Abstract
Iconographic and Iconological Analysis of the Governor's Logos of the Provinces in the Eastern Anatolia Region
Emblems and logos are faces of the organizations and institutions, and they are the most important visual tools of the trademark identity. This unit of design, which is the striking element of visual application and communication works, has features like informing people about the institution it represents as well as explaining its purpose, activity area, and specialties with the symbols it possesses. Likewise, the logos that represent cities are symbols that possess these features and play vital roles for the perception of cities. Although they are shaped within the creativity of the designer, the visual and representative features of the emblems and symbols should address the cultural specifications of the society to be understood correctly by the receiving community. It can only be possible by the interpretation of the work to analyze the visual message and the secret meanings of the works of art and the products of the design. One of the reference resources in the efforts of analyses—which are generally carried out by an iconographic approach—is Panofsky’s Iconographic Analysis. In the three-level iconography and iconology method of Panofsky, there are: 1) pre-iconological description, 2) iconographic analysis and 3) iconological approach level. In this study, the content of governorship logos of the 14 cities in the Eastern Anatolian Region is analyzed with the three-level “Iconographical and Iconological Critique of Art” method of Elwin Panofsky. The logos are analyzed for their symbols, forms, color, and the messages they convey. The facts of containing the features of the cities they represent, functionality, reflecting the image of the city, possessing the marks of geographical and historical features, and mythological stories. Their place in Turkish history is analyzed by interpreting the referential, connotational, and perceptional meanings and the message they intend to convey.
Keywords
Emblem, Logo, Iconography, Iconology, Visual Communication, Graphic Design