Lesson 3 Visual Perception Cues

VISUAL
COMMUNICATION
LESSON 3 – Visual Perception Cues
WHY WE SEE
It is the brain, not the eyes, that understands

visual messages. The brain processes images
as four basic visual perception cues:
• Color
• Form
• Depth
• Movement
Color
Three different methods are used to describe
color: objective, comparative, and subjective.
Objective method - perception of color is simply the result of
various light stimulating the color-sensitive cones along the back of
the eyes' retina
Comparative method - the color that another color is compared

to must be accepted universally as a standard
Subjective method - a person's mental state or association with a

colored object strongly affects the emotional response of the
message
Form
Another common attribute of images that

the brain responds to is the recognition of
form.
Form defines the outside edges and the

internal parts of an object and has three
parts: dots, lines, and shapes.
Everything begins with a dot.
 Dots are unique and the beginning of visual

expression.
 Dots are individual points in space used to

connect lines. Locations can be established
with each dot and a figure becomes grounded.
 The meaning and connection between the dots

fills in the shape.
 Alternating the size of the dots and how often

they’re repeated or how close they are together
helps to establish the tone of the shape.
 Dots can shade, establish lines, and present

tonal gradations.
• A dot anywhere within a framed space demands immediate
attention. Moved to the center, the dot becomes the hub of a
wheel. If off to one side in a frame, the dot creates tension as
the layout appears out of balance.
• Two dots within a framed space also create tension as the

viewer is forced to divide attention between the two objects.
• Two dots within a field of view also can imply a measurement

between two points in space.
• When three or more dots appear in an image, the viewer

naturally tries to connect them with an imaginary line. It may
be a straight or curved line or take the basic shape of a
square, triangle, or circle.
• Hundreds of small dots grouped together can form complex

pictures.
Lines are many dots going in a direction.
Forming a few simple lines can become a symbol of meaning.

Lines can be thick, short, and thin. Lines can indicate movement
horizontally and vertically. Diagonal lines can increase the
tension.
Lines are the simplest way to

convey a message in elements
of visual literacy. Lines signify
everything we see in every
symbol, shape, and form.
Lines, whether straight or curved or in combination, have an
energy that comes from the sequence of individual dots.
Hence lines almost always evoke an emotion in the viewer.
• Straight lines convey a message of stiffness and rigidity. They can be
horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.
• Curved lines convey a mood of playfulness, suppleness, and

movement. Curves have a gracefulness about them that soften the
content of their active message.
• If lines are thick and dark, their message is strong and confident.
• If thin and light with a clear separation between them, their mood is
delicate, perhaps a bit timid.
Shapes are two dimensional forms with clear boundaries.
Shapes occur when lines get thick and dots get big.
All shapes will fall into one of two categories. Geometric shapes or regular shapes
are easy to recognize. Examples include: circle, triangle, square, and trapezoid.
Organic or freeform shapes are shapes that seem to follow no rules. Organic
shapes generally do not have a name associated with them.
Depth
Because we have two eyes set slightly apart, we naturally
see in three rather than two dimensions. Consequently, we
expect our pictures to have the illusion of depth even
though they are actually presented on a flat surface.
Depth is related to volume because when a basic shape

has volume, it exhibits the illusion of weight and mass.
Subsequently, researchers have identified eight possible

factors, used singly or in combination, that give viewers a
sense of depth: space, size, color, lighting, texture
gradients, interposition, time, and perspective.
 Space is the frame in which an image is located.
 Size can help in the illusion of depth perception if the viewer is aware of
the object's actual size. Size, consequently, is closely related to our ability
to determine an object's distance. Distance is related to space and helps
in our perception of depth.
Depth perception comes into play here

because the photographer has taken a sand
bucket that is much smaller than the people in
the photo and made it appear much bigger.
Through the use of space, by putting the
bucket close up to the camera, he has made
the location of the bucket appear to be trying
to consume the people. This gives viewers one
perspective. Even though their brains tell
them that the bucket is smaller, their eyes see
that it looks like it’s much bigger instead. This
different factors work together with the brain
and eyes.
 Color can communicate depth. Warm-colored objects appear closer than cool-
colored objects. High-contrast pictures with great differences between light and dark
tones seem closer than objects colored with more neutral tones.
 Lighting intensities can communicate depth. The light's brightness
and position create shadows that the viewer notices.
 Textural Gradients are like the ripple effect seen in a still pond
suddenly disturbed by a rock or ridges from the wind against a sand
dune. The ridges appear closer together as the viewer moves away.
 Interposition is the placement of one object in front of another to
give the illusion of depth.
 Time as a depth cue refers to the first element a viewer sees in a frame.
That picture will be in the foreground of the viewer's mind, with other
images seen later in the background.
 Perspective is the most complex depth perception cue. There are three major
forms of perspective: illusionary, geometrical, and conceptual.
An illusionary perspective can be achieved through size, color, lighting, interposition, and
linear perspective.
In geometrical perspective, the artist shows near figures in the lower portion of the
picture, and objects farther away higher in the frame on a vertical line above the near
object.
Conceptual perspective is a compositional trait that relies on a more symbolic
definition of depth perception than the other types of perspective. It can be
divided into two types: multiview and social.
With the multiview perspective, a

viewer can see many different sides
of an object at the same time.
In a social perspective, the most important

person in a group. A viewer often assumes
power relationships because of social
perspective.
Movement
Color, form, and depth join movement to
constitute the principal qualities of images that
make the cells in the visual cortex respond quickly
to a stimulus. There are four types of movement:
real, apparent, graphic, and implied.
Real movement is motion not connected with a picture presented in
the media. It is actual movement either by a viewer or by some other
person or object.
Apparent or illusionary movement, is a type of motion in which a stationary object
appears to move. The most common example of this type of movement is motion picture
films. People in a film appear to move when a movie is projected onto a screen. In reality,
the filmed characters aren't moving at all. Motion pictures and televised images are simply
a series of still images spliced together on a long strip of film or videotape. Movement is
perceived in the brain through a phenomenon called persistence of vision.
Graphic movement can be the motion of the eyes as they scan a field of view or
the way a graphic designer positions elements so that the eyes move throughout
a layout. One of the first psychologists to study a viewer's eye movements over
an image was Julian Hochberg. His constructivism theory of visual communication
states that viewers see successive parts of a picture over time with eyes that scan
a scene. The mind then puts these scanned parts of a picture together to form a
whole image.
Implied movement is a motion that a viewer perceives in a still, single image without
any movement of object, image, or eye.
Some graphic designs purposely stimulate the eyes with implied motion in order to
attract attention. Optical or "op" art has been used in advertisements and in posters
to achieve frenetic, pulsating results.

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VISUAL

It is the brain, not the eyes, that understands

Comparative method - the color that another color is compared

Subjective method - a person's mental state or association with a

Another common attribute of images that

Form defines the outside edges and the

 Dots are unique and the beginning of visual

 Dots are individual points in space used to

 The meaning and connection between the dots

 Alternating the size of the dots and how often

 Dots can shade, establish lines, and present

• Two dots within a framed space also create tension as the

• Two dots within a field of view also can imply a measurement

• When three or more dots appear in an image, the viewer

• Hundreds of small dots grouped together can form complex

Forming a few simple lines can become a symbol of meaning.

Lines are the simplest way to

• Curved lines convey a mood of playfulness, suppleness, and

Depth is related to volume because when a basic shape

Subsequently, researchers have identified eight possible

Depth perception comes into play here

With the multiview perspective, a

In a social perspective, the most important

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