Changes in Images in Our Lifetime and the Future - Literature review Example

Changes in images in my lifetime and the future According to Kojima (1996, p. 210) ‘Communication through images has also been called visual communication. This is because images appeal to the eye and through this they pass different types of information from their creators to the viewer.’ Communication through images involves information and ideas being conveyed in ways in which people can look upon (Kahle & Kim 2006, p. 66). Communication through images depends very much on vision and is expressed in two dimensions. Communication through images includes drawings, illustrations, signs, graphic and typography among others. Images have been used in communication for a long time because they have better power to persuade, inform and educate people or audiences. Images are created in either two or three dimensions (Soares 1997, p. 77) Images can be found in existence as electronic sources, graphic design, signs, drawing, typography, color, paintings and illustrations among others. ‘Two dimensional images include photographs and displays on screens while three dimensional images include holograms and statues. Other examples of images may also include maps, pie charts, graphs and abstract paintings. Images may as well be manually rendered like drawing, carving and painting or automatically by way of computer graphics and printing.’ They could also be developed through combined methods like pseudo-photograph. Communication through images has been changing over the years especially in my lifetime because of the recent advancement is technology (Kahle & Kim 2006, p. 66). As technology continues to advance, more change is expected in images and the future of images may totally be different from what we have today. This essay will examine the changes in images through my lifetime and also speculate about the future of images since they are subject to change with advancing technology. Theory on effectiveness of images Images are effective in communication because of their attractiveness to the eye. They have the beauty and aesthetic appeal that verbal communication lacks. Verbal and written communication is just speculation of what is an image. The image carries more information than words and its loaded nature makes it more effective than words. Images are effective because human beings appreciate beauty and any beauty in the image pulls people to the image to get the information stored there (Soares 1997, p. 104). Figure 1; Cartoon images Images have been used for centuries to pass information and convey ideas from one person to another. For the last more than 20 years there has been tremendous change in the way images are being used to pass information to people. This change has principally come about because of the change in technology that is still being witnessed to date. Through out my lifetime I have witnessed people using images of various types to communicate. In the earlier days of my childhood, there were many artists opting to use graffiti, painting, drawings and other images to pass information. These were the major forms of images apart from the black and white photographs that were also prevalent. ‘Photographs were preferred by many as a way of preserving information for future reference or remembrance. In my childhood, paintings and drawings had been used for along time but they were also becoming more advanced. Artists had started using better quality paints and implements to do their work, and this often gave them a better product.’ Mansell (2002, p. 66) says that, ‘With growing technology, even the black and white images created through photography started fading. More advanced cameras that could produce colored pictures and photographs started appearing. The quality of their images was much better than the ones preceding them. Images in the early days of my lifetime were simpler than now and they were used to communicate simpler ideas than what we can see today.’ Although they were popular for communication, their use was not as widespread as is seen today. There were fewer images being used than these days. In most of the cases, artists were known to use them to convey various ideas about the society, politics, religion, and general life. The use of images for communication is all over today. People can see images in electronic media such as televisions and web pages, retail displays and road signs (Lester 2006, p. 123). In the last few decades, media has so much advanced in technology that it has become more reliant on images than before. Images play a major role in communication and the creation of a visual identity. People have discovered that images can better be used in presentations and education purposes to communicate better than if they used words. Image use in communication is therefore taking a bigger role as technology advances. People make presentations using computer software such as Microsoft power point to be displayed on walls and other surfaces. This is modern discovery that has taken root during my lifetime. A few years ago, such creation of images for education purposes was limited to drawing and painting. Apart from education, the use of images in entertainment is also advanced. Through my lifetime I have seen technology growing to enable people to create video games and cartoon series for purposes of entertaining children. These things never existed when I was young but recently, the entertainment industry started creating images in the form of cartoons, video games, movies and other forms meant for entertainment. This new use of images was only made possible through technological advancement. ‘In front of a computer monitor, children can play games involving images of people, trees, cars, motorbikes among others all of which are created using digital technology. In this paper, I would like to single out specific types of image use for discussion. These image uses include advertising and photography for various purposes’ (Mansell 2002, 90). Advertising ‘One area that has been growing tremendously in the use of images is advertising. Advertising has made use of images for many years. However, in my lifetime, I have seen it change from simpler forms to more advanced and quality images used in advertising various products’ (Kahle & Kim 2006, p. 66). In the 1980s, I observed images being used in advertising media such as the print media and television. Advertising dependent very much on painted and printed images. With the passing of time, advertising has been affected by changing technology to become a sophisticated affair. Through the 1980s and 90s, various companies started using technology to create images on TV that could suit their brands. Such images were taken by video machines and recorded on tape to be played on television. People stopped relying on still and static images and instead invented the creation of moving, talking images that can even perform some tasks to illustrate a point. This is the height of advertising on television. Video images have been growing in sophistication from simple to more complex ones. Lester (2006, p. 111) says that, ‘today one can watch video images on television screens displaying very complex actions and moves created only through technology. A lot of advertisements today rely on computer software to manipulate images and videos to create moves and actions that are thrilling to the eye.’ Figure 2; A modern oil advert Advanced technology such as the internet, tablets and computers has been witnessed in my lifetime. These technologies have adversely changed the way print images are used in advertising. The circulation of magazines and newspapers has gone to its lowest. The internet has basically taken over the storage and transfer of images from one place and person to another. Printed images may not be very necessary in the future for any purpose. Applications such as ebooks, iBooks, and audio books are gaining popularity and images transmitted through these media will be more appropriate in the future. In the near future, images in advertisements, newspapers and books will be made for use online. In the future images will be used for communication through the use of tablets. People will be able to take pictures, upload those pictures and even watch videos (Kojima 1996, p. 32). Photography At the time of my birth, photography had already advanced to the use of digital technology. The charge coupled device was invented to be used in digital photography. This happened in 1969. This meant that photography imaging had taken on a totally new dimension from the analog state which had many disadvantages to the digital which was easier to use. ‘In 1973, Fairchild Semiconductor released an image forming charge coupled device chip. In 1975 the Bayer filter mosaic pattern was developed for CCD sensor with color images. In the year 1986, Kodak scientists made the first megapixel sensor in the world. This sensor could record 1.4 million pixels capable of producing a 5 by 7 inch print for digital photographs. In 1987, Kodak developed 7 products to be used for storing, manipulating, recording, printing and manipulating electronic non moving video images’ (Lester 2006, p. 134). Figure 3; A photographic image In 1990, the photo CD system was developed by Kodak. This was the first international standard that was used in defining color in the digital operation of computers. In 1991, another boost in the communication of images came when Kodak released the very first professional digital camera system to be used by photojournalists. This was a Nikon F-3 camera with a 1.3 megapixel sensor (Kahle & Kim 2006, p. 45). The technological change in photography which made it digital enabled people to put images on the web, store them there and share them with other people located in far away places. The first image in the form of digital photography was uploaded on the web in 1992. This was the image of the Les Horribles Cernettes. According to Soares (1997, p. 57) ‘the widespread use and technological advancement of the internet has played a very huge role in the changes experienced in the use of images for communication. Sites such as You Tube which have come in my lifetime are widely being used to share music videos and other videos which basically include moving images.’ Today people make use of sites such as Photo Bucket, Flickr and Picasa to share various images. The use of digital technology by government was instrumental in advancing digital imaging although significant contributions also came from the private sector. In 1981, the electronic still camera from Sony was released. This was the very first commercial camera of this type. Image recording was done on a mini disc before being put in a video reader linked to a color printer or television monitor. This was the beginning of the revolution of the digital camera. Today there is widespread use of digital cameras to make and store digital images. People in my lifetime have witnessed the advancement of image taking using various gadgets. For example, today people can take images using mobile phones and send them to other people or upload them on the web. According to Soares (1997, p. 91) ‘technology is expected to take the use of images for communication to a whole new level in the future. Digital photography for example will give way to a more advanced form of it. It is expected that in photography, images will be created using mirror less cameras. The images to be created in the future will be capable of more applications than can be done today.’ Digital cameras of today are better than the film cameras of yester years. Therefore the images they create have a higher quality and can be put to more uses than those of film cameras. Computer graphics have helped to realize the goal of photorealism. The next step in photographic image creation is to go beyond the matching of silver halide and paper to make display technologies that can be able to present whatever visual stimuli that eyes can see. Hoffmann (2012, p. 77) says that ‘one possible way that image creation through photography can take is the development in dynamic range. New technologies which use the High Dynamic Range imaging could extend the dynamic range of digital imaging technologies past traditional media as it is known today.’ Cameras to be manufactured in the future will emphasize on the quality of pixels and not the number of pixels (Hoffmann 2012, p. 80). Conclusion Through this paper, I have examined the development and change in the use of images for communication as dictated by changing technology in media in my life time. Of particular focus was the area of advertising and photography which have witnessed tremendous change in the way images are created and used. Technological advancement has been very critical in transforming communication through images. The images used in advertisements in the former years were mostly printed, photographed using film and had no motion. In my lifetime, the creation and use of moving images on television screens, web pages and video has grown tremendously. Technology has brought about more sophisticated ways of developing images for education such as presentations, entertainment such as cartoons and video games and for other purposes such as digital photography. Images are therefore becoming more critical in communication than other media. References Hoffmann, T 2012, The Art of Black and White Photography. Techniques for Creating Images, O’Really. Kahle, L & Kim C 2006, Creating Images and the Psychology of Marketing Communication, Routledge. Kojima, H 1996, Digital Image Creation: Insights into the New Photography, Routledge. Lester, P M 2006, Visual Communication with Infotrac: Images with Messages, Cengage Brain. Mansell, R 2002, Inside the Communication Revolution: Evolving Patterns of Social and Technical Interaction, Oxford University Press. Soares, O D 1997, Innovation and Technology: Strategies and Policies, Springer. Bibliography Crews, A 2012, Communicating Through Photography, University of Colorado, Viewed 17 January 2013, http://www.colorado.edu/communication/meta-discourses/Papers/App_Papers/Crews.html Huck, O, Fales, C & Rahman, Z 1997, Visual Communication: An Information Theory Approach, Springer. Hoffmann, A 2012, The Art of Black and White Photography. Techniques for Creating Images, O’Really. Jamieson, GH 2007, Visual Communication: More than meets the eye, Intellect Books. Kahle, R L & Chunhyon, K 2006, Creating Images and the Psychology of Marketing Communication, Routledge. Kojima, H 1996, Digital Image Creation: Insights into the New Photography, Routledge. Lester, P M 2006, Visual Communication with Infotrac: Images with Messages, Cengage Brain. Mansell, R 2002, Inside the Communication Revolution: Evolving Patterns of Social and Technical Interaction, Oxford University Press. Parkinson, M 2012, The Power of Visual Communication, Mike Parkinson’s viewed 17 January 2013, http://www.billiondollargraphics.com/infographics.html Soares, D O1997, Innovation and Technology: Strategies and Policies, Springer. Read More

