Commuication Theory

The Session;
The Shannon-Weaver mathematical model,1949

• Mathematical model of the communication process
• Developed under the employment of American industry
• To maximize communication efficiency
• Effectiveness of communication
• This theory was used for TV, it has now been extended for other uses of communication
• It's simplistic, that's why its very effective.

There are five distinct stages to the Shannon Weaver model, and it is important to understand how they are related to each other. It was originally designed for TV, but it has now applied to many different styles and methods of communication.

We then tried to apply the method to Graphic Design in terms of communication;
Research - Design - Applying to medium - Where will it be - Impact made on target audience

What problems could occur at each stage of the five stages that would stop communication?
Stage 1;

• Wrong information
• Bad research
• Using bad/wrong sources
• Not enough research
• Not enough info from the client

Stage 2;

• Bad design
• Not considering the audience
• Working to the wrong scale/format
• Bad concept
• Poorly interpreted the client/information given
• Time scale
• Cost/Budget
• Tone of voice

Stage 3;

• Badly printed
• Wrong stock
• Wrong scale/format
• Bad quality
• Wrong location

Stage 4;

• Could cause offense
• Wrong medium used for a particular audience
• Misinterpreted
• Wrong language used
• Tone of voice

Stage 5;

• Lack of feedback
• Very linear diagram
• Lack of care in the subject

What to do to prevent the breakdown of communication?
Stage 1;

• Question the brief/client
• Research more
• Be an expert on your topic

Stage 2;

• Thorough research
• Practice
• Experimenting with different designs
• Doing mock ups
• Requesting feedback

Stage 3;

• Give yourself enough time
• Planning
• Consider limitations before designing, so your prepared for faults

Stage 4;

• Do more research
• Speaking the audiences language

Stage 5;

• Feedback
• Learn from your mistakes

Noise;
Stage 1;

• Noise from the money men
• Distractions from the client
• Ethics of the company/client

Stage 2;

• Focus on the client - not personal style
• Interfering clients
• Personal life destractions

Stage 3;

• Designs getting weathered (billboards and posters getting wet and torn)
• Limitations of the media - technical faults

Stage 4;

• Prejudice of opinion
• People having different visual language (not understanding)
• Colour blind or deaf
• Where it is - too cluttered - distractions

Stage 5;

• Subcultural opinion
• Popular opinion
• Prejudice opinion

Noise is anything unintended added to the signal between transmission and reception. It can be something to be embraced and can be aimed for, some visual communicators chose to be the noise source, and its not always a bad thing. Subversive noise can hijack an existing method of communication and making it your own. Noise is not always the problem can sometimes be the aim.

Catagories

Catagorising Shannon-Wevers problems;
Shannon-weaver categorised the problems into catagories, this is so that she could apply them to her theory to improve it, or be more organised to correct the problems.
Level A - Technical Problems
 - How accurately can the message be transmitted?
Level B - Semantic Problems
 - How precisely is the message conveyed?
Level C - Effectiveness problems
 - How effectively does the received meaning affect behaviour?

Catagorising our problems;
Level A;

• Broken equipment
• Faulty laptop
• Bad printer
• Inability to use software
• Bad skills
• Bad technique

Level B;

• Lack of research 
• Bad concept
• People not understanding
• Not considering audience before design
• Colour schemes
• Tone of voice
• Misinterpretation of message

Level C;

• Audience opinions
• Marketing issues
• Cost/Budget
• Medium in the wrong place 
• Audience ethics
• Misinterpretation of the message
• Lack of feedback

Redundancy vs Entropy
Both redundancy and entropy are about what communicating/communication is.

Redundancy; Maximum predictability
It is not going to prevent communication, generally really successful because the amount of information is low, therefore there isn't as much to take in, as the content is continual, readable and predictable .

Entropy; Maximum unpredictability
It is communication that changes into something completely different, low predictability, unconventional, high information, therefore it is open to many different interpretations, it is something that is questionable.