Assignment 1 - Group F

8/7/2019 Assignment 1 - Group F

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VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGNASSIGNMENT 1

Fawn Ellis 4141571

Mara Hock 4141679

Christoph Magerl 4122739Julin Zapata Meja 4122658

goingvisual.blogspot.com


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This report is intended to present the result of the analysis of four different images, by using the

tools provided in the chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 of book VISUAL THINKING FOR DESIGNER, written

by Colin Ware.Up next, each image will be analyzed separately from others in order to identify and make

evidence of the theory given in the book. Although such theory is clearly connected to graphic

design and visual media, it can be also used for analyzing artistic images, which are the example

used in this case.


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Chapter 1: Visual queries

One might assume seeing the painting in its whole detail and richness, as it is stored pixel by pixel

in the computer, but human visual perception acts very different. We perceive only what we call

attention to and we perceive detail only when we are interested in that particular detail. More,

the retina of our eye is built up in a way that enables fine grained perception only in the central

part of the retina, called the fovea. This further enhances the fact that we have only a very faint

perception of what we see at once. The reason for this very selective way of visual perception is

the fact that our visual world contains way too much information to be stored at once. Departing

from this faint perception we scan our visual field of interest to get the information we are

interested in. These scans are called visual queries. With these visual queries we, for instance,

identify the bridge in the center of the painting, then the water beneath it, the man chopping

wood on the right and so on until we can have identified the main items which make up the

painting: A gorge leading up into the high mountains and finally the blue sky. A man is chopping

wood besides the bridge and he maybe lives in the house which is visible in the background. There

is even smoke coming out of the chimney, revealing that there is currently someone living in the

house. This may be revealed in one of the later queries. And so, more and more queries will reveal

an even more detailed picture of the painting.Hereby attention plays a key role. As stated earlier, we highly rely on attention when performing

these visual queries. When one, for instance, is particularly interested in the living conditions of

the man, human artifacts and traces may be the first choice to look at. This may be the bridge and

the house, its condition, age and stage of development and the man itself, his clothes and his way

of acting. In contrary attention could be also drawn to the beautiful nature, hence rather to the

trees, the water and the mountains. Then the man and the human artifacts would not be

perceived in particular. We see what we want to see. This can happen on certain different levels in

perceiving the painting. Attention via visual queries can be also drawn to the colors and drawing

techniques applied or simply the ration of the canvas, whereas information about the actual

figurative content of the painting would be neglected and also not stored in our memory.

Explained in more detail the visual queries we perform are guided by two main principles. The firstis the bottom-up process, where visual information is routed from the receptors of the retina

through the visual nerves sequentially to several processing regions in the brain. Starting with

plain information from the retina the first processing region, the V1 cortex, identifies simple

features like color differences, directions and movement. The information is handed over to the

V2 cortex where the simple features are combined to a bigger picture resulting in lines and

patterns, further processing areas in the brain then attach information and meaning to this

information resulting in an understanding of what we see and our ability to react on it. Directing

our gaze at the center of the painting the receptors of our retina would be excited by several

intensities and wavelengths of light. In the V1 cortex it could be identified that what we see is not

moving. Further there are clearly distinguishable directional areas separated by contrasting colors.

Once handed over to the V2 cortex it would be clear that there is an almost straight horizontal

line. Underneath there is a curve. Further the two lines are delimiting the brown area in between.

In further processing stages, it would be revealed that the brown thing is an object which is

connected to the ground bringing a creek. And therefor it will be connected to being a bridge,

which is something that we learned. Now that we would know that this is a bridge we can react on

that information, which brings us to the second principle, the top-down process. To get to know

specific things in the visual world we call attention to them. We do so by emphasizing features,

patterns or objects that came to our awareness in the bottom-up process. We can do this in every

of the processing stages presented before. When especially particularly interested in buildings


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hidden in the picture we would most probably look for horizontal and vertical lines bordering a

rather consistently colored area. Hence knowledge from more up the perception pathway would

influence the functioning of rather simple processing unity below. So we can search for very

specific things in our visual world in an economic way, perceiving only what we need right now.