66) says that, ‘With growing technology, even the black and white images created through photography started fading. More advanced cameras that could produce colored pictures and photographs started appearing. The quality of their images was much better than the ones preceding them. Images in the early days of my lifetime were simpler than now and they were used to communicate simpler ideas than what we can see today.’ Although they were popular for communication, their use was not as widespread as is seen today.

There were fewer images being used than these days. In most of the cases, artists were known to use them to convey various ideas about the society, politics, religion, and general life. The use of images for communication is all over today. People can see images in electronic media such as televisions and web pages, retail displays and road signs (Lester 2006, p. 123). In the last few decades, media has so much advanced in technology that it has become more reliant on images than before. Images play a major role in communication and the creation of a visual identity.

People have discovered that images can better be used in presentations and education purposes to communicate better than if they used words. Image use in communication is therefore taking a bigger role as technology advances. People make presentations using computer software such as Microsoft power point to be displayed on walls and other surfaces. This is modern discovery that has taken root during my lifetime. A few years ago, such creation of images for education purposes was limited to drawing and painting.

Apart from education, the use of images in entertainment is also advanced. Through my lifetime I have seen technology growing to enable people to create video games and cartoon series for purposes of entertaining children. These things never existed when I was young but recently, the entertainment industry started creating images in the form of cartoons, video games, movies and other forms meant for entertainment. This new use of images was only made possible through technological advancement.

‘In front of a computer monitor, children can play games involving images of people, trees, cars, motorbikes among others all of which are created using digital technology. In this paper, I would like to single out specific types of image use for discussion. These image uses include advertising and photography for various purposes’ (Mansell 2002, 90). Advertising ‘One area that has been growing tremendously in the use of images is advertising. Advertising has made use of images for many years.

However, in my lifetime, I have seen it change from simpler forms to more advanced and quality images used in advertising various products’ (Kahle & Kim 2006, p. 66). In the 1980s, I observed images being used in advertising media such as the print media and television. Advertising dependent very much on painted and printed images. With the passing of time, advertising has been affected by changing technology to become a sophisticated affair. Through the 1980s and 90s, various companies started using technology to create images on TV that could suit their brands.

Such images were taken by video machines and recorded on tape to be played on television. People stopped relying on still and static images and instead invented the creation of moving, talking images that can even perform some tasks to illustrate a point. This is the height of advertising on television. Video images have been growing in sophistication from simple to more complex ones. Lester (2006, p. 111) says that, ‘today one can watch video images on television screens displaying very complex actions and moves created only through technology.

A lot of advertisements today rely on computer software to manipulate images and videos to create moves and actions that are thrilling to the eye.’ Figure 2; A modern oil advert Advanced technology such as the internet, tablets and computers has been witnessed in my lifetime.

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