Madeline Keller

Dr. Amy Mecklenburg-Faenger

Visual Rhetoric

10 February 2020

Visual Analysis Assignment

The concept of visually analyzing a picture is something we do every day without even

knowing it. Judging a picture based off of its content, how edited it is, the lighting, the focal

point in the image and the words associated with the image are all examples of small opinions

that we form when looking at any picture, whether it be an advertisement in the newspaper or

someone’s latest profile picture on Facebook.

A common way we do this internal analysis is by looking at the semiotics of these

images, which means looking at them through, “A type of qualitative analysis that understands

and analyzes communication as a social practice” (Faenger). Semiotics looks at the underlying

meanings and cultural connotations that are presented or given to different images and why they

are present.

The picture I chose for this assignment is a 2018 advertisement for a new launch by the

makeup brand Kat Von D. The brand owner Katherine Von Drachenberg, whose brand is self-

named, announced her new concealer launch by posting a photo on Instagram. This became a

trending story almost immediately but not for the reasons the brand had hoped. The photo

depicted a hand holding the new concealer in a cotton field. The controversial part, however, was

the person holding the product was African American (in a cotton field), and the caption/slogan

attached to the photo was, “Let Lock-It Concealer do all of the hard work for you”. To make
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matters worse the product that the model is holding is significantly lighter than the actual skin

tone of the model.

Diving into the semiotics of this image, firstly looking at the denotations or “what [the]

signs directly and literally say, what a word says or what an image actually shows” there are

many things within the picture and the caption that immediately stand out (Faenger). First off,

the focus of the image is on the concealer. The background is somewhat out of focus and is

slightly desaturated, causing the hand and the concealer to stand out. This implies to the audience

that the item of main importance in this image is the product itself. Focusing more closely on the

product, since it is an advertisement, of course, the brand's logo is facing the camera and has

been brightened so it stands out more, letting the consumers know who is producing this product.

The model's nails are painted however, they are painted a neutral color as to not take away from

the products spotlight. Shifting gears to the caption, it clearly states the name of the product

allowing consumers to know a little bit more about the launch, as well as giving them an insight

on what the product claims to do by saying it “does all the hard work for you” followed by a

strong arm emoji.

Moving on to the connotations of "what [the] signs might indirectly suggest to

viewers/readers" within this image (Faenger). The most obvious connotation that came to mind

almost immediately when looking at this image is the overt racism being presented. Starting off,

the location of shooting in a cotton field with an African American model is a blatant nod to

slavery in America. During the almost 100 year period of United States history when black

people were shipped from Africa to America and enslaved by white people, many were forced to

work through horrible conditions in cotton fields. This is a basic fact of American history that

most people learn in elementary school, so shooting an advertisement in this situation is tone-
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deaf to these racist historical facts. Making matters worse the caption of this picture talks about

the product “doing all the hard work for you”. This insinuates that just like these enslaved people

did all the work for their owners, this concealer will do all the work for you as a consumer.

Looking closer at the image, however, the concealer shade that the model is holding is a color

made for a white consumer, even further promoting this ideology of black people working for

white people, seeing as the model is African American and is holding the product up. Instead of

using a color more suited for the model, the brand chose a much lighter shade making the

product stand out, and the racist connotations stronger.

This ideology of racism in this advertisement connects to the large issue of racism within

the makeup community. This is a newer, but very valid argument that has come about from all

over the makeup community, regarding the lack of representation and options for African

Americans in the industry. This movement shot off in late 2016-early 2017 after the launch of

several African American owned makeup brands that did exceptionally well. These brands began

this conversation of inclusivity and many makeup brands looked at the movement as a way to

grow and listened to the situation. Seeing as this picture was posted in 2018, a time when this

movement was in full force and people were more aware of these issues, it truly shows how tone-

deaf and offensive this advertisement is. This picture and its connotations promote the racist

ideologies that thinking black people are less than white people is ok and that supporting this

brand supports this ideology.

Looking into the semiotics of this image specifically the ideologies depicted through

denotations and connotations, emphasizes the overt racism within this controversial makeup ad.

The blatant racist setting and casting for the advertisement are very easy to see at first glance, but
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by analyzing it further, many underlying racial connotations are discovered highlighting the

intentional racial undertones and tone-deaf mentality of this brand.

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References

“Lock-It.” Katvondbeauty, Instagram, 2018.

Mecklenburg-Faenger, Amy. “Semiotics: The Study of Signs.” PowerPoint file