When searching something in particular, we do so in a pattern called nested loops. In the outer

loop we build up a search process to find visual information, in the middle loop we search for the

pattern by moving our eyes and in the inner loop finally we test the pattern we find for being what

we are searching for. At searching for a bridge in the painting this would result in first making a

sequence of eye movements to scan the picture plane. This can, for instance, be done in lines from

left to right and top to bottom as we read like this. Each time or eye stops we would try to identify

and judge the pattern we find. Iteratively we would try to identify patterns, move our eyes and

reconsider our search technique until we identify what we are searching for or abort the search.

Most probably in the middle of our search strategy, while having performed several loops of eye

movements and even more pattern tests, we would identify the pattern resembling the bridge we

were looking for.


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Chapter 2: What we easily can see

The less time, energy and attention we have to assign to a visual search task, the easier objects or

features stand out from the overall visual field. As visual information is processed sequentially

from the rare information of the retina up to more complex levels of understanding, this means

that low-level features are far more easily to recognize in the first place. This low-level feature

analysis happens in the V1 and V2 cortex in the brain. Those processing areas are extremely

powerful parallel computing units processing simple features like angularity, hue, brightness,

motion and size in a part of a second. Therefor features and simple objects exciting those regions

in the brain are far easier to recognize than more complex ones not following these principles. In

the case of the painting the areas which first stand out may be the blue sky and white water

against the mostly dark picture. In this case the units for recognizing color or brightness would be

triggered. On the right side of the picture there are a lot of vertical lines, in later processing stages

to revealed as trees, which can be easily recognized with the help of processing units sensitive on

vertically directed features in the V1 and V2 cortex. And, even if the men working on the right side

are small in contrast to the whole canvas and their exact acting needs quite some effort to be

precisely identified, they can be easily detected as white spots against the dark ground. In contrary

the left side of the painting does not reveal rich information for the low-level detection areasbecause it lacks contrast, color variation and clearly distinguishable lines. Movement which is the

most outstanding feature is missing in the whole painting, but is very efficiently used in modern

media.

Since we recognize those low-level features, we are aware of them and can tune our attention

towards a specific area of interest. But conversely we can also look for a special feature. This is

called biased competition. By looking at the painting the first time we could have been told to look

at the chimney. As a result we would like to look for vertical objects in the painting. Therefor our

brain enhances signals from the processing units, which are identifying vertical features. Hence in

competition with the other feature units the vertical ones are treated with a positive bias and the

others with a negative bias in contrary. This makes it much easier for us to recognize vertical

objects in the whole painting. More complex processing later would reveal that the vertical objectattached to the house and the smoke on top is a chimney and the vertical objects on the right are

just trees.

This biased competition makes it much easier for us to find information we are searching for,

because a large amount of visual information in fact is detected outside the fovea and is therefore

represented very precisely. While looking the sky in the picture we may be told that there is a

strange yellow spot on the picture. Even if outside the fovea we would detect the spot on the

bottom left and immediately look at it. This way, eye movement planning becomes even faster

and more efficient.

Simple elements popping out of the visual field greatly facilitate an easy perception of what is

important and facilitate orientation. But the ability of objects to stand out is limited to what can

easily be recognized by the V1 and V2 cortex as a low-level feature. A first ingredient for this is

contrast. The painter of this artwork skillfully uses contrast to let certain things pop out

immediately.

The dark bridge against the bright wall of the house, the dark mountains against the blue sky, the

tree trunks against the dark forest, the bright water against the surrounding grass and rocks and

the workers dressed in white against the forest. These elements already make up most of the

story: Two men working in the woods of a gorge not far from a bridge and a house while one can

clearly imagine the water running down the gorge. This is all managed means of contrasting

brightness, colour, shape and orientation or a combination of it. By combining those basic features


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objects can stand out even more. Like the tree trunks which stand out in direction and colour. In

contrary the trees on the left are well hidden. There is only a small colour difference and the

bordering shapes are too complex to be immediately processed in a lower level. This also means

that if the surroundings are very rich in triggering a specific feature, the object to stand out has

either to stand out on a different feature or have even more exciting information on the same

feature. The painter has successfully avoided this over-use of outstanding features. Skilfully made

paintings may be a good example for intuitively using those low level features in an efficient and

pleasing way so that the picture is easily readable. A very cluttered image, where every item is

calling for utmost attention would not obtain much acceptance in the common sense of a

beautiful paining. In general it is easier to recognize a complex object in a set of simpler ones than

vice versa. The tree behind the bridge, for instance, calls for more attention than the neighbouring

trees on the left. In a set of bright sharply sketched trees a blurry darker one would stand out less,

simply because it would excite the processing units to a much lesser extent.

