Visual Theory Notes:

Theories are nothing but are simply best guesses made from a series of carefully considered observations.
a theory is not cut in stone; it is not a fact. As such, authority should be questioned and rigorously
defended without passion and with an open-minded attitude from both sides so that the exchange leads to
its improvement, rejection, or elevation to an established fact. They can be divided into fundamental
groups: sensory and perceptual. Those who advocate the sensory theory maintain that direct or mediated
images are composed of light objects that attract or repel us. They are more concerned with what the brain
sees but not so much of how the mind considers them whereas the perceptual theories are concerned
mainly with the meaning that humans associated with the images - what the mind sees. To understand any
of these approaches to visual communication, you must first know the difference between visual sensation
and visual perception.
A sensation is a stimulus from the outside world that activates nerve cells within your sense organs for
example when you touch a hot cup you have an immediate reaction of removing your hand. Sensations
are lower order, physical responses to stimuli and alone convey no meaning they are simply conveyers of
information to the brain and our mind make meaning of all the necessary inputs. Conclusions based on
those data are almost instant near our mind interpret the noises, smell, temperature and etc. Visual
perception concentrates on the conclusion that are made from the information gathered by our eyes.
Sensory theories off visual communication: Researchers and tourists who concentrate on sensory
theories or visual communication are mainly concerned with how the brain notices or fails to see the
visual cues of colour, form, depth and movement. As a general rule, sensory theories are not concerned
with the literal meaning of what is possible to be seen. They help us understand how we can be attracted
and distracted from the visual messages.
Gestalt: The Gestalt theory of visual perception Emerged from an observation German psychologist Max
Wertheimer once looked out of the window of a moving train when suddenly, he realises that he could see
the outside scene even though the opaque wall of the train partially blocked his view. After that he left the
train in Frankfurt and went to the toy store and bought a popular children's toy of the day a stroboscope
now called a flip book. His observation during the train and using the flip book led to research at the
university of Frankfurt. Over there he concluded that the eyes merely take in all the visual stimuli,
whereas the brain arranges the sensation into a coherent image. Without a brain, that links individual
sensory elements, the phenomena of movement would not take place. His idea led to a famous statement -
the whole is different from the sum of its parts. The word Gestalt comes from a German noun that means
form or shape. Gestalt psychologist or did you find the initial work by Max to conclude that visual
perception is a result of organising sensory elements or form into various groups discrete elements within
a scene are combined and understood by a brain through a series of four fundamental principles of
grouping that are often called laws: similarity proximity continuation and common fate.
1. Similarity: This Gestalt law states that the object look similar will be automatically grouped
together by the brain
2. Proximity: the brain more closely associate objects close to each other than it does to an object
that is farther apart proximity is also a factor with the visual cue of depth. The illusion is enhanced
if an object is perceived as being close to the viewer while another seems farther away. If two
objects appear to be on the same horizontal plane or are the same size, their proximity is equal and
the sensation of depth is reduced.
3. Continuation: The brain seeks as much as possible a smooth continuation of perceived movement
objects viewed as belonging to a continuation line will be mentally separated from the objects that
are not a part of that line. Continuation also refers to objects that are partially blocked by a
 foreground object with viewers mind continuing the line in order to achieve a kind of graphic
closure.
4. Common Fate: A viewer mentally groups five arrows or five raised hands pointing to the sky
because they all point in the same direction. An arrow or a hand pointed in the opposite direction
will create tension, because the viewer will not see it as a part of upwardly directed whole. Again,
a visual communicator can use this principle to direct a viewer’s eyes towards or away from the
graphic element in a picture or design.
The gestalt theory teaches us two important lessons:
 studying individual elements of a picture helps you who better understand its whole meaning.
 the theory helps you to create more noticeable prints and screen media design.
The gestalt theory helps to focus on tiny, cropped version of a photograph so that additional insights can
be learned when the attention is turned to the entire image. Gestalt research radically changed the design
of philosophy of graphic artists its strength is its attention to the individual forms that makes up a pictures
content. It teaches the visual communicator to combine those basic elements to a meaningful whole. the
approach also teaches the graphic artist to focus attention on certain elements by playing against the
gestalt principles. it also helped alter the front-page layout of newspapers. The Gestalt clearly shows that
the brain is powerful organ that classifies visual material in discrete group. What we see when looking at
a picture is modified by what we are directed to see or missed by photographers, film makers and graphic
designers.
Constructivism: In 1970 Julian Hochberg, a professor of psychology at Columbia University, found that
the eyes of his experimental subjects were constantly in motion as this can an image. These fixations all
combined within the viewers short term memory to help build a mental frame of the scene. In his
experiments he used eye tracking machines to monitor what and how the participant looked at an image.
In the study, by viewing graphic images, it was found that the viewers found the largest picture on a page
first, and then looked the headline of the story. The constructivism theory focuses on how our eyes fixate
on different aspects of an image and for what reasons will stop the visual sensory theories applies
different everyday visual cues to help us understand how we see and what draws our eyes.
