top of page
Writer's pictureJanette Champion

Visual Culture - Week 5 Post - Visual Language: Codes

Updated: May 31, 2023


Fig.1 Country Life Poster


Print adverts always consist of codes, there are different types of codes,visual or symbolic codes, technical codes, language codes. Visual codes like colour, location, objects and the main subject.In this poster, the key visual or symbolic codes in the frame is the woman standing in the field, she is represented by non-verbal communication because her back is turned to us which means there is no communication with the lady, to me she just seems very excited due to her shoes being tossed in the air and her arms up there too. Her red jacket balances with the colour of the sky and the field she is in. There is recognisable stereotype in this advert, known as Theresa May, she was used to show her freedom from stepping down as a prime minister in 2019 . There is a distinctive colour palette used here, there is a use of primary colours which are yellow, red and blue. These colours have been used for us to understand the fact that the colours all have meanings, for example red here connotes passion, how passionate the woman is about helping country life to gain more customers, yellow connotes happiness, which is an emotion that is visible to all of us by how the woman is throwing her hands in the air.

Blue connotes calm vibes, which is shown by how the woman is in a field which is usually calm and airy.


The technical codes in this poster consist of the camera angle which is eye-level view, the photograph was taken in a straight line to capture all the features. The layout and design of the advert have some formal elements such as lines, forms , texture and colour. The texture in this advert is portrayed by the wheat growing in the field and the clouds in the sky. The lines are portrayed by the trees in the background above the feild and the butter container floating on the corps on the field. The fonts used in this advert is Serif, it makes the message clear for us to read. I suppose the clouds in the sky show, the butter is fresh and light and easily spreadable.


The Language in this advert is clear, it speaks to people directly because the message is written in bold to enable everyone to read well. The mode of address is informal, this is because of the product that is being advertised, butter does not need to have a formal brief.



Image List:

Adams, J. (2019). Country Life bids farewell to Theresa May with field of wheat advert. [Billboard/Poster] Retrieved from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7276729/Country-Life-butter-bids-farewell-Theresa-field-wheat-advert.html?ito=link_share_article-image-share#i-e72abf25882fa4c0. [Accessed 17 February 2023].


Reference List:

Maynard (2019).10 of the most memorable butter adverts throughout the ages. [online] The Grocer. Available at: https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/the-dairymen/10-of-the-most-memorable-butter-adverts-throughout-the-ages/596856.article. [Assessed 17 February 2023]



23 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page