Visual Techniques

Lamborghini Aventador

Visual Techniques: Harmony, Complexity, Intricacy, Exaggeration, Stasis, Symmetry, Asymmetry, Balance, Boldness, Accent, Opacity, Accuracy, Depth, Sharpness, Angularity. 

Porsche GT3 RSR

Visual Techniques: Contrast, Instability, Symmetry, Complexity, Exaggeration, Activeness, Boldness, Depth, Sharpness, Roundness.

Pictured above are two different cars; A Lamborghini Aventador on the top and a Porsche GT3 RSR on the bottom. The Aventador and GT3 have a lot of similarities. Both car designs are very complex and sharp, shown through their aggressive body shape and lines. Both are painted black and have contrasting accents in black. Each car’s height, shape, and overall design is highly exaggerated and extremely bold; representing a luxurious race car. The depth on each car is shown through the different tonal changes, shape, and dimensional changes around the body.  However, they differ in that the first photo is one of stasis and the second is one of activeness. The imbalance/instability of the second photo shows movement; especially given the environment that it is photographed in. The first photograph displays stasis because of it’s environment and the angle that it is shot at. The Aventador design is one of angularity, where the GT3 design adopts a more rounded look. The content is structured through these visual techniques and is interpreted as being an extremely fast, luxurious, and aggressive car. To me the two cars express elegance, and accuracy. The designs of both of these exotic cars are meticulously designed works of art. 

Contrast

Successful Contrast

“Contrast is the counteraction to the human perceptual systems’ action toward leveling or harmony.  In the photo above, the visual design of the car as well as the environment it is in manages the contrast.  The colors red and black are very opposite and contrasting colors; one is bright and vibrant while the other is dark.  Both colors together make the car visually stand out more than if it were only one color. The contrasting colors create a pop out effect. It use of the contrasting colors also highlights certain features on the car.  Another contrast in the photo is the room that it is in.  The room is filled with disorderly art on the right, and geometric shapes on the left. The tone of the artwork on the walls also adds to the pop out effect of the car and contrasts in color and tone.  A contrast in depth is also present, shown by the narrowing walls and the artwork in the back of the room.  This also aids in the contrast of scale and proportion.

Failed Contrast

This Bugatti Veyron represents a very poor use of contrast and contributes to it being a failed design.  There is no harmony between the two colors. One color is light pink, and the other is a more intense pink with a camouflage pattern. Not only do the colors fit the car, but they also do not work well with each other.  The features of the car are hidden due to the tone of the brighter pink. The camouflage make it difficult to see any kind of defined lines and create confusion. Another feature of the car that demonstrates a lack of contrast is the wheel color. It too creates confusion and does not create any harmony. 

Movement/Motion

Implied motion means that motion is suggested, but not shown in action. The implied motion in these photos is shown through the Gestalt Law of Continuation. The Law of Continuation states that we expect lines and patterns to continue.  The pattern of the track, sides of track, and railing imply that the car is moving. The car itself is still.  Another indication of implied motion is the wheels, which show a continuous pattern. The photo also displays imbalance, which was also mentioned by Dondis. The photograph is shot in a triangular shape, which creates movement through stress. The diagonal continuous lines as well as the direction of the car show the implied movement. 

Dimension/Depth/Space/Scale

According to Dondis, “All visual elements have the capacity to modify and define each other.  In this photograph, the viewer can get a relative idea of how large the car is because of what is around it. In Dondis’ words, “Scale can be established not only through the relative size of visual clues, but also through relationships to the field or environment.” Depth cues also provide an indicator of space, how large something is, and how close it is.  Overlap is present in this photograph; the car overlaps the jet, and the jet overlaps parts of the building and trees. This would be considered a retinal image.  Relative size and height are also indicated through the use of different objects; in this case the jet. We know how large the jet and car are based on familiar size as well. The viewpoint being from at a higher location also helps indicate the size. The space inside of the garage/hangar is shown through the juxtaposition of the car and jet inside and how both are not touching the walls. Lastly, linear perspective is present through the narrowing visual.  

Tone and Color

How Tone is Operating

“The most fundamental level of visual perception and any visual design is tone.”  The tone distinguishes the differences, changes, and edges on the Mclaren p1. Depth and dimension become more obvious through the different tonal ranges. The form of the car is captured through the use of different tones.  

How Tone is Interacting

One basic element that tone is interacting with is the element of shape. The complexity of the lines and shapes of the car are highlighted by the different tonal ranges of the different features. Depth is highly noticeable through the use of lighter and darker tones.

How Color is Operating

The intense orange and deep black intensify the Mclaren P1. The orange-red color is extremely bright and highly saturated. This color red would be considered “emotional and active”, which should be expected from a sports car.  These colors demonstrates symbolize the aggressive and exotic appearance of a sports car. 

How Color is Interacting

On the Mclaren P1, the basic element of shape is highlighted by the use of color. The deep black is used as an accent for certain dimensional shapes and juxtapose the orange. The side view mirrors, the roof, and the front bumper are all square-like shapes and are brought to the viewers attention by the use of black.  The orange-red color is used for the outer parts of the body shape, highlighting the general shape of the entire car.

Car Design

The Line

This featured image is a sketch of a BMW, highlighting the active basic element of, the line. The role of the line is to define visual perception countours, especially when the object is in the draft stages. It creates the boundaries and concept of what the car is going to look like. The surface and structure of the car are defined by the sequence of lines; leading the eye horizontally. According to Dondis, the, "line is the essential element of the drawing, which is a notation system that does not stand for something else, symbolically, but does capsulize visual information, boiling it down to a state of reduction where all superfluous visual information has been stripped away and only the essential remains. 

