In Marilyn Mitchell’s The Visual Representation of Time, many visual arrangements are explained in great detail. The piece discusses many time related connotations people have with certain arrangements, and how to use them to better convey our message clearly. One aspect of Mitchell’s piece that I appreciated was how her explanation of topics were clear and concise. There is an explanation and dissection of multiple compositional layouts, such as linear, diagonal, wavy, matrix, circular, and a boustrophedon timeline. It is discussed how each layout works in a space, and what connotations is had with each type.
This piece clearly explained to me ideas that I hadn’t previously known, or hadn’t given much thought to, and it was quite helpful in that regard. I appreciated the fact that the piece addresses the difference from a vertical layout to a horizontal layout, which is an aspect I’ve been unsure of. The diagrams were also concise and clear in visualizing how each worked on a page. One fact that I found interesting from this piece was that wavy layouts in a map-like fashion have a connotation of a personal journey, such as the highs and lows of a person’s lifetime.
