Visual metaphor

A visual metaphor is a pictorial analogy. It illustrates a comparison between what is in the visual, including its connotations and denotations with another thing and its meanings figuratively.[1] For some visual metaphors the link between the images and what they are being compared to is the physical similarity while others it is the conceptual similarity.[2] There are similar interpretations of the visual metaphors but each person can comprehend them a bit differently.[3] There are different types which include: spatial and stylistic. They are also commonly used in advertising because of its ability to persuade.

The photo appears to be of a broken question mark birthday candle faced the other direction on a dark surface. This could be a visual metaphor for questioning life.

Types

Visual metaphors are a type of metaphor. There are two types: spatial metaphors and stylistic metaphors.[4] Spatial visual metaphors include where objects are located, their size, whether they are abstract or realistic, and how it is arranged in respect to other objects. Stylistic visual metaphors are more about how they look specifically. For example, its color, how detailed it is, or its size.[5]

Rhetorical uses

One reason visual metaphors are common in advertising is because they have the ability to persuade.[6] Visual metaphors can be used as a rhetorical device. When the audience sees a visual that they attribute positive or negative emotions with to the company's product or service they may make that connection and feel similarly about that product or service.[7]

Advertising uses

There are examples of visual metaphors in the advertising industry. The visuals presented in an ad may have scripts that say a specific thing, but the visuals have their own meaning besides what it would mean literally.[8] For example, say a company is selling a particular product, when they show images in a TV or poster advertisement that is not their product, they are saying in a way the product is like the image shown.[9]

References
  1. Kogan, Nathan; Connor, Kathleen; Gross, Augusta; Fava, Donald (1980). "Understanding Visual Metaphor: Developmental and Individual Differences". Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. 45 (1): 1. doi:10.2307/1165832.
  2. Kogan, Nathan; Connor, Kathleen; Gross, Augusta; Fava, Donald (1980). "Understanding Visual Metaphor: Developmental and Individual Differences". Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. 45 (1): 1. doi:10.2307/1165832.
  3. Jeong, Se‐Hoon (Feb 2008). "Visual Metaphor in Advertising: Is the Persuasive Effect Attributable to Visual Argumentation or Metaphorical Rhetoric?". Journal of Marketing Communications. 14 (1): 59–73. doi:10.1080/14697010701717488. ISSN 1352-7266.
  4. El Refaie, Elisabeth (2019-02-11). Visual Metaphor and Embodiment in Graphic Illness Narratives (1 ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oso/9780190678173.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-067817-3.
  5. El Refaie, Elisabeth (2019-02-11). Visual Metaphor and Embodiment in Graphic Illness Narratives (1 ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oso/9780190678173.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-067817-3.
  6. Jeong, Se‐Hoon (Feb 2008). "Visual Metaphor in Advertising: Is the Persuasive Effect Attributable to Visual Argumentation or Metaphorical Rhetoric?". Journal of Marketing Communications. 14 (1): 59–73. doi:10.1080/14697010701717488. ISSN 1352-7266.
  7. Jeong, Se‐Hoon (Feb 2008). "Visual Metaphor in Advertising: Is the Persuasive Effect Attributable to Visual Argumentation or Metaphorical Rhetoric?". Journal of Marketing Communications. 14 (1): 59–73. doi:10.1080/14697010701717488. ISSN 1352-7266.
  8. Forceville, Ch. (Charles) (1998). Pictorial metaphor in advertising. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-203-27230-7. OCLC 320325084.
  9. Forceville, Ch. (Charles) (1998). Pictorial metaphor in advertising. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-203-27230-7. OCLC 320325084.


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