Exploring Documents of Media Realities

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs“ is how photographer Ansel Adams described the motive behind his greatest passion.

Alas Brand Communication experts cannot afford such luxury. Photos may support, complement or intensify their messages, but in the end both words and visuals have to be clear so they can be understood by consumers and be relevant to their lives.

Recognizing the important role photos play in brand communication, our 2nd semester International Brand Communication students set out to visit the World Press Photo 2017 exhibition presented at Hamburg’s famous publishing house Gruner & Jahr. Not for leisure, but as part of the module Semiotics & Visual Aesthetics,  supervised by Mr Michael Kress.

The task: To conduct iconographical and iconological research on press photos as documents of media realities.

For obvious reasons, the results cannot be presented here, but rest assured they will be insightful and the associated learning process invaluable for becoming well-rounded brand communication experts.