The Shape

The active basic element in this photograph is shape. The result of multiple lines is a shape, or in Dondis' words, "In the parlance of the visual arts, line articulates the complexity of shape."  The shapes visible in this featured image are a triangle, square, and circle. The car is photographed at a triangular angle, which creates perceptual stress. The role of the triangular shape is for the perception of movement. It accomplishes this by the car being photographed at an angle. The purpose for this is because it provides the car with a provoking aggressive sports car like stance, giving it dynamism. Other obvious shapes are circles and squares. The car itself is generally shaped like a rectangle, but contoured in an aerodynamic way, looking like it is built for speed. And the rest of the car is accented with square/rectangular shapes. The circular shapes are the wheels and headlights.  The shape captures the design of this BMW. 

Scale

This photograph represents the active basic element of scale. Scale, a visual measuring tool, requires juxtaposition, which is why this BMW is staged next to a motorcycle. The role of the differently sized motorcycle plays is to communicate the actual size and relative proportion of the car. It does this by showing that the motorcycle is comparatively smaller than the car. According to Dondis"Scale can be established not only through the relative size of visual clues, but also through relationships to the field or the environment."The hills, wall, and pavement all indicate the size of the motorcycle and car. 

Blog Exercise: Visual Thinking Research

The objective of this puzzle was to count how many triangles are visible within the pentagon pattern. The strategies that I employed in the solving of this puzzle were finding, pattern seeking, and visual memorization. I took started off by counting the amount of obvious triangles that are displayed in the puzzle. I then started looking for triangles along the outside of the pentagon. I soon noticed that there was a pattern with the triangles and the amount of sides on the pentagon. I noticed that the shape contained 5 triangles of each size triangle.

The strategies that my friend used to solve this puzzle were finding, and visual memorization. First he counted all of the most obvious triangles. After that, he started with finding other triangles with smaller ones first, moving up to the larger ones. As he took note of each triangle, he visually memorized which ones he had already counted. 

The first part of this puzzle required the user to figure out how many squares were visible in the puzzle. My friend used finding, pattern seeking, pattern completion, and filling in to solve this puzzle. First he found the most obvious squares, which were the ones that are verticle and horizontal. Next he noticed squares were also present using diagonal corners. He drew lines to complete the square patterns. He found 17 squares. 21 were present.

The next objective was to fill in 6 of the green dots in a way that would eliminate the ability to form any squares. He did this by filling in circles on each row or column, eliminating smaller squares first and then making sure that it also eliminated the formation of larger squares.

I used the same strategies in this puzzle as my friend. I found the squares and completed the patterns by drawing lines. I was able to find 19 squares.

For the second part of this puzzle, I accidentally filled 8 dots, which was two more than I was allowed to use to solve it. 

Visual Perception 2 / Feature Hierarchy

Above is a photograph of the interior of a Lamborghini Gallardo. As mentioned in lecture, pre-attentive features are ones that catch the eye before we are even conscious of what it is that we are looking at. The primary pre-attentive feature is the color yellow.  The yellow color immediately stands out over the black features.  The visual hierarchy is denoted by the he seats, center consol, air vents, dash, and door handles being yellow; highlighting the importance of these features. The interior of this car is an example of both bottom up and top down processing. The color yellow itself is an example of bottom up processing because it highlights patterns, shapes, and objects. The location of the yellow along with the rest of the black features is an example of top down processing; requiring direct eye movement. The yellow is a very effective in terms of visual hierarchy and feature channels. 

http://automobile303.blogspot.com/2011/10/lamborghini-gallardo-interior-pictures.html#axzz29hVM6GmY

Visual Perception 1 / Top-Down Visual Processing

Top down visual processing is “driven by the demands of attention, which we determined by the needs of the tasks” (Ware).  This type of processing is goal biased, and focused on attention. The puzzle pictured above is an example of top down visual processing.  For the user, the goal is to complete the puzzle, which requires focused attention on the uniquely cut squares in order to figure out which ones fit with the rest.  Most of the puzzle is in one color, so attention is focused on the shapes, rather than the colors.  

A cockpit of an F-22 is another example of top down visual processing.  A pilot must focus his attention on the relevant information by scanning back and forth between what is being displayed on each gauge and screen.  The goal is to read every bit of information in order to navigate, or accomplish another necessary task. 

Design Success and Failure / Syntactical Guidelines

Syntactical guidelines have been put to good use in this photograph. The asymmetric balance creates drama and tension in the photograph, giving off a very dynamic composition. Every part of the shot is analyzed in terms of triangles, creating a fast moving effect.  

This photograph fails to follow syntactical guidelines and takes on an ambiguous composition. The car itself is static and balanced, but everything else in the photo lack balance. There are some cars in the background, a fence, and trees that are not particularly arranged in any way; adding nothing to the composition and taking attention away from the car.  The photograph fails to depict the car as a powerful, luxurious, and fast moving sports car.  

Visual Language Syntax

Veteran

This is a photograph of a war veteran standing before the monument at National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, reading the names of the solders that were killed in combat.  He is missing one leg and standing next to his wheel chair with his back turned to the photographer, supporting himself with crutches.  The veteran is dressed in a suit with a beret covering his head. The photo looks to have been taken during the daytime.

Responses/Feelings in terms of representational content.

Sadness

Pride

Sacrifice

Remembrance

Pain

somber

Symbols

Wheelchair = Injured in combat

Missing leg = amputated

Standing up = strength

Facing wall = reading

Suit = importance

The underlying composition of this visual representation contributes to the responses and feelings that come up when viewing this photograph. The veteran is standing still by himself, and appears to be remembering his fallen comrades and other memories from the war. His amputated leg suggests that he was injured in combat and may be in physical or emotional pain. With his back turned, the tone seems to be more somber.