Pierce Semi tonics and signs

iconic sign: a sign that looks like its object

The social media icons are recognizable

Indexical sign: a sign that has a link to its object

The tree located in the centre is a representation of how many branches of social media there are.

Symbolic sign: a sign that has an arbitrary or random link to its object

Statement of intent:

For my summer task my intention was to give an insight on the life of an aspiring nurse. I got in contact with one of the nurses from the General Hospital; over the phone I gave Crystal questions varying from ‘Where did she study’, to ‘What she finds difficult about working in her environment’.

Media Language:

For my summer task I wanted its presentation to be simple and noticeable; I made the headline a text size of 42, and the colour theme I focused on was mainly red. I also made the text justified, and highlighted dialogue to make it stand out to a reader.

Representation/content:

I wanted to represent a nurse almost as a soldier; risking their lives for the betterment of others, “because it’s their line of duty”. It’s common that nurses are seen as just assistants to patients and doctors, but I wanted to challenge the typical stereotype of nurses being soft and caring, so I radicalized that common view point by comparing them to soldiers; who are known for giving their own lives for the betterment of their country and their people; which is picture that isn’t commonly associated with nurses.

What kind of company would make your product? What kind of audience would consume it?

I see the ‘Nursing times’ as being one of the best fits for my article. The ‘Nurses times’ is accessible to all, and is commonly viewed by nurses in the UK. Alternatively there are various nursing blogs that publish articles and news for nurses.

What would you do differently? What did you do well?

In terms of my graphic design; I would change the colour scheme to light blue, and blue; since the colour blue is associated with nurses attire. I would also add more graphics, such as background images, and a more modern article style. I aimed my article to be more fitted for newspapers, but after looking through more nurse blogs I noticed that the majority of articles were in a more modern format style. I’d say that I manged to succeed in representing a nurse in a new form.