Page 4 from Marjane Satrapi’s comic, “Persepolis“

While creating a visual landscape for a viewer the designer, artist, or even author as this can even be necessary in one’s writing must find a way to frame one’s work so that the viewer is drawn to the focus and not bombarded by information from the image. Focusing on comics we can see in each one the use of frames to separate the different images that cover the page. In Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi we see the use of very bold outlines around each image to separate one frame from the next. But the frames do more than separate the frozen moments in time, they enhance the content inside. Looking at page four of Persepolis specifically, we are filled with different feelings and thoughts by the way the images and words fill the frame. In frame 1 we see children running and playing with each other, a margin on top for the words, and a large field of view as the image does not focus on one thing but many different subjects. Frame 2 brings it in a little closer so that we begin to focus on the expressions of the children, margin still on top, helping keep the reader focused in the center of the frame for the black shirts and crossed arms start to draw our eyes down but the faces stop us. Frame 3 the mood starts to change as we are now focused on a single face, a man, and unlike the children this face does not look playful, the margin is still at the top. Only this time an added speech bubble under that creates a triangle between the margin and the man’s face, pulling our eyes down to connect with the eyes of this new character. Frame 4 is pulled back out to include the some of the audience and again no focusing too much on one subject. Frame 5 is the most powerful as the frame only includes part of the man’s face and focusing only on his expression, we have no outside static beyond the frame to draw us from the powerful image we are looking at, while there is writing within the frame our eyes go nowhere. Frame 6 is pulled out and more people are added to clutter and relax the viewer after the strength of the frame before. Frame 7, a lighter frame in content and in color, giving us closure to the story.