This snapshot of a product catalogue page from Substance Skateboards is representational because it provides a functional substitution for potential consumers' direct experience of the products sold through faithful visual reproductions of the actual products. Unlike symbols, these images do not need to be "decoded" in order for the viewer to comprehend their meanings. The designer has used digital imaging techniques to accurately reproduce both the sizes and shapes of the products as well as the logo designs imprinted on their surfaces. These images can be considered "highly representational" because the use of distinguishing markings ensures that these depict not simply any skateboards or any T-shirts but Substance Skateboards boards and shirts. The viewer, then, chooses from among these images and selects one to order. This is based on the assumption that if a customer places an order for a product which the image is said to depict, he or she will then receive an accurate, actual counterpart of the virtual image presented.
Symbolic: Recycling symbol
The universal recycling symbol is symbolic because it consistently denotes a concrete meaning beyond what it directly represents. It refers to a specific idea, namely that of recycling used products for reuse. In this case, the symbol is totally non-representational in that it doesn't present an image of a person recycling something, and the arrows themselves are not directly associated with recycling through any mode other than community consensus (in the same way that words acquire meaning). Like other commonly-used symbols, it has been highly simplified for ease of use. Most people are familiar with the significance of the recycling symbol through cultural exposure. Since the symbol was highly publicized following its initial design (in connection with the first Earth Day), and has since been widely used in association with the promotion of recycling practices, its meaning is so well known that almost everyone at least knows someone who can explain it.
Abstract: Eames "Hang it All"
The Eames "Hang it All" exemplifies pure abstraction in design because it makes use of fundamental visual elements which are totally divorced from the idea of representation. It is composed simply of colored spheres attached to a linear metal frame, neither of which, as visual elements, can be said to represent or denote a specific idea. Although the viewer might draw a connection between the piece and something that exists in reality, any connections made are entirely subjective and cannot be agreed upon by popular consensus. If the piece was originally inspired by any concrete object or idea, it has been so abstracted that this original meaning has been lost. As a consequence, the only thing communicated to the viewer/user is functionality and the unity of aesthetically sound composition. The aesthetic pleasure derived by the viewer is based not on conceptual connections, but purely upon the visual harmony of color and form.
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