Application Of Metaphors And Metaphorical Pictures In Print Advertisements

Metaphor is a figure of speech, a learning method and a way of thinking as well. As a way of design thinking and learning, metaphor plays a key role in print advertisement. Being a media for transmitting information, print advertisements should not only convey information correctly, but also should bring people a new visual appreciation and emotional experience. Metaphor is one of the best channels for designers to realize the dream and imagination. Metaphor can not only expand expressive dimensions of creative ideas and bring many channels and methods for designing, but also realize the innovation of picture languages in advertisements. As a result, information of advertisement can be conveyed more easily and print advertisements be brought into a fuller play.Based on the analysis of nature, function and characteristics of metaphor, the paper examined the metaphors in print advertisement and the role of metaphor in creative thinking of advertisements. The paper consists of six parts. The first part introduces the background of metaphor study and research methods of the paper. The second part is the theoretical background of the study, mainly discussing nature and characteristics of metaphor and the relationship between metaphor and print advertisement design. The third part explored metaphor construction in print advertisement, metaphor culture and its effect on advertisement design. Based on the metaphor research achievements in rhetoric and cognitive sciences, the fourth part first analyzed nature and characteristics of metaphorical pictures in print advertisement and then explored the realization of metaphor from perspectives of interaction, comparison and substitution. The fifth part analyzed the innovation, value and emotional expression of metaphor in print advertisements. The sixth part is the conclusion of the paper. Metaphor not only in the graphic design is a design, but also our creative design thinking. A good metaphor design, not only need new visual effects, more importantly, innovative ideas, unique, and functional characteristics of metaphor metaphors method to advertising as a powerful and effective tool for creative thinking.In this paper, application of metaphors in print ads is only a tentative exploration and study; the more functional significance should be more analysis of design practice.