on a page signify some sort of meaning. They generally will use representational information to communicate that meaning or message.

Representational, Abstract, & Symbol

     This image is of a jewelry holder designed in the form of a turtle. The jewelry holder is an example of the representational due its recognizable form of an animal, the turtle. Based on our experiences we have seen what turtles look like, therefore making this image easy to distinguish such an animal. As the representational depicts an image containing a lot of detail, we are able to see here the distinct features of what we know makes a turtle. The representational turtle form is used both as an expressive and functional design. Its functional purpose is to hold jewelry while its expressive purpose is to look aesthetically appealing.

     This is an image of a landscape viewed from possibly a window. The landscape art is an example of the abstract because it has taken all the details from the representational and simplified it. The simplification is much like distillation in which all the unnecessary details were taken out to emphasize the important features. Here we see the sun and the surface area of the land. The abstract has broken the image down into the basic elements. Here we can see the basic elements of shape, line, color, and direction. Therefore we can see the abstract understructure of the landscape. We see the composition compared to the detailed representational.

 

 

     This is an image of a well-known symbol, the peace sign.  The peace sign is seen as symbolic as it is both simplified and abstracted in order to conveniently get the message out towards the viewers. The peace sign in its basic structure is shaped as a circle. Generally shapes come associated with an attached meaning. Here a circle is a sign of protection, warmth, and endlessness which fits accordingly to the idea of peace. It is also seen as an iconic symbol as it comes with a certain amount of cultural history. It actually consists of the letters "N" and "D", meaning nuclear disarmament. As far as cultural history goes, the peace sign originated with the British nuclear disarmament movement.