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Visual Processing Models

Perception and Cognition

  • bottom-up processing: information flows from sensory input (eyes) to cognitive processing (brain)

    • eyes → brain…eyes tell brain what to think

      • ex. looking at an abstract painting for the first time, your brain tries to make sense of the random shapes and colors that your eyes see

  • top-down processing: information flows from cognitive understanding (brain) to perception (eyes)

    • brain → eyes…brain tells eyes what to see (influenced by expectations, experiences, and biases!)

      • ex. if you’ve seen “The Dress” before, your brain will recognize it as either blue/black or white/gold before fully processing it

There are four key influences on top-down processing…

  1. associative priming: the imagery most readily available will influence what you see 

    • what we’ve seen in the past may shape how we recognize objects in the present 

      • “prior exposure affects interpretation” 

  2. context: provides insight when trying to resolve ambiguity in our images that our retinas relay to our brains 

    • contextual clues! 

      • “the surrounding of an image shape perception” 

  3. expectations: anticipated understanding of visual stimuli due to prior experiences 

    • much easier to recognize objects/scenarios when we know what to expect

      • “our prior knowledge helps us anticipate what we see” 

  4. desire: shape what we see by what we think or what we desire

    • typically when presented with insufficient bottom-up clues or top-down influences

      • “our personal needs influence perception”


Elements and Principles of Art and Design

Tools of Visual Communication

The basic elements of art and design:

  1. line: a straight or curved mark that connects two points or is the path of a moving point

    • vary in weight, direction and length

      • implied lines: lines that are suggested by changes in color/tone/texture but are not directly drawn

  2. color: the perception of light reflected from the surface of a shape or form

    • hue = pure color of pigment w/o tint or shade

    • value = how light or dark the color is

    • intensity = how bright or dull the color is

    • complementary colors: located directly across from each other on color wheel 

      • high contrast → enhance each other

    • analogous colors: three neighboring colors on color wheel

      • achieve harmonious look and feel

  3. shape: a two-dimensional enclosed area limited to height and width

    • can be geometric (hard edge) or organic (soft, rounded edge…often found in nature)

      • Shapes can be used together to create other shapes

  4. texture: the surface quality of an object that we can sense through touch 

    • can be tactile (felt through touch) or visual (understand mimicked texture through visual cues)

  5. space: the distances and areas around, between, and within components of design 

    • negative space = space that is not filled or occupied

    • positive space = space that is occupied by a shape or form

  6.  Form: a three-dimensional shape that exhibits height, width, and depth 

    • can be geometric (hard edge) or organic (soft, rounded edge)

  7. value: the degree of lightness or darkness in a color

    • indicates how close or far away in space an object is

      • contrast → separates objects in space

      • gradation → suggests mass and contour


How Elements Are Used Effectively 

The basic principles of art and design: 

  1. emphasis: the part of the design that catches the viewer’s attention 

    • created by contrasting an element with other elements (different in size, color, texture, shape, etc.)

  2. balance: the distribution of objects, colors, textures, and space

    • symmetrical balance: the elements used on one side of the design are similar to those on the other side

    • asymmetrical balance: the sides are different but still look balanced

    • radial balance: the elements are arranged around a central point and may be similar

  3. movement: the path the viewer’s eyes takes through the work of art or design 

    • can guide the viewer to focal areas or create the look/feeling of action

      • occurs through specific directional cues (i.e., dotted lines, arrows) or implied lines (i.e., positioning of subjects)

  4. proportion: the relative size and scale of the various elements within a design

    • can be used to emphasize certain element/concept (i.e, font size in graphics) or convey realism (i.e., golden ratio in architecture)

  5. rhythm: occurs when one or more elements of a design are used repeatedly to create a feeling of organized movement

    • creating a visual tempo

  6. variety: the use of several elements of design to hold the viewer’s attention

    • can also help guide the viewer’s eye through/around the image

  7. pattern & repetition: the repeating of an element all over the work of art

    • repetition works with pattern to make the work of art seem active

  8. unity: the feeling of harmony between all parts of the design which creates a sense of completeness


