Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud Freudian

Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud

Freudian analysis and graphic design

Graphic design is an impressionistic medium, often dealing with individual's preconscious, rather than conscious desires. For example, the bright, red famous Target logo does not have a specific conscious meaning that defines inexpensive shopping in a literal manner. But on a preconscious level, Target's arresting brightness suggests a hip, edgy, and forceful style that is consistent with the store's ethos. Preconscious desires, unlike subconscious desires, are available to the individual for recollection and use, but are not immediately dwelling the subject's mind. The Target logo activates a childish preconscious delight in bright colors and the association with a conscious, articulated view of a target meaning something is 'right on target,' or 'right on the money.' Some product logos may try to go even deeper in their graphic construction, touching upon a subconscious desire, such as using the slender 'K' to sell Special K, a diet cereal -- even though the consumer might not explicitly want to articulate to him or herself: "if I buy this cereal, perhaps I can look like this leggy fashion model," that may be the subconscious thought processes that are activated by the 'K' even though logically a slender K. has little to do with looking lithe and beautiful.

Graphic design often plays upon the id, or the primal feelings of desire -- the mouthwatering golden M. Of the golden arches that suggest the pure pleasure of eating McDonald's French Fries for wish fulfillment, for example. The ego is the force that enacts the steps that get the id's desire, like driving through a McDonald's, an action that is also encouraged subconsciously by the welcoming openness of the arches. However, in some cases, graphic design does evoke a more super-ego type of control, such as the warning red of a stop sign that is ingrained in an individual's consciousness as something that must be obeyed -- because it is red, forcefully shaped, and above all an accepted cultural image. But to be truly effective as an advertisement, the id is usually 'teased' to elicit pleasure or fear on the part of the observer. For example, the bubbly, pleasurable soft curves of the name Barbie, caters to the delight of a young girl for femininity and play, while the mothers who buy Barbie for their children may do so out of the super-ego sense that they are depriving their child of a normal, feminine girlhood if they do not buy the doll.