Visual Communication Design

Where do design principles come from? Are they abstract "rules" established by professionals or do they have roots in human experience? And if we encounter these visual phenomena in our everyday lives, how do designers use them to attract our attention, orient our behavior, and create compelling and memorable communication that stands out among the thousands of messages we confront each day? Today's work in visual communication design shifts emphasis from simply designing objects to designing experiences; to crafting form that acknowledges cognitive and cultural influences on interpretation. In response, Meredith Davis and Jamer Hunt provide a new slant on design basics from the perspective of audiences and users. Chapters break down our interactions with communication as a sequence of meaningful episodes, each with related visual concepts that shape the interpretive experience. Explanatory illustrations and professional design examples support definitions of visual concepts and discussions of context. Work spans print, screen, and environmental applications from around the world. This introduction to visual communication design demystifies the foundational concepts that underpin professional design decisions and shape our experiences in a complex visual world.

Foreword CHAPTER 1 - The importance of formThe relationship between form and context: Goodness of fit Form and meaning A little bit of history: Twentieth-century attitudes toward "good form"New practices: The changing context for contemporary design The shift in attention from artifact to experience How this book is organized CHAPTER 2 - Getting attentionIntroduction Contrast Figure-Ground Camouflage Color Size constancy Scale Proportion Proximity Focus Layering Symmetry/Asymmetry Closure Continuity Series and Sequences Pattern Rhythm and Pacing Motion Summary CHAPTER 3 - Orienting for use and interpretive behaviorIntroduction Affordances Channel Medium and Format Feedback Wayfinding Mapping Hierarchy Reading Pattern Grouping Edge Relationships Direction Point of View Summary CHAPTER 4 - Interpreting, interacting, and experiencingIntroduction Legibility and Readability Denotation and Connotation Framing Abstraction Icon, Index, and Symbol Materiality Substitution Metaphor Parallel Form Appropriation Ambiguity Cognitive Dissonance Summary CHAPTER 5 - Extending and retaining meaningIntroduction Schemas and Stereotypes Narrative Archetypes Mnemonics Chunking Redundancy Graphic Identity Branding Summary CONCLUSIONBibliographyIndex