Rationale - Icon

Idea

In the US, a study was published in 2003 investigating the pediatric foreign body ingestion of safety pins in children over the previous 16 years. The study concluded that the ingestion of safety pins by children is, in fact, common, as it revealed 49 witnessed cases in total. This poster aims to visually communicate the frequency of safety pins being ingested through the use of X-Ray imagery and collage.

Semiotics

The image does not fit into Pierce's definition of an icon due to the fact that it directly shows the object, not something in connection to it. According to Pierce, if we come to intemperate a sign as standing for its object in virtue of some shared quality, then the sign is an icon. Here, however, the object is shown in its entirety - meaning that the final image is not an icon. Perhaps, in this instance, if the image showed only an X-Ray then it would fit into Pierce's icon category.

Visual Communication / Design Principles

The final image is a collage made up from layered imagery that visually communicates an X-Ray to portray the foreign body ingestion study. There were three layers in total - first, the X-Ray. The study revealed that most safety pins were found in the stomach so this is the type of X-Ray that was used to stay true to the research as possible. Second, a college was built up out of existing photographs to make up the 'organs' - this is the loose shapes consisting of curved and harsh lines, adding depth and contrast to the image. Finally, the third layer displays the abstracted safety pins - twisted and warped to further the idea of abnormality and pain. The high contrast and grain effect applied to the final image all help to visually communicate the X-Ray theme and push forward the idea of a harsh, uncomfortable feeling.

Links to Research

The final image is somewhat simple in a way - but does everything that it needs to do in order to convey the research. Everything from the process to the imagery has been thought about in terms of the study so that the final image can fully visually communicate it.