1st Edition

Visual Communication Integrating Media, Art, and Science

By Rick Williams, Julianne Newton Copyright 2008
    472 Pages 16 Color & 350 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    472 Pages 16 Color & 350 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    472 Pages 16 Color & 350 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    A well-rounded education in the 21st century requires not just verbal and mathematical proficiency, but also the ability to interpret, critique, create, and use visual communication on sophisticated levels. In today’s visual world, it is critically important to hold an appreciation for the profound effects imagery has on individuals and the communities in which they live.
     
    Visual Communication focuses on cultivating visual and media literacy from both consumption and production points of view and introduces students to the application of intuitive intelligence to a visual context. Innovative in its field, it provides a solid theoretical overview of the most advanced thinking and research about visual communication, teaching readers how to apply theory to enhance their understanding of and work with images.
     
    This book is intended for students in visual literacy and communication courses. It can also be used in photojournalism courses and other coursework with a visual component. Individuals interested in mass media studies will likewise find the book to be a worthwhile read.

    CONTENTS

    PREFACE. Knowing Before Words . . . xv

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . xxi

    INTRODUCTION. The Integrative Mind . . . 3

    Clarifying Terms

    Visual Intelligence

    Musical Intelligence

    Psychological Intelligence

    Physiological Intelligence

    Understanding a Key Point

    PART I. Vision and Intelligence.

    Understanding Intelligence as Intuitive and Rational . . . 11

    CHAPTER ONE. Seeking Dynamic Balance: The Shaman, The Scientist, and the

    Theologian . . . 13

    She-Bear: The Power of Integrating Visual and Verbal Communication

    A Theory of Integrative Mind

    Table 1. Key Terms

    Table 2. Key Ideas

    Table 3. Primary Intuitive & Rational Cognitive Processes

    CREATIVE ONE. The Intimate Eye: Accessing Your Inner Vision Through Creative

    Visualization . . . 23

    The Goal: Enhancing Your Creative Abilities

    CHAPTER TWO. Abu Rocks: Integrating Perceptual and Conceptual Realities . . . 35

    CREATIVE TWO. Visualizing a Personal Symbolic Portrait . . . 45

    The Goal: Creative Problem Solving

    CHAPTER THREE. Art and Personal Development: The Quest for Balance . . . 53

    Art and the Integrated Individual

    The Stages of Artistic Development

    CREATIVE THREE. The Perceptual to Conceptual Leap: First Drawings . . . 69

    The Goal: Creative Decision Making

    CHAPTER FOUR. Overcoming Intuitive Illiteracy: Accessing Your Whole Mind . . . 73

    Repetition Techniques & Perception

    Rational Bias & Visual Response

    The Second Nature of Consciousness

    CREATIVE FOUR. The Yin/Yang of Drawing: Drawing Contours, Not Features . . . 85

    The Goal: Integrating Ways of Seeing and Knowing

    CHAPTER FIVE. Ulysses in His Right Mind: The Historical Intuitive Mind . . . 99

    Julian Jaynes: The Bicameral Mind & the Ancient Intuitive Mind

    Bogen & Sperry and Distinctive Cognitive Processing

    CREATIVE FIVE. Drawing the Figure: One Contour, One Space at a Time . . . 107

    The Goal: Drawing What You See

    CHAPTER SIX. Multiple Intelligences and Nonconscious Biases: The Contemporary

    Intuitive Mind . . . 113

    Howard Gardner:Multiple Intelligence Theory

    Table 4. Comparison of Integrative Mind and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

    The Nature of Holistic Processing

    Damasio: Nonconscious Mind and Behavior

    Table 5. Visual/Spatial Intelligence

    Table 6. Intrapersonal Intelligence

    Table 7. Interpersonal Intelligences

    Table 8. Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence

    Table 9. Musical Intelligence

    Table 10. Naturalist Intelligence

    Table 11. Complementary/Parallel Systems of Knowing

    Bringing It All Together

    CREATIVE SIX. Bringing It All Together: Drawing for Real . . . 129

    The Goal: Seeing Results of Cognitive Balance

    PART II. Visual Illiteracy and Education. What We Don’t Learn . . . 131

    CHAPTER SEVEN. The Square Peg and the Round Hole: Education and Intuitive

    Intelligence . . . 133

    The Contemporary Vision

    Cultivating the Intuitive

    The Rational Side of Visual Literacy

    The Intuitive Side of Visual Literacy

    The Need for an Integrative New Approach

    Table 12. Omniphasic Visual Literacy

    Beyond Visual Literacy: A Holistic Approach to Being, Seeing, Knowing, and Creating

