IDEA VIZ
Gestalt Theory
The word gestalt means pattern in German. Gestalt theory states that humans look for order or a relationship between various elements. They analyze individual parts of an image as separate components and have the tendency to group these separate parts into a larger image that may be very different from the individual components.
The Gestalt theory of visual perception is important for designers because they provide a clear description of basic perceptual phenomena. The Gestalt laws translate into a set of principles for idea and knoweldge visualizations. These are: proximity, similarity, connectedness, continuity, symmetry, closure, relative size, and common fate.
VISUAL PERCEPTION
The Meaning of Images
Images provide a cognitive context through which we can understand the complexity of our surroundings. Images are produced to evoke a visual experience. Today, they have become the primary channel through which we gain knowledge about our world.
As described in 'Visual Language for Designer by Connie Malamed, when looking at an image, the viewer consciously or unconsciously experiences competing perceptions. These perceptions are inevitably colored by their preconceived ideas, values and beliefs.
To understand the meaning of images and its implications for image production and consumption we need to understand the ways in which visual perception operates and the role that social and cultural factors come to play in creating 'systems of visual representation'.
VISUAL IMPACT
Communicating the Cognitive Thread
The method of visualizing ideas has existed and continues to exist at present. Visual narrative is a phenomenon that every society is familiar with. The term broadly used to refer to visual story-telling. It indicates anything from diagrams, still images to illustrated story-book and motion pictures.
In his book 'Visual Thinking for Design', Colin Ware, explains that the purpose of narrative, whether it is visual or verbal, is to capture cognitive thread of the audience. The cognitive thread is the sequence of concepts that are held actively in visual and verbal working memories, together with the links between them. The framework around which visual narratives are built consists of three main components: establishing a problem, elaborating a problem, and resolving a problem.
VISUAL NARRATIVE