Hannah Maden

Everyday we experience our world through millions of images. Before we leave the house in the morning our eyes can easily be exposed to up to 200 images. Images of personal activities on social media, a friends relatives, pets, children, on vacation, in their home or at work. News articles and reports either on the television, on mobiles devices , advertisements on food packaging, on the Internet, in magazines and newspapers. Once we leave the house this exposure is indefinite. Billboards, digital displays, images on the sides of busses and taxis, posters in shop windows, cafés and restaurants, on the back of lavatory doors, on hand dryers and soap dispensers. Images are imbedded and etched into our minds without us even realising it. We have no control over what we see and therefore what we remember and know. We are living in a world where contemporary visual culture is now the most common culture of all. We are all associates of visual culture relying on visual images to understand the world's societies and we believe we are knowledgeable of our world because of what we see. Contemporary visual culture has sustained the rise and domination of capitalism through diverse cultural forms. It has molded the growth of economies and shaped our modern world aiding progression in cultural industries, design, production and distribution resulting in worldwide recognition. The alliance of digital technology and creative minds has seen advertising develop from information-based commercials to aesthetic-leading visual displays that accommodate any society, culture, gender, age and language. Promotion, marketing and publication of businesses and brands are imperative for successful recognition. Cristóbal Schmal, illustrator and graphic artist