Reading 7

Eric Malone Reading 7

Charge It Up:

“The brain states and bodily responses are the fundamental facts of an emotion, and the conscious feelings are the frills that have added icing to the emotional cake.”

As designers we should have the ability “charge up” the emotion of our designs. Wether you use color, pattern, or lay out as a way of channeling emotion you should be aware of the possible outcomes.

Emotional Salience:

Emotional imagery is an effective way of getting an emotional response from the viewer. Color seems to have to most potential to evoke emotion. In the english language metaphors often use colors to describe feelings. Feeling blue, green with envy, red with anger and seeing things through rose colored glasses are all examples.

Visual Metaphors:

Visual metaphors and analogies are sometimes used by designers to provide the viewer with a way of understanding. They can be a way of communicating complex ideas in an enticing manner. When a visual metaphor succeeds, it synthesizes two objects or concepts to reveal a new connection of deeper meaning.

Novelty and Humor:

The ability to imbed a sense of humor to your designs can be extremely powerful. When properly implemented it evokes amusement and enjoyment. Novelty arises from unusual juxtapositions or from seeing objects in unconventional perspectives. 

Reading 6

Eric Malone Reading 6

Clarify Complexity:

The audience needs to be clearly defined when determining the level of complexity to be used. Too complex of a design may catch your attention but be to confusing to be understood easily. A simple design may be visually pleasing but may not contain the content needed for communication. Complexity is very different person to person requiring a lot of information about the desired audience. 

Segments and Sequences:

Breaking up large and broad concepts into manageable pieces can be difficult. It is important to guide the viewers eye through the piece in sequential order. This can be accomplished in many ways including grids, blocks, and labeling.

Specialized Views:

Effective ways to portray complex systems include cutaways, magnifications,interior views and exploded views. Also effective are unique coloring, labeling, Implied motion etc. 

Inherent Structure:

The inherent structure supports the information in the same way as bones support muscle. Viewers rely on this structure in order to understand the nature of the information. 

The LATCH system is an acronym for Location, Alphabet, Time, Category, and Hierarchy. The LATCH system is particularly helpful when considering how to organize large amounts of information.

Reading 5

Eric Malone Reading 5

Make the Abstract Concrete:

“The power of the unaided mind is highly overrated. Without external aids, memory, thought and reasoning we are all constrained.”

Taking an abstract thought process and converting it into easy to understand concrete visual representation is the goal at hand.

How abstract graphics work:

The relationship between the visual elements and the is very important. Making this juxtaposition should be the main goal. Many technical, scientific and business publications utilize abstract graphics because they provide a concrete reference to abstract ideas.

Data displays:

Graphs and tables are an effective way to display data. A visual representation makes comparing two sets of data far more simple to understand. As in a pie chart it is simple to see which section is larger. Using numbers and figures is far less welcoming and much more difficult to understand quickly. Data displays should provide a shortcut to understanding the intended message of the designer.

Visualization of information:

The vehicle used to deliver information is extremely important. Vehicles could include illustrated visuals, geographic visuals and timelines. Sometimes the choice is fairly simple because the data demands it. Other times much critical thinking is required to find something that works. You need to try to look at things from different perspectives in order to deliver information in an easy to digest manor. 

Reading 4

Eric Malone Reading 4

Reduce Realism:

Being direct and clear is an effective way to communicate. In design this can be accomplished by taking away the intense detail and allowing the viewer to concentrate on the overall meaning being portrayed. 

Efficient Visual Information Processing:

Graphic comprehension is effectively accomplished by designing with a minimalist approach. A hierarchy that is well defined using visual cues creates a piece that is suited for optimal learning capability.

Visual Noise:

It is important to design with visual noise in mind. Too much visual noise is easily distracting and too little visual noise can be seen as being sterile.

Silhouettes:

A silhouette is a basic profile of an object. Some silhouettes are broken down into the most basic shape while maintaining recognizable while others can be quite expressive. A silhouette that is too closed and featureless can be difficult to perceive.

Iconic Forms:

“In this book, an iconic form refers to a highly distilled or stylized depiction that captures the essential characteristics of an object or concept.” Many objects are so easily recognizable that no explanation is needed. These objects can be powerful when used correctly. They can help illustrate a designers message without explanation. 

Reading 3

Eric Malone Reading 3

“If the viewer’s eyes are permitted to wander at will through a work then the artist has lost control.”

Direct the eyes:

Our eyes first fixate on the points we find the most interesting, we do not randomly glance here and there. The eye typically start in the upper left hand corner as a point of entry. We then usually scan left to right and then top to bottom.

Position:

The frame helps create meaning for the elements within. Position is primarily about visual hierarchy. A standard hierarchy consists of three levels; primary, secondary and equivalent.

Emphasis:

A well defined emphasis can add life to an otherwise flat and lifeless image. Color, position and weight can help emphasize a particular element.

Movement:

The addition of movement to a piece can add interest and aid in the direction of eye flow.

Eye gaze:

The gaze of your eye should move smoothly and without distraction. 

Visual cues:

Our minds naturally search for the most important areas in a composition. We then prioritize the most important areas dependent on the visual cues provided. 

Reading 2

Eric Malone Reading 2

“Design is about making things that are memorable.”

Organize for perception:

In order for our minds to make sense of visual information we need break it down into smaller pieces. We cannot take everything in all at once. A good designer will establish a hierarchy that presents visual information in the most meaningful order.  

Features that pop out:

“Pop out” is a scientific term? Primitive features that are most likely to control attention include color, motion, orientation, size, depth, tilt, shape, line terminators (where the line ends), closure (an enclosed space), topological properties (such as a dot inside a circle), and line curvature. 

“Two properties must differ by a large enough proportion or they will not be distinguished.” In general you should make a primitive feature prominent.

Texture:

Texture can be thought of as the optical grain of a surface. When type is repeated, varied, layered or manipulated and altered it creates and optical grain that conveys meaning.

Grouping:

“Combining parts into wholes takes precedence over seeing the parts themselves.”

Reading 1

Eric Malone Reading 1

Images are perceived in many different ways. Understanding how the human mind processes images is essential for designers. People interpret images based on many personal factors. These could include cultural background, age, gender and level of education.

Sensory memory: 

Iconic memory-Visual 

Echoic memory-Auditory.

Working memory:

Working memory provides a workspace to analyze, manipulate and synthesize information. Provides a way to compare new stimulus to something we already know. 

Schemas: Mental Representations. 

“Schemas form an extensive and elaborate network of representations that embody our understanding of the world.” The entire purpose of encoding information into long-term memory is so we can retrieve it when we need it. 

Information Value:

A graphic’s information purpose. “Information is a difference that makes a difference.” Every element in a graphic or composition has the potential to convey a message to the viewer.