High speed train, great image. High speed internet… what exactly does that look like? Bits of data passing unseen through cables or via satellite is a challenge to represent visually. Just what does data in the act of transferring look like? How about an email transmitting around the world? What about “high bandwidth fiber optic infrastructure” or “broadband connectivity”? Explaining our increasingly tech-saturated world visually is a challenge because we never actually see the things that happening.

Okay, there are images of cables, plugs, and even fiber optics (and those are kinda pretty). But: 1. when we get tired of those …? And 2. Does the viewer identify and connect? It’s hard to be specific. I’ll admit, sometimes when I see these images I process it merely as “something techy.”

And by the way – did you know that blue is the unofficial color of tech? (Is it that fiber optic pulses really ARE blue?) 90% of stock images representing tech, data, or internet concepts are some shade of blue. At left is one example of a techy collage, in blue. And further down is a very, uh, clear example of what an online money transfer looks like.
Well, there is the good ol’ visual metaphor. (Blurred speeding train, anyone? Backlit spider web?) This works in some instances–they can really enrich the viewing experience and strengthen the message. It all depends on the project. And conceptual imagery comes with its own set of challenges. Again, will the viewer get it or is it too removed from the subject matter? Does it tie in with the copy? Do these images get tired too? (Padlocks=data security, for example.) Gotta keep brainstorming.

It may be as we move away from print and even static images in any media context, video can represent these ideas better. But until then, what’s a designer to do?

Tags: design, internet, Photography... A Thousand Words, stock photos