When searching a specific small object, like the man kneeling, in the painting it may not be visible

in the first place because it of lying in a low resolution field of the retina. In this case eye

movements of a specific search pattern scan the painting. First bigger distinguishable areas, as the

water, mountain or wood area, are searched, followed by smaller areas, like trees in the wood,

within them until the man is identified.


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clear that two eye vision is not as important as assumed. It is in fact limited to objects in reach

distance. Therefor a painting with a combination of pictorial depth cues give us enough

information to imagine the three dimensional space.

Another way of pictorial representation 2.5D-design, where objects lie mostly on the picture plane

and some depth cues are giving some interesting depth to the picture. This is used in favor for

more clarity. The painter does quite the opposite by adding a variety of depth cues leading far

away from the picture plane to explain the realistic depth of the gorge. Therefor it becomes clear

that even the amount of the third dimension applied on a picture give an understanding of the

space represented.

A very different way to look at the painting would be with the theory of affordances. It says that

we constantly link objects with what we can afford with them. We can walk over the bridge

depicted in the painting whereas the stump and the rock in the foreground tell us that it is rather

dangerous to walk there. This can be further generalized by linking perception and action. This

linking is done in the where pathway in our brain, where visual information is connected with local

information which enables us to react on what we see. If linking and acting upon is easy to do this

is referred to low cognitive costs. Viewing the gorge by moving the eyes over the painting haslesser cognitive costs then standing there and moving head and eyes.


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Chapter 1: Visual Queries

The first impression about this image is clearly connected to the idea expressed by Colin Ware

about the messages given by an artist through his paintings, whose goals of visual thinking for fine

arts are about everything but clarity, so it is open for different interpretations. At first sight, the

image captures the viewers attention by driving him/her to look at the man in front of the picture

to conclude that the image is about religious imaginary, when ignoring that its origins are based in

Greek Mythology. It takes a few seconds to further analyze the image and find out different

elements that allow deducing the story behind it. The image is displayed so it is possible to retain

in focal attention only those pieces of information most likely to be useful, such as the man with a

wooden stick, a blurry monster and a landscape with river. Seeing is all about attention, so when

analyzing in detail the image as a whole it is possible to see how the process known as the Act of

perception becomes more explicit.

When analyzing the image while making the Bottom-up process obvious, it allows the viewer to

identify the elements of the whole composition: beyond the image of the man, the artist seeks to

tell a complete story which is framed in a context with the participation of other characters. Size,

position/depth, color and landscape are key elements to analyze.Up front, it is possible to see the man as the powerful and dominant character; the so called

pattern process allows identifying that what seemed to be wings is actually the skin of a lion,

reinforcing the hero character of Hercules. Such skin also has an important role as it plays around

the body of the man in order to discreetly provide the censure for his naked body with one of the

lions feet. Second, in order to give the message of humanity, the man is provided with a stick,

which could be less than heavy to defeat a monster but, at the same time, reinforces the idea of

super-human power. Up next, behind the Hero, there is the monster which turns out to be a Hydra

or seven-headed snake. In this case, depth plays an important role, due to the size impression it

creates around the monster and the greatness it gives to the hero. Another important aspect at

this level of the image is the differentiation through texture and color created between themonster and the hero, which becomes evident in order to balance light between both characters

and differentiate evil from good, as well as it is also part of the background where everything is

happening, so the battle happens in the wilderness so the rest of the land will be safe.

Finally, but not less important, the background becomes a key factor in order to state the

importance of both characters, as well as it is a result of a game with perspective which outcome is

the exaltation of the Hero and the Monster as fighters for power and examples of it, so they look

bigger not by position or perspective, nor as an arbitrary decision of the painter, but as a real

intention of gods power.

Different to a graphic which is intended to communicate something specific, this painting shows a

story full of visual queries that come after viewing it for the first time. Thats the reason why byslowly analyzing it, all the aspects create a whole that allows telling a complete story in one single

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Chapter 3: Structuring Two-Dimensional Space

Colin Ware explains that during the process, the mental act of looking for certain patterns makes

them stand out more distinctly, however in the case of this painting, seems like the artist doesnt

exactly want all the patterns to be easily discovered. Also, in the book it is also claimed that one of

the most important aspects related to the structure of the two-dimensional space in the picture is

the fact that the only clear contour a viewer can easily identify corresponds to the human figure.

