COMM 1

author of The Art of Seeing

had seeing disorder

Sensing + Selecting + perceiving = SEEING

receiving visual stimuli by eye letting in enough light to see objects around you. depends on the all the working part of your eye

consciously selecting something to focus on with the eye's sharpest vision (fovea) from the entire scene

making sense of what you have selected and  finding meaning

Adlous Huxley

color, form, depth, movement

objective, comparative and subjective

scientific method of color perception as a result of different light wavelengths stimulating the back of the retina.

red, green and blue

cyan, magenta and yellow

you compare colors to the real world. like green is leaf. a problem is that people perceive colors differently

• a symbolic way of describing colors. 
• how colors reflect emotions and physiological states

Dots, lines and shapes

simplest possible form. Everything is made up of dots

a series of dots.

combination of dots and lines into patterns shapes can be quickly identified and separated from the background

• a four-sided figure with opposite sides that are parallel and equal in length. Squares are
• associated with dull, balanced, sturdy and straightforward.

a circle is an important attention grabber. important human shape

most dynamic and active shape. convey direction but also create tension

illusion we see because we have two eyes giving us different views

space, size, color, lighting(and shadow), textural gradients, interposition (objects overlapping), time (the more you look at something), and perpective

• warm colors: closer
• cool colors: farther away

• real movement: object actually moving
• apparent movement: objects appears to be moving
• graphic movement: way eye moves in a design
• implied movement: movement that is perceived form a still image

Max Wertheimer's idea that the eye merely takes in stimuli but the brain arranges the sensations into a coherent image

Without the brain movement would not take place

Max Wetheimer in the Gestalt theory. Perception is a result of a combo of sensations and not individual sensory elements

• Similarity:  objects that look similar are grouped together
• proximity: objects close to each other are grouped together
• continuation: brain seeks continuous line, doe snot like sudden or unusual changes 
• common fate: objects in the same direction are grouped togehter

• Julian Hochberg's idea that the eye is consenting moving and absorbing information to construct a larger image
• eye-tracking

Gestalt and Constructivism Theories. Concerned about  how brain notices and fails to see the visual cues

Semiotics and cognitive theories focus on the complex meaning humans apply to objects we see

a perceptual theory that concentrates on the signs

• iconic: resemble the thing they represent 
• Indexical: learned signs that have a logical connection to the thing they represent 
• Symbolic: learned signs, have to be taught because they are abstract

part of the semiotic theory, it is a collection of signs that cause viewer to make assumptions about what is seen

part of the semiotic theory, it is a group of signs that cause the viewer to make comparisons

when there is a transfer of meaning from one set of signs to another

several signs that combine to form a new composite meaning

a perceptual theory that focus on the viewer's mind as well as what is seen

• memory: a link to all images we have seen
• projection: making an images from other forms like clouds
• expectation: see what we expect to see
• selectivity:
• Habituation:
• Salience:
• Dissonance:
• Culture:
• Words:

• sensation is the raw data
• perception is the conclusion drawn from the data

• codes by Roland Barthes
• metonymy, analogy, displaced and condensed

part of the brain that stores and recalls memories and effects emotions

he linked color to the human eye. Eye must be composed of 3 different light sensitive receptors

by Young and Helmoltz is about the mixing of three primary colors to create all colors

• the more you...
• ...know...sense...select...perceive...remember...learn...SEE

• ambiguous: switching interpretation 
• distorting: caused by size, length or curve
• paradox: misunderstanding that adjacent edges must join

• When you think using words and images. 
• Talking about a scene

uses facts and emotions to promote a desired behavior

uses nonfactual info or opinions that appear to be facts

• ethos: credibility 
• logos: logic
• pathos: emotions