lesson 2

• visual media are sources of information in the form of visual representations. These can be abstractions, analogues, rough illustrations, or digital reproductions of the objects. 

   
• Visual message design is a symbol with meaning. 
• Visual media is a colloquial expression used to designate things like TV, movies, photography, painting and so on. But it is highly inexact and misleading. All the so-called visual media turn out, on closer inspection, to involve the other senses (especially touch and hearing.) 
• Information Graphics or Infographics - are graphic visual representations of Information, data or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly.
• Visual media and information – materials, programs, applications and the like that teachers and students use to formulate new information to aid learning through the use, analysis, evaluation and production of visual images. 
• JPEG (JPG)


  Joint Photographic Experts Group created this standard for image formatting, compressed to store a lot of information in a small-size file, most digital cameras store photos in this format
• TIFF (TIF)


  Tagged Image File Format, uncompressed and thus contain a lot of detailed image data, extremely flexible in terms of color and content
• GIF


  compresses images losslessly, limited color range suitable for web but not for printing, can be used for animations
• PNG


  open format created to replace GIF, allows for a full range of color and better compression, used almost exclusively for web images
• BMP


  Bitmap, commonly used raster graphic format for saving image files, introduced on the Windows platform but recognized by many programs on both Macs and PCs
• JPEG files are images that have been compressed to store a lot of information in a small-size file
• TIFF images create very large file sizes
• GIF compression is lossless (no detail is lost in the compression, but the file can't be made as small as a JPEG)
• Formally and informally produced visual media – visual media produced by formal organizations such as schools, government, and established media/publishing outfits are considered formally produced. Other visual media are considered informally produced. 

   

  Visual design elements - the building blocks or basic units in the construction of a visual image. 
• Line


  • Describes a shape or outline
  • Can create texture
  • Can be thick or thin
  • May be actual, implied, vertical, horizontal, diagonal, or contour
• Shape


  • Usually a geometric area that stands out from the space next to or around it, or because of differences in value, color, or texture
  • May also be organic
• Value


  • The degree of light and dark in a design
  • The contrast between black and white and all the tones in between
  • Can be used with color as well as black and white
  • Contrast is the extreme changes between values
• Texture


  • The way a surface feels or is perceived to feel
  • Can be added to attract or repel interest to a visual element
  • Visual texture is the illusion of the surfaces peaks and valleys, resulting in a feeling of smoothness or roughness in objects
• Color


  • Determined by its hue (name of color), intensity (purity of the hue), and value (lightness or darkness of hue)
  • Can play a large role in the design
  • Can be used for emphasis
  • Can elicit emotions from viewers
  • May be warm, cool, or neutral
  • Plays a major role in our visual perception, as it influences our reactions about the world around us
  • It is therefore important to create color palettes that evoke the appropriate audience reactions
• Form


  • A figure having volume and thickness
  • An illusion of a 3-dimensional object can be implied with the use of light and shading
  • Can be viewed from many angles
• The Principles of design can be thought of as what we do to the elements of design.
• How we apply the Principles of design determines how successful we are in creating a work of art.
• Visual Design Principles

  • Consistency of margins, typeface, typestyle, and colors is necessary, especially in slide presentations or documents that are more than one page
  • Center of interest - an area that first attracts attention in a composition. This area is more important when compared to the other objects or elements in a composition. This can be by contrast of values, more colors, and placement in the format
  • Balance - a feeling of visual equality in shape, form, value, color, etc. Balance can be symmetrical and evenly balanced, or asymmetrical and unevenly balanced. Objects, values, colors, textures, shapes, forms, etc. can be used in creating balance in a composition
  • Harmony - brings together a composition with similar units. If for example your composition was using wavy lines and organic shapes, you would stay with those types of lines and not put in just one geometric shape
  • Contrast - offers some change in value creating a visual discord in a composition. Contrast shows the difference between shapes and can be used as a background to bring objects out and forward in a design. It can also be used to create an area of emphasis
  • Directional Movement - a visual flow through the composition. It can be the suggestion of motion in a design as you move from object to object by way of placement and position. Directional movement can be created with a value pattern. It is with the placement of dark and light areas that you can move your attention through the format
  • Rhythm - a movement in which some elements recur regularly. Like a dance, it will have a flow of objects that will seem to be like the beat of music
  • Perspective - created through the arrangement of objects in two-dimensional space to look like they appear in real life. Perspective is a learned meaning of the relationship between different objects seen in space