It's useful for designers to have a grasp of how a message is communicated effectively and the theory behind it. It's not a straight forward thing and is effected by many scientific and social attributes.
Level
1 Technical Accuracy
Systems of encoding and decoding
Compatibility of systems/need for specialist
equipment or knowledge
Level
2 Semantic Precision of language
How much of the message can be lost without
meaning being lost?
What language to use?
Level
3 Effectiveness Does the message affect behaviour the way we want it to?
What can be done if the required effect fails
to happen?
The way a message communicates can be determined by the persons class, employment or marital status, even their level of education. Gender, age and country of origin can also play a role.
For example someone in Japan may prefer to get their information via the radio then a newspaper due to his social surroundings etc.
Countries with lower development can be affected by western programming and in turn become more influenced by capitalism and consumerism.
Semiotics are used to understand this.
We are guided through life by combinations of shapes which we recognize as signs. Even language when written is only a combination of shapes on a page that we can decipher through repeated exposure.
Images also hold meanings and communicate messages we may not be aware of. For instance a smiling person indicates happiness. A crown would make us think of tradition and royalty, but then again maybe war and knights to another with different social factors.
The context of a picture such as a black and white faded image from the victorian era is vital to giving an image meaning. Without an awareness of it's setting then it becomes just face value and overall holds less value to the viewer.
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