I found the Medium is the Message interesting. I had to read one of Marshall McLuhan’s academic articles about the idea of Medium is the Message for a Communication Theories class; therefore, I approached the reading and audio posts with a communication mindset. I definitely wish I hadn’t already had exposure to the theory before this assignment, because it would have been nice to experience these unorthodox ways of presentation for the first time with no background. I definitely worry that because I have previously seen this work in a Communication context, that I am missing the point for a design context.

I liked the use of audio for this topic. Honestly, the best way to explain how media changes messages/meaning is to present something in different ways to force the audience to see that. The audio allowed for symbolic meaning to come across through repetition and various voice types.

Like the audio, the reading was a great example of the topic in action. Although McLuhan often talks about invention, human progress, and light when discussing this topic, the subtleties of presentation in the reading still exemplify his ideas. The best example is the 60th page of the pdf where he uses different fonts and type faces to express emphasis in the paragraph. It really disrupted by flow while reading because I had to read each word in a different tone.

I really love McLuhan’s work on media because I think it is relevant to our lives as people and as artists. His research best explains how we view the world and how the way things are displayed or what is used to pass on information to a person influences how those things and information are received. Ideas like these are very important in art and design. If one understands the medium is the message, one can use that knowledge while making work.