Left to Right: The Cultural Shift from Words to Pictures

by David Crow

The Picture Book takes readers on a journey through our increasingly visual culture--a journey that asks us to consider how technological change has influenced the way we think, the way we see, and the way we communicate. The trend in mass media communication is toward the visual, and even our written language is becoming more and more visually driven. Nontext elements in this book showcase the latest ideas in sending clear messages without words--messages that can be understood universally, by everyone who can see, regardless of the language they speak.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 11, 2006

Reviews

[Ursa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. It's a decent read--informative but doesn't excite me.

I've read this book 3 times with different focuses, however, I'd still like to stress that: Please take my review with a grain of salt. In 'From L to R', David Crow discusses the apparent shift of our culture from words to images and theorizes an explanation for this phenomena by examining modernism and postmodernism visual mode.

Crow covers a wide range of subjects, such as the distinction (or not) between 'text' and 'image', existing writing and pictogram systems, international writing systems, the correlation between technological advances with the development of typography and design methodology, the transition from print-based to web-based culture, our incessant need for visuals in the contemporary culture, etc. It's a lot to cover in the volume of the book (roughly 190 pages including pictures). Consequently, each article offers just enough information on the subject at hand to either intrigue the reader or leave them with a lot of questions.

IMO, I think Crow has nicely tied everything together and presented his study in a cohesive and organized fashion. It's engaging enough and easy to follow, even for people who aren't well-informed of the subjects at hand.

On the other hand, I surmise that it would be less fascinating for intensive visual culture readers. I don't claim to be well-read within this area, but the theories covered within the book don't particularly strike me as ground-breaking, they just help to reinforce my personal observations and prior knowledge of visual culture.

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read and beautifully designed. Who knew that the introduction of the Gutenberg press and increase in alphabetic literacy coincided with the increase in European witch hunts! The chapter on visual languages (Isotype and Blissymbolics)was particularly engaging. Even though this was published relatively recently (2006) the last chapter on mobile phones is already rather outdated. The curse of the times...