ABSTRACT
Technology has afforded publishers’ greater access to extending their reach to audiences across geographic borders, and with it all the associated complexities of language and visual representation. Images move easily across cultural borders, are recontextualized, and are picked up by the mainstream press to find new meaning as another form of propaganda. Whilst Peter Wignell et al. present useful insights into image-centricity and image tracking, the study offered by design researchers A. Scheuermann and A. Beifuss suggests a more detailed visual analysis of the typographic design and layout of Dabiq. The design of Dabiq and Rumiyah becomes an ‘encounter’ between publisher, designer, and reader, thereby establishing connections for the reader as an active participant in the process of meaning making. The design-led process not only precipitated effective visualizations, but also made “aspects visible that were lost or not visible in the statistical evaluations”.
