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 NEW
Navigating Comics
• Spring 2008
Most people
believe that the reading of comic pages moves along the same order
as text: the "z-path" of left-to-rigth and down.
However, what happens when layouts are more complicated than simple
grids? This paper reports the findings of a psychology experiment
which found that readers follow a far more complex process of page
layout navigation than the z-path. (30 pages, 1.6MB) Blog
Thread |
 Japanese
Visual Language
• Fall 2007
Over the past two decades, manga has exploded in readership
beyond Japan, and its style has captured the interest of young
artists all over. But, what exactly are the properties of this
"style" beyond the surface of big-eyes and "backward"
reading? This paper explores the structural properties of the
visual language underlying the "manga style,"
how it works, and how it differs from the visual languages in
comics from other parts of the world. (21 pages, 1.4MB)
Blog
Thread
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|  Time
Frames... Or Not
• Fall 2006
The
juxtaposition of two images often produces the illusory sense
of time passing in the visual language used in modern comic books.
While this linear sequence may seem to present a succession of
moments, the understanding of graphic narrative is hardly so simple.
This paper explores various assumptions about sequential images
to show why panels are not moments in time. (16
pages, 744K) Blog
Thread
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 Cross-Cultural
Space •
Fall 2005
Comparisons between Japanese manga and American
comics have often been made, yet only a few studies have actually
tried to quantify these differences. This study examines the
"spatial" qualities of panels in a variety of American
and Japanese books (17 pages, 952K) Blog
Thread
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 A
Visual Lexicon
• Summer 2005
The most recognized unit in visual language is the
"panel," though meaningful units do exist that are both
smaller and larger than panels. This is similar to spoken languages,
where lexical items can be both above or below the level of the
"word." This paper will address these varying levels of
representation in visual language to lead toward a general understanding
of what it means to have "visual lexical items." *An
expanded version of this essay appears in the Public
Journal of Semiotics (19 pages, 725K) |
 A
Force of Change
• Summer 2005
Various visual techniques can create meaning
across sequences of images in interesting and effective ways.
This piece examines metonymy, conceptual metaphors, and blending
across a three-panel pattern used in strips from an advertising
campaign by the Chicago Tribune newspaper. (13 pages,
755K)
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|  ¡Eye
 græfIk
Semiosis! • Summer
2005
Written as my Masters Thesis for the University
of Chicago, this piece challenges the common classifcation
between "sound" and "idea" based writing systems.
I argue that all graphic signs lie on a cognitive continuum,
the ramifications of which beg for reconsidering their analysis
as homogenous systems, the conception of their invention, the
nature of their relationship to other visual signs, and the universality
of the category of "writing" in the first place. (61
pages, 1.5MB) Cognitive Map
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 These
links
go to Comixpedia
site, not pdf. files:
Interactive
Comics? (February
2005) - Usually, when
people think about language, there is an aspect of face to
face intaction and exchange that springs to mind. This piece
addresses how social interactivity factors into visual language
structure and use
Art
vs. Language
(July 2004)
- This pieces discusses how the cultural conceptions
of "Art" and "Language" might affect the
structure and usage of visual language in American society.
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|  Interfaces
and Interactions • Fall 2003
Besides sequential images, "comics"
are often lauded for their union of text and image. This paper
examines the ways in which visual and written language connect
to each other, and how expression of meaning exchanges in such
multimodal communication. Notable topics include how 'speech'
and 'thought balloons' derive meaning, and the integration of
text and image into unified increments. (48 pages, 720K)
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 Visual
Syntactic Structures
• Spring 2003
Straightforwardly, communication made by a sequence
of images might be viewed in terms of linear "panel transitions."
However, while intuitive, a linear approach ultimately has many
problems with it.
Part
1 addresses
the problems found in a panel transition model (22 pages,
452K)
Part 2 proposes
an alternative method of analysis in the form of hierarchic
rules, and can be found in my book, Early
Writings on Visual Language
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 A
Time Frame of Mind • Spring
2002
Written as my undergraduate honors thesis at UC
Berkeley, this work has been published in the Spring 2003 edition
of the Berkeley
Undergraduate Journal. This somewhat esoteric piece offers a
look at the relationship of the Dharma Theory of ancient Buddhist
philosophy to the understanding of visual language temporal mapping.
(42 pages, 521KB) |
 Early
Writings on Visual Language
More writings are included in this 120 page
book which collects, refines, and expands on the earliest of
writings on visual language theory. It covers topics such as
the muddled definition of "comics" and its relation
to visual language, how sequences of images communicate, and
child visual language learning, plus a lot more. Want
one?
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