Thats why not only its position at the center of the canvas makes it the main character, but its

very well defined shape differentiates it from the rest of the visual elements. Such effect is the

result of a clear establishment of the generalized contour; its boundaries are set based on color,

shape, and texture -flesh-, as well as the use of more light, so the hero appears to be carefully

highlighted in comparison to the rest of the picture and is easier to identify, especially in

comparison to the monster.

The painting shows important examples of what the establishment of feature level differences

means for an artistic or visual composition. It has been now discussed the fact that the hero

appears highlighted, however, the painting clearly intends to show how the monster is defeated.

First, the dragon doesnt have a clear contour definition, so that is why in the beginning the viewerdoesnt really understand what the shape is about and it is not easily identifiable. Second, the fact

that some of its seven heads have been cut off, takes off power from it so the hero becomes all-

mighty in the scene. Third, the ground where the fighters appear to be standing is a sort of

representation of a battle field in the wilderness where despite the presence of the hero, the

fallen heads of the monster seem to get lost as the feature level differences texture and color-

are not recognizable at first sight. This is related to the theory explained about the fact that such

feature level differences should be maximized in order to reduce the visual interference, so the

patterns can be more easily identified in the image.

It also helps to make the contours better activated, as it happens with the hero or, for instance,

the heaven in the background, which establishes a clear difference with the ground. Possiblyreinforcing the idea of half god-half man, sky and ground are divided in two halves of the canvas

and the blue color makes clear contrast with the shape of the hero, while the ground can be

sometimes confused with the colors of the monster. When analyzing this aspect of the painting, it

is also deducible the fact that the artist tries to demonstrate how gods will prevail. Not being

precisely a religious topic, the patterns of the painting give a clear message of heaven as

representation of might and good, as well as the landscape and the monster are shown as earthly

subjects of such power.


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Chapter 5: Getting the Information: Visual Space and Time

As stated in the book, depth is perceived in ways that are radically different from the way patterns

in the image plane are perceived. The brain determines relative distance by means of depth cues

such as occlusion, shape from shading, and linear perspective. Most depth cues consist of

environmental information that we use to judge distances from our particular viewpoint. In thecase of Hercules and the Hydra, it is easy to identify the depth cues even without having a 100%

correct use of perspective or depth representation.

Oclussion:

The hero appears in front of the image, standing as the main character of the story, behind him,

there are the monster, the land with the river and, finally, the sky. As stated in the book, this

pictorial depth cue is clearly used as a metaphor for rank-ordering information so the less

important information is occluded, still allowing the viewer to identify the characters and the

context of the story. The order of the elements in the image would be then:

1.Hero2.Monster3.Landscape with river4.Sky

Perspective:

Although is not correctly developed, perspective is presented as a matter of size gradients

showing, particularly, the river running to the horizon in order to give the sensation of depth,

greatness of the hero and long distance from certain land as the background of the fight, as well as

to show both characters power and importance.

Degree of contrast:

As discussed based on chapter 3, this is an important and very relevant aspect the artist has used

in this case. Again, here it comes the idea of the Hero as the best contrasted graphical element ofthe whole image, in order to increase his hierarchy in relation to the rest of the elements. The

effect is then that his contour, the texture of his skin and light are better defined in comparison to

other elements, such as the lion skin, the monster or, even when well defined, the landscape and

the sky


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Chapter 2: What we can easily see.

Despite its capabilities, the human brain is not able to store every image we see during the visual

process; our attention focuses on a specific area after a general scan of its surroundings; with this

information the brain is able to partly reconstruct the whole scene where the surroundings appear

as blurry whereas the specific spot is stored in high quality so we can see it clearly.

From this basis, when graphically communicating ideas, the viewers attention should be drawn

into the specific areas considered as the main focus of the whole picture; popping out techniques

such as color or shape contrast are often used for this purpose.

On the image, by Alain Le Quernec, which is being analyzed, color contrast is an important tool

used to draw the viewers attention into the index finger. What can be read in the bottom right

corner gives an idea of the designers intention 10 years leaving track (qui tr availle depuis 10 ans

a trogour huella). The red fingertip catches the viewer into the whole message of the poster by

using high color contrast, red over blue and black.

