Introduction
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine

Chapter Three: Cultural Factors in Visual Communication

Just as powerfully as biology and psychology, our cultural setting and upbringing can form habits of viewing and knee-jerk associations that are nearly unalterable. Visual communicators need to be aware of some of these cultural constraints when constructing documents for various audiences-especially multi-national audiences.

Color

In the last chapter, we mentioned some traditional American associations with color: gold with prestige, black with mystery, etc. None of these, however, holds the status of a cultural taboo. In many cultures, certain colors are associated with extremely sacred or sensitive subjects, and misapplying these colors by linking them with frivolous concepts or using them to market consumer goods is highly offensive-a good bit more shocking than an American bride wearing a black wedding dress, for example (Figure 1):

Symbol

Symbols communicate a lot of information in a simple figure; that's why they're used. When you see the Hatchetman on someone's car, you know they listen to Insane Clown Posse, and you're probably tempted to draw some conclusions about their personality and lifestyle. Americans are unique among the world's inhabitants in terms of our willingness to broadcast our cultural affiliations from the rear bumper of our cars.

The most common types of symbols are those associated with religious or political groups, and these carry powerful messages that you may not understand completely if you are not a member of those groups. For example, several years ago McDonald's printed special paper bags for the World Cup with the flags of the competing nations. So doing, they deeply offended the Saudi Arabian competitors because their flag contains the name of God (Allah) and therefore must not be printed on anything disposable (Figure 2):

Figure 2: The Saudi flag

Another case of "mistaken identity" occurs occasionally with the symbol we now know as the Swastika and associate with Nazi Germany. Originally an ancient Aryan symbol adopted by the Nazis, it has been employed by several other cultures, as well. For example, it is a Hopi pictograph representing the four winds, and, in clockwise "rotation," the Japanese good-luck manji symbol. Imagine the marketing success, then, of this little "good-luck" toy that popped out of Christmas crackers in Canada four years ago (Figure 3):

Figure 3: From http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/12/30/swastika021230

This incident with the "swastika panda" points out another feature of symbols: while their meaning is not stable between cultures, it is also not stable over time. One example is the pink upside-down triangle. Originally used to identify homosexuals in Nazi concentration camps, the symbol was adopted by gay pride groups. The taking-over of the symbol was in itself a symbolic battle and victory over hate.

Another example of symbol reworking can be found in what is known as the "Jesus fish." This symbol began as a secret sign to identify the houses where Christians met during the rule of unsympathetic Roman emperors. It appeared roughly as in Figure 4. The fish symbol was chosen because the Greek word for fish, ichthys, made an acrostic, or mystical acronym, for Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter, or "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior." It looked something like this:

Figure 4: Reconstruction of early Christian Ichthys

Over time, the symbol evolved to the more familiar version that was first seen on the back of cars in the 1980s (Figure 5):

Figure 5: Ichthys commonly seen on rear bumper of cars driven by self-identifying Christians

But it wasn't long until the parodies started, of which there are almost too many to demonstrate here, but some can be seen below. These all use the fish to make some comment about Christianity, direct or indirect. The series with Darwin can be considered a symbolic "debate" between Creationists and Evolutionists, carried out silently by car bumpers (Figure 6). Others merely use the shape of the fish to signal devotion to a particular cause (Figure 7):

Figure 6: Parody "Darwin" ichthys and response

Figure 7: Other parody ichthys

Lessons in culture for visual communicators

The important thing to remember about the cultural face of visual documents is that it is powerful and unstable. For this reason, the best thing to do before employing a particular symbol or color is to carefully research the effect of that choice with the target audience. Obviously, if you are seeking to rally Christians to your cause, the Jesus fish is a good choice. Many businesspeople make this choice by including an ichthys on their cards or signs, counting on this symbol of identification to draw Christian customers, who believe they will receive fair treatment from a fellow believer. But, at the same time, this powerful symbol ostracizes customers who have issues with Christianity or Christians. So, each choice must be made thoughtfully and with the asking of many questions.

Exercise

Complete ONE of these two exercises:
1. Pick a strong color or a symbol (not a patently offensive one!) and show it to at least five friends, each from a different cultural upbringing (note: this does not mean they have to be from different countries). Record their reactions and associations in a 1-2 page memo.
2. Find a recent media event about a cultural misunderstanding due to an image or color (see the Washington Post's cartoon about "battle-hardened" veterans as an example, but don't use it). Write a brief summary of the misunderstanding and then comment on what you think went wrong and how the problem could have been avoided in a 1-2 page memo.

References

Morrison, T. and Conaway, W.A. (2006). Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in Sixty Countries. Adams and Company.
Morton, J. (2004). Global Color: Clues and Taboos. Colorcom.
Morton, J. (2004). A Guide to Color Symbolism. Colorcom

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