The perceptual Theories of visual communication: The semiotics and cognitive theories of visual
perception can be considered to be content driven. Although recognising that vision cannot happen
without light illuminating, structuring and sometimes creating perception, these two theories stress that
humans are unique in the animal Kingdom because we assign complex meaning to the object we see.
Semiotics: Semiotics is the study or science of signs. The study of semiotics is vital because signs
permeate every message, whether verbal or visual. The academic study of semiotics attempts to identify
and explain the signs used by every society in the world. In 397 Cy, Augustine of hippo, Roman
philosopher, linguist and Bishop of Roman Catholic Church, first proposed the study of sign. For him
signs but the link between nature and humans. The word semiotics come from a language of his country:
semeion is a Greek word for sign. Contemporary semiotics emerged through the work of two theories just
before World War One. Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure Developed a general theory of science
while professor at the university of Geneva. At about the same time American philosopher Charles
Sanders Pierce published his own ideas about the effect of signs on society. De Sausser and Pierce
inspired others to concentrate this field of study. De Sausser and Pierce weren’t particularly interested in
the visual aspect of science. They were traditional linguistic who studied the way words were used to
communicate meaning through the narrative. Over the years semiotics have evolved into a theory of
perception that involves the use of signs in unexpected ways.
Written and visual example of types of sign:
  Iconic signs: Iconic signs are the easiest to interpret because they most closely resemble the thing
they are meant to represent. for example: Cave painting of animals by prehistoric humans.
 Indexical science: they have a logical, common-sense connection to the things or idea they
represent rather than a direct resemblance to the object. Consequently, their interpretation takes a
little longer than that of the icons. For example: smoke represent pollution generated by furnace or
engine.
 Symbolic signs: They have no logical or representational connexion between them and the things
they represent. Symbols, more than other types of signs, have to be taught. Because of this reason,
social and cultural consideration influence them greatly. Boards numbers colours are example of
symbolic signs.
 Metonymic code: Turn of signs that cause the viewer to make assumption about water scene is
metonymy code. In that way, this type of code is closely associated with the indexical sign.
 Analogical code: this type of code is a group of signs that caused the viewer to make mental
comparison.
 Displaced code: whenever there is a transfer of meaning from one set of science to another, a
displaced code.
 Condensed code: condense code are several signs that combine to form a new, composite
message. This type of orders the most interesting
Cognitive: According to the cognitive theory, what is going on in viewers mind is just as important as the
images that can be seen. Mental activity focuses attention on visual element, but they can also distract the
viewer. Carolyn bloomer identified several mental activities in that visual perception. These are:
 Memory: the most important mental activity involved in accurate visual perception is memory. it
is our link but all the images we have seen.
 Projections: A person's mental state of mind is projected onto an inanimate object or generalised
statement. Someone may spend hours marvelling at the human like fails formed by the coves and
shadows in a tree trunk while another will walk past. The difference between the two maybe in the
mental processes that affect the things they see.
 Expectations: having preconceived expectations about how a scene should appear often leads to
false or missed visual perception.
 Selectivity: Aldous Huxley discussed this cognitive element when he wrote of combining
selecting bit sensing and perceiving. Most of what people see within a complicated visual
experience is not a part of conscious processing. Most vital perception is an unconscious,
automatic act by which large number of images enter and leave mind without being processed. We
usually focused only on significant details within a scene.
 Habituation: To protect itself from overstimulation and unnecessary images that might fatigue
and confuse, the mind tends to ignore visual stimuli that are a part of a person's every day,
habitual activities.
 Salience: I stimulus will be noticed more if it has a meaning for an individual. If you have
recently met someone you like who likes pizza and you see a pizza shop you will be reminded of
that person.
 Dissonance: For many common trying to read by a television or stereo is loudly playing in the
same room is difficult because the mind tends to concentrate only on one activity at a time. A
book is set aside the moment a television programme or the lyrics of a song becomes interesting.
It runs the risk of creating visual messages that the viewer cannot understand because of the
competing formats. Disown ends can also happen if a room is too warm or too cold. Too many
distractions and you will find it difficult to concentrate on a single visual message.
 Culture: culture influences have made a tremendous impact on visual perception. Frank boss, a
leader in the field of anthropology in his book anthropology and modern life explained that culture
 is the community of emotional lie that rises from our everyday habits. Forger last culture is more
important than a race. Culture determines the importance of science that effects the people who
live with and among us.
 Words: Words are like memory and culture; it profoundly affects our understanding and
subsequent long-term recall often image. One of the strongest forms of communication is when
words and images are combined in equally respectful ways.
Semiotics and cognitive approaches to visual communication state that the human mind is an infinitely
complex living organism that science may never fully understand. But meaningful Connections between
what people see and how they use those images arise when mental processing is viewed as human rather
than automatic, mechanical process. The sensory theories of gestalt and constructivism and the perceptual
theories of semiotics and cognitive teach visual communication to look closely at their world, create
design at attract attention, be mindful of the varied messages that comes from the image, and understand
the possible mental enhancers and destruction to anything that might be attempted graphically.