Gestalt Theory

Gestalt Psychology

  • gestalt theory: argues that we perceive and organize visual elements by placing them in groups, patterns, or configurations

    • we perceive entirety before seeing individual objects

      • “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”


Key Ideas Behind Gestalt Theory

  • emergence: the process of forming complex patterns from simple rules (“the whole is identified before the parts”)

    • we recognize patterns before individual details…hence why we seek to identify an object’s outline

      • people will identify elements first by their general form → a simple, well-defined object will communicate more quickly that a detailed object with a hard to recognize contour

  • multi-stability: the tendency of ambiguous perceptual experiences to move unstably back and forth between alternative interpretations (“the mind seeks to avoid uncertainty”)

    • ambiguous images flip between two interpretations…relates to figure-ground

      • to change someone’s perception → find a way to get them to see an alternative then work to strengthen that view while weakening original view

  • invariance: the ability to recognize simple objects independent of their rotation, translation, and scale (“we’re good at recognizing similarities and differences”)

    • property of perception…ability to recognize objects from different perspectives despite their different appearance 

      • ex. I can recognize a door whether it’s open or closed!


Gestalt Principles

  • figure-ground: the relationship between positive elements and negative space (“elements are perceived as either figure, the element in focus, or ground, the background on which the figure rests”)

    • the eye will separate whole figures from their background to understand what’s being seen 

      • stable or unstable depending on how easy it is to determine which is which

        • the more stable the relationship → the better we can lead audience to focus on what we want them to see

  • closure: the ability to combine parts to form a simpler whole by filling in the missing information to make a complete figure (“when seeing a complex arrangement of elements, we tend to look for a single, recognizable pattern”)

    • Must provide enough information to enable eye to fill in rest 

      • lack of information → elements will be seen as separate parts instead of a whole

      • excess of information → no need for closure to occur

  • proximity: the ability to recognize objects as belonging with one another when they are positioned closely together (“objects that are closer together are perceived as more related than objects that are further apart”)

    • objects don't need to be similar in any other way beyond being group near each other in space

      • overpowering principle!!!

  • continuation: the tendency to view something as continuous to distinguish it from other objects (“elements arranged on a line or curve are perceived as more related than elements not on the line or curve”)

    • the eye instinctively follows a visual path…once looking/moving in particular direction, more likely to continue looking/moving in that direction until you see something significant 

      • explains why we continue our perception of shapes beyond their ending point

  • similarity: the tendency to perceive elements with similar characteristics—i.e., color, shape, size, texture—as related due to their shared characteristics (“elements that share similar characteristics are perceived as more related than elements that don’t share those characteristics”)

    • easily group items that look alike to distinguish them from others that don’t look the same

      • ex. team uniforms signify who is our teammate vs. our opponent 

  • symmetry: the want to balance composition to achieve a feeling of solidity and order within chaos

    • inherently seek solidarity…hence why balance in composition feels aesthetically pleasing 

      • our eyes will quickly find symmetry and order → can be used to effectively communicate information quickly


The Study of Signs

Semiotics

  • “a sign is something by knowing which we know something more”

    • signifier: a sign’s physical form

      • ex. piece of fabric with red/white stripes and blue stars

    • signified: a sign’s meaning 

      • denotation → literal meaning (what a sign literally signifies)

        • ex. the flag of the USA

      • connotation → cultural meaning (what a sign culturally signifies)

        • ex. freedom and liberty…or the opposite!