In general, the poster is a mixture of color contrast; based on a light blue and white background

even the small hairs pop out from the hand shape itself. In addition, the small picture on the

bottom right corner stands out by using basic geometrical shapes that do not follow the same line

as the hand or the text and once again pop out thanks to color contrast.The poster gives a good idea about the viewing process itself; firstly, eye motion is used for a

general scan where small details, like the non-bold text, are not entirely seen; at first sight, the

viewer is not aware of what is written. In contrast the hand, as a central element on the image, is

easily recognized during this stage.

Following the scan, a second step of the viewing process takes place: eye movement control;

through this stage, the observer plans and executes eye movement patterns. New targets are

identified based on their shape, color, orientation, size, etc; a better picture of the whole image is

built. From this moment, poping out elements are highly detected by the observer.

On the poster, outstanding objects such as the geometrical figures and the fingertip itself call for

attention as they lay on different layers than the background or the hand. The same feeling is

gotten by the bold text itself; because it contrasts with the white background is easier to read thanthe non-bold letters. Important information was placed to stand out during this stage of the

process such as event name and location as well as its main intention, which is represented by the

red fingertip.

Thirdly, a final stage takes place: pattern testing; during this step, the eye focuses on appealing

targets to prove if they are interesting or not. A more conscious analysis process is done with the

image being looked at. In this case, the non-bold text gets extra attention as well as the hairs on

the hand and the white text following the hand line.

As said, the visual process develops from a quick scan into detail analysis of the images; with it, the

brain is able to focus on the main target while creating a blurry picture of the surroundings.

Therefore, and as seen on the poster, designers can use the essentials of the viewing process as a

start basis in order to communicate an idea with a main intention, which in this case became the

poping out elements on a multilayer image.


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Chapter 4: Color

Unlike many animals, humans have the ability to have a color vision. This is the result of having

two light waves receptors, rods and cones, specialized on black & white and color vision

respectively. Light waves are processed by the neurons and transformed in three color opponent

channels: red-green, yellow-blue and black-white; which allows humans to be highly sensitive to

these color contrasts.

The image illustrates this basic theory with a simple black and white contrast between the right

half background of the picture and the hand itself. Even the smallest details, like the hairs, stand

out and are easy to distinguish by the viewer; black & white give the most extreme contrast

possible. The same principle is used with the triangle; a yellow figure over layering the blue

background gives a perfect example of how color-opponent channels achieve high contrast

catching the attention.

As for the hues, the poster keeps it clean by using basic colors (black, white, red, yellow and

blue) achieving a special meaning; according to the opponent process theory, these colors are

generated by a strong signal on one of the channels while the remaining two continue neutral.

Because of this, the colors are highly expressive, even on verbal communication (referring to BrentBerlin and Paul Kay studies, they are the most commonly used colors no matter what the

language). One may say that the poster takes advantage of this characteristic because it allows a

connection between what the viewer is looking and what he/she can verbally express.

In addition to the chromatic channels, the luminance channel also takes place during viewing. This

channel has a bigger ability to transmit information than the color channels; luminance can

process shape from shading. Nevertheless, the image does not use this channel to transmit

information and 2D shapes are utilized with no depth created by shadows; the poster remains

clear with the use of simple objects and symbols like the geometrical shapes and a solid color hand

figure.

On the other side, the poster does use saturated colors, which is a result of using the unique hues

mentioned above. Once again, these basic colors used on the proper manner turn into poppingout images or figures. It is obvious that the poster intends to highlight certain shapes or parts of

the whole. The bleeding fingertip is the clearest example.

In addition, the image of the hand itself layered over a two-color background allows us to

understand color contrast as a way of highlighting objects or defining a contour. Although black

and blue do not generate high contrast, the high lightness being used on the blue, together with

high saturation, results into clear distinction of the shape vs. the background; nevertheless, the

other half of the background illustrates a higher color contrast. Together, it results into a clear

picture of the hand shape.

A similar situation is found on the text located at the lower corner. High contrast is achieved by

using bold letters; with it, the viewers attention is drawn to the main pieces of information which

the image intends to highlight and emphasize. In order to read the rest of the text (non-bold

letters) the observer has to dedicate longer time into focusing and reading it

Using basic unique hues, clear color contrasts and pop out objects, the designer of the Alain Le

Quernec poster ensures that the message is being clearly transmitted, even with those differences

that people may have when seeing colors.


