The Anatomy of a Visual Message

REPRESENTATIONAL
This piece of artwork is representational of a human. It is visually pleasing to the eyes. It also gives us an insight to the culture and lifestyle of the society back then. The technique used and the stylization of the statue, the period in which it was made and what sort of art was popular. It opens up a window. This statue puts us in the environment of the statue to ponder what she was looking at and what she's going through, etc.

 ABSTRACT
This is an abstraction of music and instruments, in particular, jazz. In the shapes and colors gives the viewer the clues as to what it is but in reality these shapes and colors do not exist in reality. The colors are specific to this sort of society and it brings the person in and gives that vibrant energy. By the shapes and unrealistic representation gives the sort of 3-D vibe and draws you in versus a flat 2-D feel.

 SYMBOLIC
This symbol is known throughout society and history. It is a very well known symbol of peace and harmony. It is absolutely abstract and in no form look like any object or persons but it brings this sort of idea of peace. It is associated with monks, Asia, hippies, all that involve peace.


[IMAGE CREDIT: statue, jazz, ying yang]  

Visual Techniques

VISUAL TECHNIQUES:

• Complexity
• Intricacy
• Exaggeration
• Activeness
• Spontaneity
• Balance
• Depth
• Diffusion

                                         

•  Asymmetry
• Simplicity
• Economy
• Understatement
• Predictability
• Activeness
• Flatness
• Sharpness

These two designs are similar and yet very different. The first one is very complex with intricate details. There's movement and unpredictability in the design, like an explosion waiting to happen and yet, it's balanced with the placement in the center. Asymmetric with the light and the darkness of the colors. There's depth has if it's floating in space. Diffusion with no sharp lines. As for the second one, asymmetry can be seen. Simplicity with the shapes. Sharp lines that define the shapes. Activeness with movement and direction. The direction it which it goes, or comes is predictable. Flatness in the color of the shapes. These two designs use various visual techniques to accomplish an awesome design.

[DESIGN CREDIT : _LEAGUE & gravity]

Week 11 : Contrast

This is an example of good contrast used in a poster. The contrast between the tone and color of the images in the background and the text indicate which takes priority. If they were the same tone and and hue, it would be hard to distinguish the difference. Also the contrast between the size of the text gives variety and brings direction to the text (flows downward). Also, the background is very creative. Poster looks like its printed on a notebook with very raw hand sketches. Also the lighter background and the darker text create a sort of contrast in depth.

This is an example of a bad poster design that has no contrast to bring out the important information. There is no contrast in depth. The way the white text is just place all over with no given space closes everything together making it look rather flat. There is no contrast in color or tone. The white text kind of flushes together and the tone doesn't bring any depth. There is a little contrast in size when it comes to the text but aside from the huge '30' all the text kind of merges together. Also using so many different type fonts detracts from the poster and it is rather hard to read.

[IMAGE CREDIT: Graphic Design && Big 30]

Movement & Motion

This is a flow chart that demonstrates movement. To navigate the information on this chart the viewer has to move around to find the flow and information, it could also be seen as movement through an environment.  Also event perception can be seen here. One thing happens and then flows to the next to show new information. Apparent movement can also be seen through the arrows that are used to direct the movement. The information flows from the left to the right and not the other way around but the viewer is still able to go back and look up other information.

This is a online photo gallery. The arrangement of the images with the arrows and such make it so that the viewer is in control of the environment and allows them to participate. The arrow and the flow of it implies there's a movement. Also, event perception can be seen here. When the arrows displayed shows the images moving back and forth narrating what is happening to the previous images while the image selected is bigger than the others. There is apparent movement when the images slide over to the next image.

[IMAGE CREDIT: Flow Chart & Photo Gallery]
 

Dimension/Depth/Space

In the two images above are really good examples that demonstrate the manipulations of interpretations. It completely breaks every rule in how things are normally perceived to manipulate what the outcome is. For example, if a person were to stand off to the side, they would see the usage of (manipulation of) overlap, relative size, linear perspective, and flow pattern. Normally, these types of perception would allow a person to see how disoriented this "in/out" signage is but since they manipulated what the sense would see, it completely looks normal.
[IMAGE CREDITS: IN & OUT]

Tone and Color

The tone of this poster is very muted and limited. Even if there is a variety of colors that could possibly be used if the photos were left it its original form, they were bleached out to bring out the coldness of the images. The colors are unsaturated causing the colors present in this poster to be washed out. This effect demonstrates the drama and seriousness behind the poster. The theme of this color goes throughout the whole image and even into the title of the movie which is in a gray-ish tone. The dramatic contrast from the front image that is lighter and the image in the background which is much darker creates a tension. There is limited light present in the image. This dark/light contrast brings even more dramatization to the poster. In this sense, a viewer may assume that this movie is filled with drama and tension.
[Image Credit: LINK]

