OUGD401: Visual Literacy - Lecture 1

We had a seminar to discuss and compare a set of images, both that are many years apart. Each of the images that are being compared are informative posters that have a deeper meaning to them which isn't at first apparent. With further exploration into the posters, not only do you get a grasp of the full meaning behind it but you also get a good idea of how different everything works within each of those time periods. Both of the posters use a mixture of illustration and type to convey their message across to the audience.

The first image is a poster for 'The Uncle Sam Range' and can be seen as a very American themed poster simply by spending only a matter of seconds examining the poster. It comes across as patriotic, which is clearly down to the fact that the American flag is, quite literally, plastered across the entire room within the poster. It appears as though those who're sat around the table are wealthy, this is down to the way they're dressed but also that they have several people who are doing all the cooking for them. The globe figure holding the list suggests that global trade is involved in some way with The Uncle Sam Range. Within the poster the man appears to be presenting the oven to the globe, showing off how it works and how functional it is. This in turn suggests that 'The Uncle Sam Range' is a range of high class, high quality ovens that are made in America, more specifically New York. 

For the second two images it can be said that they're a form of propaganda that is aimed at white people. Within the first image it appears as though everyone in it is unhappy and angry with the way the current transportation methods work. This could be down to the fact that they are in themselves the transportation method since both women and children are also being used as mules in a way to transport goods back and forth.

But within the second image, it shows a 'New Style' of transportation in which no children or women are this time involved with having to move heavy loads of goods. Instead the supposedly more adequate men are made to do all of the heavy lifting and moving around of the items. The white man within the poster is physically above the rest of the working black men to show superiority and emphasise power over everyone else. This also shows how he is in control of the situation, as if he's improving the country through these methods of transport. These posters appear more genuine than 'The Uncle Sam Range' poster, simply because of how it doesn't appear to be set up.