Dimension/Depth/Space/Scale

Tone and Color

the Basic Elements

Visual Thinking Research

Visual Perception 2/ Feature Hierarchy

The item I chose to analyze for this excercise is a Fender Stratocaster. It is an example of industrial design, and it also employs visual perception cues. What one may notice is a lack of color on the controls, but this is made up for by labels on the knobs. The 3 knobs are labeled volume, volume, and tone. The two volume controls and tone knob utilize spatial grouping and shape to be easily reached by the guitar player. There is also a toggle  switch above the knobs which switches the pickups (for those of you who don't know what a pickup is, it is a magnet which picks up the vibration of the string). Motion plays a large factor in these controls. One must turn left or right to increase or decrease volume and tone, and this is especially important while playing to a live audience. This particular guitar is oriented to a right handed player. It is very intuitive and easy to play live, due to the well thought out controls which require little visual perception,  but feeling instead.

Visual Perception 1/Top-Down Visual Processing

An example of a design item which uses top-down visual processing is a faucet. This fixture requires the user to decide how to use it in a quick fashion. When a user operates the faucet, he/she must devote attention to object, and there must be priming of the plan of use. One must look whether he/she wants hot or cold water (which is present in the left and right handles, respectively), and they must point the spout in the direction they want the water to go. This object is fairly self-explanatory, and performs a simple function with little attention given. This is an example of competent industrial design with respect to top-down visualization, due to the fact that it is simple to use and performs its function well, while also being aesthetically pleasing.

Design Success and Failure in Relation to Syntactical Guidelines

Here is the Porsche crest. It displays balance and leveling through the use of symmetry. Its colors also represent Germany and have a sense of prestige.

This is the Hyundai emblem. While it is symmetric and has some sense of balance and leveling, it does a poor job of symbolizing the letter H due to its skewed nature. It also bears a resemblance to the Honda emblem, which further confuses consumers. Compared to the Porsche emblem, its balance is poor and it comes off as a bit cut-rate.



Write a list of one-word or short-phrased responses you have to it in terms of its literal, representational content as well as its underlying compositional structure and include a list of any symbols (language or other symbols) that can be seen in the image. After this analysis, write a paragraph that completely reports (verbally) what the photograph reports (visually) and which could be used as a REPLACEMENT for it (as if you were describing it to someone who was visually impaired).

-Graphic representation
-organized
-line graph
-symbols
-numbers
-dates
-time
                   This photograph reprts a rise in unemployment over time. The graph utilizes an organized form which portrays unemployment levels as a red line which rises over time. Symbols are used to represent the data, such as numbers and dates to represent unemployment levels and the time period in which the unemployment level rose. A possible replacement for this data could've been a bar graph or perhaps a stem-and-leaf chart. A chart would be the best replacement for a person who could not see or interpret the red line on the graph.

Interactions Between the 3 Levels of Meaning:

An example of design I that I feel clearly expresses the 3 levels of meaning would be the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado (it also goes with my background picture!)

Representational: On the whole, this car represents a form of transportation; it obviously represents a car. The impact it has upon its user is the way in which it is able to transport them from point A to point B. It relates to the other levels meaning due to the fact that it not only incorporates Symbols and Abstractions, but they are also vital to the safety of the car and its identity (continue reading for an explanation!)

Abstract: The role of the abstract plays a major role on this car. It may not be obvious, but it is present in the Oldsmobile brand's logo. It is an absraction of a rocket shooting into space, representative of lofty aspirations and positivity. It also is emblematic of the space age, and era when Oldsmobiles were quite popular. The impact of this abstraction on the user would be one of identification of which brand of car they owned, and one that would bring pride in owning the car. The Olds brand was positioned above Chevrolet and Pontiac in the GM brand hierarchy, which meant an Oldsmobile was a car for the upper middle class and accomplished professional. This abstraction relates to the other to levels by identifying the car, and also symbolizing the financial status of the driver.

Symbolism: On the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, symbolism abounds. On the dashboard, there are numbers to symbolize the speed the car is going, as well as gauges which symbolize fluid and fuel levels, temperature, distance, and time. The car itself also symbolizes a major leap forward in technology, due to the fact that it was the first large car to feature front wheel drive since the expensive Cord automobile of the 30s. The symbols of the dashboard communicate vital information to the driver, and the symbolism of the car itself would make an owner feel proud and important to know that they were driving such an innovative car from GM's "experimental division". The symbolism of the Toronado relates to the representational and abstract levels of meaning through the way that the gauges keep the car safe and in a running state, and the symbols also reflect upon the pride and technolgical prowess of the Oldsmobile brand, which is identified in the depiction of the Rocket in the last picture.



This image is an example of a Representation. It is a representation because it is an extemely accurate and concise model of what it represents. In other words, it is a photograph. A photo is such a good quality representation because it is as close to actually seeing an object in person as one can get. From this representation, one can clearly identify this object as a car, (and if you're a Chevy person, specifically a 1961 Impala). Representations leave no details to the imagination and are able to spawn abstractions by artists.

This image is an abstraction. While extremely accurate and easy to identify, this abstraction of the actual Coliseum in Rome is not necessarily a representation. Factors such as light and color are left out. Different aspects of the scene in which this was drawn may have been left out by the artist, thus making it an abstraction. Drawings such as this are much more accurate than a symbol, yet lack the reality of a represenation.

This "check engine" light is a symbol. It lacks the realistic detail of a representation or faithful duplication of an abstraction. Instead, it only utilizes the bare necessities of an engine's shape to signify that something may be amiss in your car's engine. One can distinguish an air cleaner and fan, but that is about it. For someone who has no idea of what an engine looks like, there are words (symbols themselves) that say "check engine". This symbol has a purpose, and is not used for asthetic pleasure but instead the conveyance of meaning.

Howdy

This is my first post for DAI 323! testing, check 1,2, testing testing