Design Success and Failure in Relation to Syntactical Guidelines

I chose this poster design to demonstrate failure in relation to syntactical guidelines. Despite the poster being titled the "Colours of India, I feel this poster fails in bringing to life the vibrant culture that India is, for example the muted colors don't seem to portray the bright colors that are often found in Indian design and textiles. Also, the balance is a bit off especially in the bottom right hand corner where there is a vast empty space while the other corners are cluttered with information. The leveling and sharpening of images and text is a little disturbing to the eyes because it's too busy. While the black image in the middle should stand out, the grayness and text within kind of mute it. I can't figure out what to focus on, or what the emphasis is. The grouping is imbalanced. Some of the text is left justified while others are centered.
[IMAGED PROVIDED BY: LINK]

I chose this poster as a success in relations to syntactical guidelines. Just as the previous poster, this one is advertising an event. I feel the energy of this poster is geared towards designers. The grungy colors and muted, earthy colors would attract not only designers, but probably get the attention of someone walking past. It's very modern and up to date. The design is balanced out with the text in the negative space. The eye is drawn back and forth and doesn't linger to heavy on one side or the other. I feel the eyes are drawn in by the dark green and then goes towards the center to see what the event is. All the main information to draw someone in is grouped together in the center and if the viewer is interested in more information, that is provided at the bottom, grouped together. The main focal point is the design to draw the person in.
[IMAGED PROVIDED BY: LINK]

Visual vs Symbolic Language

  

 Sad
Stress
Nice suit
Brief case
Blurry
Staircase
Head in hand
Business building
Exposed
Dark
Slumped
Looking at the ground
Bottom of staircase
Off-centered

The man in the image seems to be in distress by the position he is sitting. His head is ducked and his left hand raised to his forehead. His shoulders are slumped and by the expression on his face, it looks as if all hope has gone. He is also sitting at the bottom of a staircase of what looks like a business building. He is in a very nice suit with a briefcase next to him. It looks as if he had a nice job but was just laid off and leaving the office. The image is slightly blurry with the edges of the images fading out to black. This further emphasizes the despair. The way he sits on the staircase makes it look as if he's vulnerable and now exposed.

{IMAGE CREDIT}

Visual Thinking Research

FIND THE NEXT SYMBOL
First thing we did was to try and find a pattern - mainly reflective and mirror imaging. I figured the bold straight line had to do something with the pattern of the reflection. My partner in crime had a similar thought process. We would tried splitting the images in the middle, sideways, and all sorts and finally, we exclaimed in realization. They were numbers reflecting each other. It's hard not to see now but at first it was quite puzzling. I also forgot we had this example in class.

GET EVERYONE HOME
This one was bit tricky. It took a lot of error and trial. The way I tried to solve it was by reasoning. Perhaps if I found the shortest way for each person to get home, I could eliminate some processes. When that didn't quite out, I tried finding ways that wouldn't block any of the houses. I tried looking for patterns, filling in spots, different variations (like moving by one square). Eventually, I figured it was to be complicated and everything would be intertwined and would have to go around about ways, and finally got the answer. My partner in crime went straight for error & trial and just tested many different ways.

Feature Hierarchy and Visual Search

The hierarchy of the product, in this case, a poster will be determined by the message it wants to send out to the public. What pops out the most here, are the images of the two females. Using simple shapes and contrasting colors, the two create a balance that attracts the eyes. It depends on the viewer, whether they see the white or black first but the way the colors are arranged create an implied depth that makes the piece dynamic and stand out. The shapes that make up the images are very simple and straightforward which makes it easy for the eyes to take in at a quick glance. The text is in the corner, smaller, and not obstructing the whole image. With simple text to go along, it would take but a second to realize what this poster is about.

(Image Credit: Cheap Ticket Monsters)

Top-Down Visual Processing

Top-down visual processing is considered to be goal oriented. The goal, in this case, is the need to wash the dishes. This requires attention, and a constant priming of action, planning ahead so that the next step is ready to be executed. There are certain points in the process of washing dishes that a higher level of attention will be needed while others only need a lower level. For example a high-level point might be focused on the dish that is being currently washed and a low-level point might be a glance at the next dish that you are wanting to pick up or, where you might want to place the dish that is already in your hand. Without this process, washing the dishes would become very difficult, and the likelihood of breaking a dish is much higher.

IMAGE CREDIT: emotionaltoothpaste