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Chapter 7: Visual and verbal narrative

Alain le Quernec's image can be seen as a graphic form of communication which joins both

language and visual representation. In general, this two ways of expression vary on the thinking

process behind them. According to Colin Ware, language, whereas written, verbal or signed, is an

abstract representation of the world itself. This means that when referring to an object, the word

(written or spoken) or sign used for it may be far from the actual object itself. On the other hand,

visual representation maintains logic between the viewing pattern, the space and the object; the

information is processed by the visual system by pattern finding.

The picture being analyzed contains both forms of expression supporting one to each other in

order to communicate the designers idea and the necessary information being presented. On this

case, it is notorious that the visual form of communication is stronger. This is shown on the

bottom right corner where text is used in order to inform the viewer about the event being

advertised; the lyrics are placed on the inferior corner, which, if you think about the occidental

reading pattern (from left to right and top to bottom), could be considered as the 'last scanned'

area when the viewer gives the image a first look. Despite having high color contrast with the

background, the text's size and font do not catch the observers attention at first sight.

This manner of arranging objects on the image is not a coincidence. In general, graphic designershave to consider pattern construction during the visual process; just as when watching a motion

film, where the camera guides the viewer, Images should be composed in order for the observer

to follow a pattern in a certain order.

In the poster itself the pattern is well determined by contrast and layering; the size of the hand

defines it as a central element which is captured at first look. From that point on, color contrast on

the fingertip catches the viewer's attention to it followed by the popping out colored geometrical

shapes and finally, bold and non-bold text.

This way of directing the viewer can be compared with film framing; during motion pictures

framing is used to caption and control what the audience is looking at. This idea is supported by

the visual process; because the eye works by focusing on one point and the brain has low

capability of visual memory, prediction of patterns takes place and motion paths can be traced bythe designer.

The background itself plays an important role; according to Colin Ware 'anything that is visually

distinctive, but irrelevant, is an invitation to viewers to switch their attention'; this means it should

not distract the viewer in order to maintain the focus on the main idea. On the poster, because the

background uses basic, highlighted colors, it invites the observer to pay attention into the

outstanding objects such as the fingertip, the geometric shapes and bold text.

It can be said that question and answer patterns (Q&A) are constructed by the author of the

illustration in order to guide the viewer through it; because of the fingertip's color contrasts with

the whole image itself, the observer's attention is captured and the question, about what the idea

of the picture is, is planted. From there, the previously explained guided pattern is followed and

the observer questions the connection between the bold text and the picture itself. Once the less

highlighted lyrics are read, links are built and a final resolution takes place in order to give a full

meaning to the image. In the end, the viewer itself discovers the meaning of the poster and

acquires the necessary information being displayed on it: Alain Le Quernec's exhibition, ten years

leaving track, Nantes, May the second to June 21 1


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Original image with contrasting colors Altered image to reflect chromatic colors


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At first glance, the image above looks like a pair of sausages for a store advertisement, but why do

we perceive them as such? How are we able to identify the sausages? How do the colors help us in

understanding the image and how do visuals help us perceive a conclusion? I will aim to answer

these questions by looking at pattern recognition, color perception and visual/verbal narrative.

In the real world we encounter several different types of objects, which in turn are various shapes.

In order for us to make sense of these shapes our brains must bind together the bits and pieces

that formulate them. These necessary bits are; luminance, color, motion and texture. Once these

are bound together, our brain perceives the shape.

This shape however, is abstract until we can identify it. Upon seeing an object, our brains search

for information from past experiences that is already stored and synchs the object to existing

knowledge, but lets say we are missing this information, then what? We resort to actions linked

by hand and eye movements that can be associated with the object, for example, eating or

cooking a sausage, scanning a price tag at check out. Our brains scan the pattern, which includes

color, luminance, motion and texture to produce a generalized contour or a solid outline of the

object. In the case of the above image, our brains drew an outline of the sausages and price tags. If

there were interference like a textured background it would need the contour or outline to discern

the sausages and price tags from the rest of the image.

So now we have a contour, but the sausages are laying on each other. How do we perceive theseas two sausages and not just one strange reddish brown shape? Again, it goes back to color,

luminance, motion and texture. The sausages are shaded in such a way that breaks them apart.

Have you noticed the pattern of the image is easy to comprehend? We dont have to repeatedly

scan the object to make sense of it. This is due to the simplicity of the pattern. Our brains can only

process two to three chunks of information at a single time. If the object is complex it will take

several scannings and perhaps several seconds or minutes to understand the object. If the pattern

is simple, we can understand it in less than a second.

