Here are a selection of images that I have chosen for the prototype. They are a selection of images that I had already in my archive, which are images I took before starting university, and also some that were specifically taken for this project.

With choosing the images I wanted to construct a narrative. The images are all brightly lit and avoiding a dark and foreboding impression, they are all meant to be sunny and bright. The images also portray non threatening and pleasant subject matter, such as flowers or a sunset, or something that suggests a nice and unthreatening image of the world. Also all of the images have been processed in photoshop, they've all had some form of post production to enhance the sense of pleasantness and niceness of the image.

The reason for these images being used is to suggest a narrative that confirms a perspective of peace, harmony and ultimately a perfection. This in turn is to propose a perspective that is of perfection, a perspective of a world where everything is perfect and conforms to the ideals within the manifesto. It's almost like having a sense of the mythical place Arcadia, where everything is as perfect as it should be.

When it comes to producing the prototype the main challenge will be the relationship between the text and the image. It could well be the case that the connotation of the text will overpower the connotation of the photograph, unless they both have the same connotation. So, for instance, if I was to place a picture of a flower with text that had a connotation of compassion, then the image of the flower would support that definition because the flower can also be a symbol of compassion.

Also, the reason why text and images work well together is because both are using a dualistic language, they both use the system of denotation and connotation. This is why the definition of one can be combined with the other, even though they are two separate elements. They both rely on an object being denoted, that then promotes the connotation, but with the two items being together they can influence what is signified. This can lead to either a combination of a common belief, such as the word peace and a flower, or a conflict is highlight that makes one element more noticeable, such as the word peace and a hand grenade. With the combination of the word peace and a hand grenade it creates a conflict as those two signifiers lead to different connotations that create a conflict. This causes an ambiguity through a conflict of definitions and it's the conflict which then becomes prominent instead of the either the image or the text. A similar phenomenon happens when both the text and image support each other, and this then highlights the common thread. So the word peace and a picture of a flower support each other in harmony because they can both be defined with a common definition.

By using a common definition it is emphasising the common meaning. So to use a picture of a flower and the word peace will increase the definition of peace through the harmony of the common definition. with this being the case, the definition can end up being over emphasised and so becomes too prominent, it lacks any subtlety and becomes too forceful. When this happens an image and text combination can become too strong that the viewer then rebels and views the overall effect as being trite or cliched or predictable.

This system of denotation and connotation, or signified and signifier is basically semiotics, a theory of languages created by Saussure and then expanded on by Barthes. Of what is particularly interesting is the way that Barthes has expanded on the theory of semiotics in his mythologies book, where he suggests than the sign is highjacked by a grand narrative, which then influences the connotation. So, the grand narrative could be that peace is the opposite to aggression, aggression is a traditional masculine quality, so peace then becomes connected to feminine qualities and flowers are more feminine than masculine because of their delicacy, which then means the image of a flower can be connected to peace. This series of connotations is a different system to the flower connoting delicacy, which is non aggressive and delicate, so supports a peaceful connotation when linked with the word. The first example is a deconstructive theory instead of a constructive theory, it takes the sign apart instead of building on the denotation and the connotation, it makes signs work in a different way, a way that can be manipulated and controlled.

By being able to use a grand narrative, or a mythology, means that with the series of images I can influence the connotations to what I want them to mean. This can be achieved by triggering certain social and cultural influences in a way that will support and strengthen my own intention, which is to show that the conservative manifesto is unconnected with anything real and is in itself one huge myth.