          • connotative meaning can—and likely will—vary based on interpretation 


Types of Signs

  • symbolic sign: the relationship between the signifier and signified is arbitrary, by social convention, and must be learned 

    • arbitrary meaning → based on random choice or personal whim

      • ex. a heart symbolizes love 

  • iconic sign: the signifier represents or imitates the signified 

    • looks like what it represents

      • ex. bathroom signs

  • indexical signs: the relationship between the signifier and signified must be inferred as when the signifier is a trace or residue of the signified

    • shows cause and effect

      • ex. smoke means fire


Visual Rhetoric and Persuasion

The Levels of Visual Framing

There are four levels of visual framing…

  1. images as denotative systems 

    • identifying the literal meaning of a sign…what’s literally in the image

  2. images as stylistic (semiotic) systems

    • semiotically bridging denotative to connotative meaning…how the image is visually presented

      • external dimensions → ex. page position, paper section, relative size, etc.

      • internal dimensions → ex. color, content, point of view, social distance, subject’s pose, cropping, etc.

  3. images as connotative systems

    • identifying the cultural meaning of a sign…deeper, cultural implications of the image

  4. images as ideological systems

    • examine images as instruments of power for expressing dominant ideas…how the image reinforces social power dynamics 


Data Visualization

History of Data Visualization

1851: data was present but charts were rare (VERY IMPORTANT: there were statistics before charts but the numbers were merely delivered as numbers…no visual pizzazz)

  • less technology → journalists would have to make charts by hand (hellaaa time consuming)

    • lower data literacy → after spending so much time on said chart, would readers appreciate/understand it anyway?

1933: charts being to appear but mostly simple line charts interested in economic info

  • ex. stock market line chart

1950s-1960s: emergence of computer graphics

  • evolution of desktop computer/software programs = instrumental 

    • new technology allowed for heightened degree of crispness and attention to style

1970s-1980s: emergence of weather map

  • USA Today adds color and 3D aspects to data visualization…revolutionary

1995: increasing use of 3D elements in chart (achieved through shading/gradation and angles)

  • popularized Edward Tufte’s “chartjunk”

    • chartjunk: non-data ink on a chart…Tufte believes chartjunk can be misleading and distracting (“credibility vanishes”)


Rhetoric Through Maps

  • maps: a form of locational imagery…representative of “geographical truths”

    • mercator projection vs peters projections → how do we scale countries to each other? Should they be proportionate?

      • THUS, maps = objects of social construction

        • ex. women’s suffrage movement…maps enabled them to legitimize voting rights 

      • BUT, what do maps show? what don’t they show?

        • ultimately, maps are selective → curation based on priority beliefs/main message 

          • maps help us make a rhetorical argument 

There are four types of maps…

  1. authoritative map (factual)

    • designed to look scientific and accurate

  2. understated map (minimalistic)

    • looks scientific/professional but extraneous data omitted 

  3. propagandist map (persuasive)

    • repeats message to reinforce argument…message itself is hard to miss

  4. sensationalist map (overload)

    • overwhelm sense with barrage of irrelevant data and visualizations


Artifacts

Iconic Photographs

  • iconic photograph (as defined by Hairman and Lucaites): photographic images produced in print, electronic, or digital media that…

  1. are widely recognized,

  2. are understood to be representative of historically significant events,

  3. activate strong emotional responses, and

  4. are reproduced across a range of media, topics, and genres

  • might mark celebratory moments…hence why iconic photography is common in pro-sports

    • BUT, most photographs that become iconic arise during times of crisis 

      • thus, iconic photos = passionate depictions of humanity’s good OR iconic photos = stark reminders of mankind’s worst moments

  • ctill images = photos…associated with iconicity connotation

    • “icon” takes on both literal and symbolic meanings

      • draws on use of “icon” or “symbol” in semiotics

        • use Hairman and Lucaites’ framework to make sense of icons


Memes

  • memetic images = memes…associated with replicability connotation

    • memes: a self-replicating chunk of information → form of cultural transmission and transformation

      • internet memes: pieces of digital content that spread quickly around the Web in various iterations and become shared cultural experiences 

        • photo-based memes → tell us something about the mechanisms of signification (ex. Reaction photoshops, stock character macros, photo fads)

          • more about the process of meaning-making than meaning itself 

            • hypersignification: revealing the “backstage” process of meaning-making…the code itself becomes the focus of attention