JL MC 342 January 14 2013 What is visual Communication Communication through visual aides o Typography o Drawings o Signs o Graphic Designs o Photography o Videography Importance o People remember 10 of what they hear 30 of what they read 80 of what they see and do Best way to get an idea across is to show them Eye o The eye is like a camera o Rods Seeing o SENSING SELECTING PERCIEVING SEEING o Sensing Letting enough light into your eyes to allow you to notice Majority of light receptors are rods Handle low light More sensitive than cones Low resolution Primarily responsible for sensing motion Do more work than rods Active in well lit situations Very high resolution Responsible for seeing color and details o Cones o Selecting objects around you No mental processing at this point There s something there kind of feeling Focus on a specific part of a scene Engages higher level of brain functioning Classification of objects begin Harmful Known Hepful o Perceiving Makes sense of what you selected Determining whether your selection fits the context Imparting meaning to what you see Order from Chaos o Our eyes move back and forth 2 3 times every second o Sarcadic Rhythm o Individual pictures create a complete scene Optical Illusions o Called visual illusions o Image that differ from objective reality Literal illusions Physiological illusions Cognitive Literal Illusions Impossible column o Create images different from the objects that make them o Examples Fruit arranged to look like a man Three men in a tea cup Rock that looks like a horse Tiger face women s bodies May need the right angle to see these January 16 2013 stimulation Physiological illusions result from the effects on the eye due to excessive Cognitive Illusions result from assumptions about the world o Lead to unconscious inferences o Isometric Illusion cannot determine a definite vantage point is that an inside or outside corner o Motion Illusion appearance of movement even though it s a static image Visual Cues Color and Form Types of Color o Optic color Three primary colors red blue and green RGB Mixing these colors is additive they reflect light TV screens and Computer Monitors o Material Color Paint and printing presses use cyan magenta and yellow Black is added for definition CMY K or just CMYK Mixing these colors is subtractive they absorb light o Gamuts A gamut is any color range The RGB is larger than the CMYK gamut o Color space Matters Because CMYK has a smaller gamut colors tend to appear more muted and sedate o Distinguishing colors Our eyes are very sensitive to color Background colors impact our perception of color Color Description Methodologies o Objective Method Very Scientific Based off the locations of each color s wavelength on the electromagnetic spectrum Can also be measure by each color s unique temperature Most accurate o Subjective Method Based on personal associations and emotion Often Symbolic White Purity Green nature Blue peaceful Yellow happiness Most common o Comparative Method Should only be used to estimate what a color might look like Colors are compared to objects Relies on each person s perception of a color Least Accurate Form o Three types of forms immediately recognized by the brain Dots Can be used to create interest or tension A single dot can be used for emphasis a multitude can Simplest Form be used to create an image Lines Simply put lines direct our attention They convey dimension and perspective Shapes Parallelograms o 4 sides o Opposite sides parallel and equal in length Circle Triangles o Attention getters o Symbolize time eternity not start or end point o Dynamic and active o Convey direction but create tension encourage the viewer to follow January 18 2012 Depth Stereograms Depth Cues o Space o Size o Each eye sees a different view of an object o A type of visual that hides images in seemingly random designs The amount of space in a scene gives a feeling of depth Knowing the actual size can assist with depth perception There is no illusion of depth if all objects are viewed as the same size o Color o Lighting o Textural gradients viewer Warm colors appear closer Light tones or dark tones seem closer than neutrals Lighting can separate an object from the background A given texture will change based on its distance from the Textures that are further away may appear tighter or lighter giving the impression of distance Deals with the layering of objects on a page to call attention to o Interposition the main element o Time helps determine depth o Perspective The amount of time we spend looking at a particular element Combination of mental processing and learned behavior Geometrical Perspective Placing the main subject higher and creating it larger to imply that it is in the foreground Conceptual Perspective Multi view seeing multiple Social most important aspect of an image is larger centrally located or separated from other elements o Movement Recognizing movement is key to primitive survival Four types of movement Real object Apparent o Actual movement of another person animal or o Does not occur in mediated images o Most common type of movement in film o A series of still images are flipped through quickly to simulate movement Graphic Implied o The motion of the eye as it scans a field of view o The way a designer positions elements to guide a viewer through a layout o Perceived movement in a still image o Many optical illusions rely on implied movement January 23 2013 Visual Theories o Sensory Sensual Theories What something looks like Cover both what we notice and what we miss Based purely on visual stimuli not meant to be taken literally Gestalt When your first impression of a design is positive when you instinctively see the design as being good its likely because one or more gestalt principles is at play Loosely translated as form or shape Does not consider how the brain interprets objects The whole is different from the sum of its parts Principles o Proximity Objects near each other are related more readily than those that are separated Creates both positive and negative space Visual Depth Cue o Similarity Objects that look similar will automatically be grouped together o Pragnanz Figure Ground Object forming capability of our senses The simplest and most stable interpretations are favored o Symmetry Evenly balanced weight Symmetry can be obtained by an equal balance of content and whitespace o Common Fate Refers to visual directional lines within a design or layout