Color is an important factor in perception. For example, it can help us find patterns in data or give

us queues about how to move about our lives, such as, red; a warning indicator in the western

world.

Our eyes are made of rods and cones, which give us the ability to see at night and during the day.At the same time our eyes have three channels that process color. These are: red-green, yellow-

blue, black-white. These channels allow us to process contrasting or chromatic colors.

Contrast, which is most strongly experienced with black and white, allows us to see the difference

between a color and its surroundings. The brain is sensitive to differences in colors. For example,

the price tags in the original image above are easy to see, because they are on a light, almost

white background with contrasting details, however, the price tags of the chromatic, red and

green, image lose their detail due to the lack of contrasting colors. The sausages, on the other

hand, are easy to make out in the chromatic image and that is because our brains can pick up large

shapes of color without the need of light to decipher them.

The luminance channel, which allows us to see lightness and brightness, plays a role in our ability

to see the difference between colors, mainly through detail. In the case of the sausages, our

luminance channel is able to process the shape from the pattern of light and dark shading, which

allows us to see the depth of the sausages and a clear distinction that these are indeed two

sausages on the plane. Because of the large variance of colors, due to luminance in the original

image, we are able to pick up a significant amount of information about the object. The chromatic

image lacks this detail, because it illustrates large blocks of color that interfere with luminance.

Text is also affected by luminance. In much the same as the sausages, a large shape in chromatic

color is easy to identify, however, small text is another story. The stronger the luminance or

contrast in colors between background and object the bigger signal our brains receive in


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processing the information. For example, the text of the price tag on the bottom in the original

image is easier to make out or see, because black text is used against a white background and vice

versa for the top tag. The text in the price tags of the chromatic image is lost, because there is not

a strong color variance.

Just like our brains search for patterns of an object to perceive it, so does our brain utilize

narrative pattern to understand the context. Narrative is language and language can be a mixture

of symbols and grammar.

Visual designs are a hybrid of the language system and they contain aspects of visual pattern

finding as mentioned earlier. Furthermore, visual logic is made up of pattern, object and space or

the layout of objects and patterns (Collin Ware, 131). Narrative not only utilizes visual logic, but it

is built on three components; establishing a problem, elaborating a problem and solving a

problem. This is either done through a moving image or a series of visuals. Since, our eyes can only

process one pattern at a time and our brains can only keep track of four items at maximum, it is

important for the author to capture the audience and keep them captivated, walking the viewer

from moment to moment so they understand the sequence or information being conveyed to

them (Ware, 138-139). This is most important to film or cartoons. For still images the viewer has

more exploratory freedom, but this does not mean there should not be order to the narrative.

As for the sausages, the viewer, unlike the frame sequence of a film or comic strip, is free toexplore the visuals and space in whatever order they may dream. Additionally, unlike a diagram,

there are no symbols such as arrows, numbers, order of letters or directive lines that could

provide a set sequential order that leads to a solid conclusion, but that is not to say a narrative is

missing. The viewer can use the image of sausage, tag and text to conceive a short-term prediction

using the pattern recognition through hand and eye movement experiences thus making sense of

what the image represents. The important aspect of this image is that it is simple, therefore,

making the sequence of exploration quick. It does not require several scans of the eye to take in

the object as a whole, a prediction or conclusion can be drawn fairly quickly and does not become

an agonizing experience of trying to piece together complex information. The image presents

symbols, which are a form of language that can speak to us. The symbolic aspect is a sales tag,

suggested by the string and text on the tag. This may lead the viewer to the prediction orconclusion of sales or advertising of sausages, unfortunately, we cannot read the text, which

leaves us in a predictive state.

Through pattern recognition, color and narrative a viewer can comprehend what they are seeing

and its meaning. The sausages illustrate easy pattern recognition through simplicity of shape. In

other words, the viewer does not need to repeatedly scan the image to makes sense of it.

Contrasting colors give forth the details necessary to comprehend a clear pattern and recognition

of that pattern. Lastly, the simple image with a recognizable symbol of tag, string and text elicits a

narrative that can be solved through exploration via hand and eye movement pattern recognition.

The conclusion; these sausages are being sold.

Assignment 1 - Group F

Documents

Transcript of Assignment 1 - Group F