moving toward a GLOBAL VISUAL LANGUAGE

The web is the first true global medium. Every web page online is available to any Internet-connected computer, anywhere in the world. Although content is often localized in a particular language, the language of the online motion graphics designer could grow to need no such translation. As designers in this new medium, we should be concerned with communicating beyond national boundaries and visualizing a global visual language, or G.V.L.

The web flows freely not only across borders, but cultures, as well. At hillmancurtis.com, about 25% of the e-mail received is from foreign countries . English is certainly not the first language of all those contacting us ”and in many cases, it's not used at all ”yet, the motion work that we are doing is reaching them, emotionally and meaningfully.

The challenge, then, for designers is to move toward a global visual language ”that is, a language comprised of simple symbology and motion. The symbology is currently and constantly being created. A few obvious examples are the letter "e" and the "@" symbol. But others are being created and recognized as well. In the field of graphic design, the rule of designing a good logo has always been that you should be able to draw that logo in the sand. The same holds true for the symbology that will constitute , along with motion, the G.V.L.

As the web grows, other delivery platforms, such as handhelds, eTV, smart phones, and more, are being introduced. Regardless of the platform, we, as designers, need to express our message, and our client's message, with a visual language that isn't reliant on your native tongue, but is a combination of symbology and motion.