Representational image:

The representational image of a house shows detail of the type one would find in a photograph. The artist recorded the visual details faithfully for the most realism possible. Detail of the construction and surrounding nature are recorded and depicted in the image. Shading and perspective are employed to create an illusion of three-dimensionality. The realism allows the view to know information about the type of house being depicted as well as the construction materials used. The house is depicted in the particular location, time, and place it was visually recorded in the drawing.

Abstract image:

The abstract image of a car depicted here is reduced from its original detailed form of a representational image to a simple outline of curves with ellipses to suggest wheels. An abstract image like this one looses some of its identifying details that would indicate the type of car depicted. The particular car is visually simplified to the elements that would suggest its elemental shape and visual characteristics. The core elements of the shapes of the car design are shown in the abstraction. The abstraction looses descriptive detail which would be present in a representational image, revealing it’s true form. The abstraction removes the object from its time and place to be considered outside of a context and viewed only in terms of its form.

Symbolic Image:

This symbol of a plane is bold and easily recognizable. Details that might distract from the simplified form are removed. The plane form is simplified to symbolize the object without distracting from the indicated meaning of the form. The symbol is internationally recognizable as a plane and is used to indicate the presence of an airport. Words or other information are not necessary, as the viewer would know that an airport is indicated without the need for additional description. International symbols are valuable in situations when information needs to be quickly conveyed to an audience that might speak a variety of languages and come from a various cultures, but need to know the same indicating information quickly and without confusion.