"No Place Like Home" as applied to the three visual components of design

The "No Place Like Home" shoes are a clever design that embodies the whole anatomy of a visual message via the three visual components: representation, abstract and symbol.

Representation

These shoes are unique in that they are directly influenced, in aesthetic and function, to the shoes of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.  Dominic Wilcox uses The Wizard of Oz as the basis for his design, which is appropriately titled, "No Place Like Home" as the shoes have a built-in GPS that directs the user home upon clicking the heels together. They are a Representational design in that they are a familiar image of shoes, but with the unfamiliar twist of implemented GPS tracking technology. The traditional leather shell and laces of the shoes are representational of our most popular walking utensil: shoes. The Representational aspect of the design also relates to the abstract and symbolic components of a visual image. Wilcox abstracts both the common function of shoes and of the common use of GPS mapping. He also strategically uses the color red in the laces and tongue of the shoes to symbolically represent Dorothy's magic shoes.

Abstract

In his "No Place Like Home" design, Wilcox abstracts the common shoe into a reflection of Dorothy's famous red, sparkly shoes in The Wizard of Oz. The shoes convert Dorothy's fictional, whimsical shoes into a semi-physical reality via abstraction. The LED lights bulleted into the leather heel of the shoe are accompanied by GPS technology to guide the user. The line of lights on the left shoe is used for accuracy of direction while the circle of lights on the right shoe works as a compass. Normally, GPS mapping is used in a device such as a smart phone or a piece of technology for vehicles, and they typically function with a screen containing an actual map with audio and/or visual text to guide the user to their desired location. The shoe-meets-mapping-technology is a novel approach to directing the user with guidance lights versus voice or written commands. Before leaving home, the user simply plugs the shoes into their computer using a usb cable and uploads whatever address they want to be directed to. The "Dorothy" shoes are visually representative of shoes and of GPS technology, yet when combined and used nontraditionally, these popular items become abstracted. Symbolically, the story behind the wild design is summed up with one iconic line in American film: "There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home."

Symbol

Aesthetically, the red details of the shoe and its overall function and intent are symbolic of Dorothy's magical heels. As discussed earlier, the shoes simply guide the user home using GPS technology embedded in the soles. When Dorothy of The Wizard of Oz figures out her way home by simply tapping her sparkling heels together and saying, "There's no place like home" three times, she is immediately teleported back to Kansas. The film is an internationally successful classic, and her red, sparkling shoes are a symbol of returning home. Dominic Wilcox uses the iconic movie symbol to influence and more so, explain his design. Representationally, the visual and symbolic element of the are contained in the detail of red laces and interior. However, unlike Dorothy's shoes, they are mainly grey leather and of course, operate with satellite GPS technology, not magic.

Source: http://dominicwilcox.com/portfolio/gpsshoe 

Representation, Abstract, and Symbol

The scientific illustration above serves as a perfect example of a Representational image as it is an image based upon an actual fish-- the aesthetic and characteristics of the fish are not manipulated in any way. More importantly, the artist made sure to accurately depict the shape of the fins and color of the scales. This allows the viewer to recognize that the details make it a pigfish. If the viewer happens to have any experience with pigfish, then the image will link to memories of seeing or even fishing this particular species. For most people, however, the image will be recognized as a general fish because it is a flat, finned and scaled creature that clearly thrives in water. These visual details are imperative because they allow the viewer to quickly determine what the illustration is based upon.

"Bat" by Bryant Devlin Malloy does not look like much of a bat at all. Despite its third eye, vivid colors and monster-like teeth and horns, the piece mirrors the image of a bat in that it has long ears, pebble eyes and a round head like most other bats. However, the basis of the creature is a bat, and has been creatively driven so far from that it seems to be merely a suggestion. Malloy's image is considered abstract because he alters and unrealistically exaggerates features of an actual bat. The circular pools of red, purple and golden pattern that work from the center of the bat's face, and the long, blue-ribbed tongue that drops past its head are not any feature that a bat in our reality has. Additionally, the third eye placed decoratively on its forehead and the larvae-like details placed all around the eyes and nose are abstract features. Possibly, a viewer who did not know the title of the piece could guess that out of any animal, it is a bat; the ears are perhaps the only feature that strongly indicates that.

This swooping black-line image is a symbol, and it represents the concept of infinity. The infinity symbol is universal via mathematics. In equations and graphs, the symbol may be used to represent "potential infinity." It is able to denote something that is difficult to explain with words, and as a universal symbol, it surpasses language as it is the same everywhere. Mathematicians in any nation, among any culture around the globe are able to use and understand mathematic codes. These codes are represented simplistically with black lines being that they serve to communicate shared knowledge and are written in problem-solving quite frequently. The infinity symbol is among a wide array of simple and universal mathematical symbols.