
“A picture is worth a thousand words” is what many say when describing different images. There are pictures that highlight despair, happiness, excitement, anger, the many emotions that we as humans experience throughout our lifetimes. These images cannot just display these emotions on their own, though. The emotions people associate with certain images are created through different elements such as line, color, contrast, spacing, scale, and texture. In this unit, we have had to interpret the meaning of various images and comics based on these elements, and how they work together to create a specific meaning. Every Minute a Species Dies Out is a great example of an image where various elements work together to create meaning, which in this case is to create awareness of the depletion of the environment around us. I interpreted the meaning to be that if we don’t act soon on the effects on global warming on the world we live in, time will run out not just for us, but for organisms around us as well, and this meaning can be seen through the major elements I found working together in the piece such as color, spacing, scale, and contrast. If we have any intention on salvaging the life that we have left, we need to act fast. 

Color plays a large role in how I interpreted this image. The picture is mainly gray scale, including colors like black, washed out white, and gray. The fact that the majority is darker colors shows the dark and gloomy, depressing theme shown in this picture. Black is normally representative of death, and this image shows a seal dying, which is actually representing many animals across the world dying on a day to day basis. Another color in this image is red, although there isn’t much of it. Red is shown on the second hand on the clock, as well as beneath the seal where time is closing in and killing it. Red symbolizes warning, and in this case is warning against the effects of global warming that will eventually lead to the demise of many species currently in danger on Earth. I also noticed how the left half of the picture is very dark, while some of the right half is lit, almost like there is a light shining through from the other side. I think this is supposed to show that although the time where many species weren’t even in danger has passed, there is still a chance to save them, there is light at the end of the tunnel for some of these creatures as long as we take our part in trying to help them. 

Spacing is also an element that I found to play a role in how I interpreted this image. There are two instances in which I saw spacing contribute to the meaning. The first instance is where the seal is placed. The seal is placed between two hands on the clock that are seemingly closing in on it and killing it. This definitely contributes to the theme that time is running out, because it literally shows the hands closing in and therefore leading to the death of an animal that is starting to inch closer and closer to the brink of extinction. The second instance of spacing is between the marks in the background of the picture, which are a clear hint that it is representing a ticking clock. The marks and spacing are just as seen on an analog clock, and choosing this as a background for the piece really puts emphasis on the fact that we are running out of time, and fast. The clock does not stop ticking, and until we improve efforts to make the situation of global warming better, the ticking clock does not work in our environment’s favor. This puts into effect the clock-like theme presented that helps to make up the meaning of this picture, and show how time is running out for many animals, like the seal that is shown in this ad.

Scale is yet another element that I found to contribute to the meaning. The scale on this is pretty obvious, the seal is definitely the centerpiece of the image, larger than most of the other aspects shown, yet it is not the largest. The largest aspect in the picture is the hands of the clock, which are significantly larger than the seal itself. This choice emphasizes the fact that time is a major factor in this image, and is obviously something crucial to interpreting the meaning. Time is the main focus of the image, so it is no shock that the ticking hands of the clock are shown to be the largest aspect. 

Contrast is the fourth element I found to play a role in the interpretation of this image. The contrast shown is obvious, and can be seen through many aspects. One aspect is the contrast of the seal to the background of the clock. The seal is a dark gray/black color, while the clock is a washed out white. This contrast obviously makes the seal stand out more, emphasizing it to be an important aspect. The shadow of the seal is a contrast as well, seeing as it is also darker than the washed out background seen on the ticking clock. This shadow implies, once again, that time is of the essence, and that as time goes on (since the shadow is to the right of the seal, showing that the shadow comes after), only a shadow will remain. We will no longer have these animals on Earth, just what used to be of them. As I mentioned before, there is also significant contrast between the left and right sides of the picture. The left side where the seal is is very dark, helping to portray the theme of death and gloominess surrounding this heavy subject. However, on the right side, it seems as though light is coming through, showing that there is “light at the end of the tunnel”, that all hope is not yet lost. We still have a chance to make a difference before time really runs out and it’s too late to save the lives of precious animals that make this world a better place.

Overall, throughout this chapter I have learned a lot regarding the interpretation of images based on design elements, and I have found that there are a lot of different elements that can contribute to the meaning of just one simple image. Through the image I chose, Every Minute a Species Dies Out, I found that the purpose was to create and raise awareness about the continuing depletion of our environment and the animals that live in it. I supported this conclusion by using the design elements such as color, spacing, scale, and contrast, and realized how easy it was to come up with the meaning and back it up using these elements. The environment needs to be saved, and we’re the only ones that can help with that.
