Mana Island Textual Analysis

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Beaches, fundamentally made of the same combination of components, vary greatly when perceiving the different types of visual communication elements that encompass its environment. For this field trip project, I decided to observe the elements found at Pelican Loop in Bodega Bay and Mana Island, Fiji. After examining these two beaches, there were three evident uses of visual communication that was incorporated into their surrounding areas starting from semiotic principles, visual cues, and various codes that make each beach unique to itself. By comparing these two locations, the ability to compare two extremes and how their uses of certain visual communication elements are different and similar. Mana Island, what many would consider a picture …show more content…

One of the first elements that I observed was the semiotic principles within the welcoming signs. Staring with Mana Island, tourists are greeted by a blue and white wooden sign that depicts an island with palm trees. This sigh, through the use of semiotic principle, can be described as an icon. An icon, a sign that most closely match what they represent, shows an island with palm trees in the middle of the ocean. Deconstructing this image, the small island to depict Mana Island as they are a small island in the middle of the ocean littered with coconut palm trees. By having an accurate representation of itself, the symbol used on the sign can be considered an icon. On the other hand, when looking at Bodega Bay’s sign, there is a clear difference in the use of the semiotic principles. The sign for Bodega Bay closely resembles the semiotic principle of a symbolic sign, a sign that has an arbitrary connection between the signifier and signified. In this sign, an older fisherman is in his bright yellow trench coat pointing towards the word Bodega Bay. In this case, it is a clear example of a symbolic sign as many do not associate an old fisherman with Bodega Bay. In order for an individual to understand this sign, without the words, there needs to be a connection between the person …show more content…

When examining Mana Island, the use of colors and their effects can be seen and felt just by walking down a street. With the combination of colors such as yellow (strength, hope, and sunshine), green (nature and energy), and blue (the sky, sea, or freedom), the houses and shops instilled a sense of relaxation, comfort, and freedom. By utilizing these colors, Mana Island tries to make it so that their occupants are always in a state of relaxation whether they are on the beach or just walking around the island. On the other hand, when looking at Pelican Loop, the houses leading down to the beach itself are brown. The color brown, representing the warmth, simplicity, and a feeling of coziness, not only signifies the houses around the beach but also represents the lifestyle that many of the residents wish to live. Being surrounded by a neutral color, such as brown, enables an individual to relax and take their mind away from any troubles that they have. When comparing the two, it is clear to see the differences as Mana Island is catering towards grabbing the attention of the tourist, whereas Pelican Loop is catering towards homeowners that do not need to be saturated with visual cues. Even though their colors are used for different purposes, their overall meaning of comfort and relaxation is still very

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