Visuals - The Big Picture!
Completion requirements
Visuals - The Big Picture!
People are visual beings, and we view and process visuals must faster than written text. With the world wide web now in our everyday lives, we are viewing and processing more visuals than ever before. Four key purposes of visual texts are:- to show creative expression (to share and evoke thought and emotion)
- to entertain (to provide a sense of mental escape for the viewer)
- to inform (to present information to the viewer)
- persuasive art (created to persuade the viewer to agree with the message)
In Unit 1, you responded personally to a visual text. In this section of the course, a more analytical approach will be applied to the study of visuals in order to gain understanding and appreciation for how visual texts are created with purpose. The visual creator plans and makes use of many different techniques to address the intended purpose. Below are some major visual elements that text creators must consider when creating.
Subject Matter + Form+ Medium + Context = Content
Form – What does the creator choose to leave in or out of the visual? How do creators use things such as framing to control the subject matter? How do they use lighting or lines to lead you around the visual in a planned order or to control the content? For example, to ensure you look at a certain area of the visual, the creator might intentionally make focus, size, and lighting choices.
Medium – Where is the visual shown and what technique or technology was used to create it? Think about how a gallery visual could be quite different from a poster.
Context – In what cultural space was the visual created? Where and when?
Content – What is the purpose of the creation? What is the main message?