COLLECTION NAME:
Graduate Thesis Collection
Record
Title:
Manufacturers of Meaning: The Role in Shaping Perception and Identity Through The use of Storytelling in Graphic Design
Creator:
Bronson, Jessica A.
Subject:
Thesis (M.F.A.) -- Graphic Design
Subject:
Savannah College of Art and Design -- Department of Graphic Design
Rights:
Copyright is retained by the authors or artists of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Abstract:
Human culture is founded on storytelling—we crave it, use it to navigate life and often model
our lives on it. Narrative is a powerful cohering force in connecting disparate people by
transcending cultural boundaries, allowing people to put the society’s interests above the
individuals. Narrative not only has the ability to shape beliefs and values, it is ultimately a tool
for survival. Because of the way humans connect to them, stories behave as an apparatus for
navigating and understanding life’s complexities and problems. Though methods of telling
stories have evolved throughout the ages—from cave paintings to religious texts to Shakespeare
and even to Steve Jobs—the human brain implicitly uses storytelling as a tool to understand the
world. By examining storytelling’s anatomy, influence and application, it is possible to gain an
understanding of how graphic designers utilize narrative to instill meaning. This thesis explores
Graphic Designer as storyteller and the subsequent effects on the protagonists who assimilate
these stories. As storytellers, graphic designers have the ability to influence self-perception and
identity by recognizing narrative as a pervasive force within human culture and the subsequent
dependency humans have on narrative as a tool for subsistence.
our lives on it. Narrative is a powerful cohering force in connecting disparate people by
transcending cultural boundaries, allowing people to put the society’s interests above the
individuals. Narrative not only has the ability to shape beliefs and values, it is ultimately a tool
for survival. Because of the way humans connect to them, stories behave as an apparatus for
navigating and understanding life’s complexities and problems. Though methods of telling
stories have evolved throughout the ages—from cave paintings to religious texts to Shakespeare
and even to Steve Jobs—the human brain implicitly uses storytelling as a tool to understand the
world. By examining storytelling’s anatomy, influence and application, it is possible to gain an
understanding of how graphic designers utilize narrative to instill meaning. This thesis explores
Graphic Designer as storyteller and the subsequent effects on the protagonists who assimilate
these stories. As storytellers, graphic designers have the ability to influence self-perception and
identity by recognizing narrative as a pervasive force within human culture and the subsequent
dependency humans have on narrative as a tool for subsistence.
Publisher:
Savannah, Georgia : Savannah College of Art and Design
Date:
2013-05
Format:
PDF : 57 p. : ill