language as a model for graphic design - synecdoche

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Synecdoche (sin-eck´-duh-kee) is the use of a part to represent the whole, or vice versa. Examples:
  • all hands on deck for sailors
  • counting heads for counting cattle or people
  • lend me your ears for give me your attention
  • the law for police officers
  • America beat Russia for the American and Russian sports teams

In this example, synecdoche achieves a powerful effect in a booklet explaining the movement problems of handicapped people. A detail of the hands of a person teaching a handicapped person to open a jar represent two people — helper and hadicapped — and their relationship.

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