Best practice in the use of images to create impact on the audience
Organiser(s): Steve Allen, Graphics Archaeology Group (sallen [at] yorkat.co.uk)
The session aims to highlight the importance of graphics images to the successful outcome of a project. The intention is to showcase how the image production process is (or should be) integrated into the project design and execution. It will show how images are used in the initial recording process, how they are used to analyse the data gathered and how they can be used to interpret and explain that analysis. It will demonstrate how the impact of a project, whether on the general public or on fellow members of the profession often depends on the quality and power of the images used.
When images are used effectively, the impact can be out of all proportion to the time and effort invested in their production. Conversely, a poorly used image can obscure important information or indeed undervalue the significance of the project. In an environment in which images are so essential to publicity and to communication it is essential that their effective use is understood.
However it is not just the images which require effective use. Those who produce these images need to be recognised and their skills valued in order to encourage best performance and best professional practice. Deferring the involvement of the graphics staff until a late stage in the life of a project will adversely affect both the self-image of the practitioners and the outcome of the project itself. The level of skill, understanding and interpretative ability necessary to produce graphics to professional standards needs to be brought on board at the earliest possible stage. The session therefore also aims to show how integrating the graphics professionals into the project from the beginning can significantly enhance the outcome of the project and hence the impact on the archaeological or non-archaeological audience for our work.
