Gunther Kress

An okay intermediate-level manual of the semiotics of visuals and visual design. Imperfect, and full of a lot of what most people would call "theory gibberish." The most common punctuation is not a period or question, but quotes. A misuse of quotes, actually, in the attempt create categories. There's a lot to be said about examining images and determining whether they have an argument or whether their arguments are successful. There's value in determining whether visuals have prejudice in favor of dominant classes/castes. What strikes me about Kress and van Leeuwan is that they have useful ideas, but are borderline on clarity. For a student, it's somewhat appropriate. For someone outside academia or without any familiarity in semiotics, it might be puzzling and a snoozefest. Then again, it's a snoozefest for those with a working understanding of semiotics, too.… (mer)