    In Conclusion

    Table 13. Summary of Theories Relevant to Omniphasism

    CREATIVE SEVEN. Designing Shapes: Concept in Visual Form . . . 153

    The Goal: Communicating Concepts Visually

    CHAPTER EIGHT. Visions in Voice: Language and the Intuitive Mind . . . 159

    Visions in Voice

    Written Language

    On Sounds and Signs

    Words as Balanced Ways of Knowing

    The Sounds of Words

    The Form of the Presentation

    Conclusion

    CREATIVE EIGHT . The Visual Word: Giving Vision to Voice . . . 177

    The Goal: Integrating Visual and Verbal

    CHAPTER NINE. Insight Out: Dreams and the Nonconscious Mind . . . 181

    An Example

    The Role of Dreams in Human Knowing

    Miguel de Cervantes: Another Great Dreamer

    What Science Has to Say

    Historical Foundations of Dreams

    Contemporary Research about Dreams

    CREATIVE NINE. Dream Visions: Insight Out . . . 197

    The Goal: Understanding Mental Imagery

    CHAPTER TEN. Sharing the Vision: Photography as a Medium of Balance . . . 203

    Photographic Truth

    Technique in Photography

    The Still Camera

    Film, Film Speed, and Digital Ratings

    Photography and Light

    Contrast

    Direction

    Color

    Camera Controls

    Shutter Speed Controls Light and Motion

    F/Stop Controls Light and Depth of Field

    Working Shutter Speed and F/Stop Together

    Lenses

    Adding Light

    Tripods

    Constantly Changing Technology

    CREATIVE TEN. Image Insights: Photography from the Inside Out . . . 233

    The Goal: Translating Seeing into Images

    CHAPTER ELEVEN. Designing for Meaning . . . 241

    The Basic Elements

    Point

    Line

    Plane/Shape

    Volume

    Frame

    Summary of Key Points

    The Core Principles

    Contrast

    Rhythm

    Balance

    Proportion

    Additional Terms of Graphic Structure

    Movement

    Center of Interest

    Rule of Thirds

    Scale

    Spatiality

    Perspective

    Light and Color

    Context

    Tying it All Together

    Principles of the Gestalt

    Unity

    Cultural Biases

    CREATIVE ELEVEN. Graphic Visions: Looking for Meaning . . . 263

    The Goal: Understanding the Frame

    CHAPTER TWELVE. Embedded Meanings: Learning to Look Behind the Mirrors and

    Beyond the Windows . . . 273

    Culture and Making Sense of What We See

    Traditional Ways to Study Visuals

    Other Methods to Study Visuals

    Six Perspectives

    Conclusion

    CREATIVE TWELVE. Thinking Systematically about Images . . . 293

    The Goal: Focusing on the Rational

    PART III. The Public as Art and Image. The Academy, The Media, and Visual

    Persuasion . . . 295

    CHAPTER THIRTEEN. Stopping Time and Framing Space . . . 297

    Still Media Defined

    Formats of the Frame

    Designing Well Within the Frame

    Characteristics of Type

    Parts of a Letterform

    Type Groups

    Other Terms

    Practical Guidelines for Effective Design

    More than Appearances

    CREATIVE THIRTEEN. Personal Impact Assessment: Understanding Images from Intuitive

    and Rational Perspectives . . . 323

    The Goal: Understanding How Still Images Communicate

    CHAPTER FOURTEEN. Images That Move and Sound . . . 333

    Moving Media: Transcending Time & Space

    The Body as Moving Image

    Technological History

    Basic Elements of Moving Images

    Light and Color

    Two-Dimensional Space

    Three-Dimensional Space

    Time and Motion

    Sound

    Returning to Content

    CREATIVE FOURTEEN. Film Clip Analysis . . . 359

    The Goal: Understanding How Moving Images Communicate

    CHAPTER FIFTEEN. Living at the Speed of Mind: Old Media–New Media . . . 365

    What Does All This Mean?

    What Do We Know?

    Layout

    Images

    Ads

    Multimedia

    Reconceptualizing Media Studies

    CREATIVE FIFTEEN. Communicating the Story of a Person . . . 389

    The Goal: To tell a story visually with supporting words

    CHAPTER SIXTEEN. The Thousand Year Project . . . 397

    Synthesis

    The Larger Problem

    From Ulysses to Artificial Intelligence

    The Other Side of the Problem

    The Plan

    Table 14: The Key Ideas

    An Eye to the Future

    Conclusion

    AFTERWORD. Ecology in Paradise . . . 417

    CONTRIBUTORS . . . 421

    REFERENCES . . . 425

    SUGGESTED READINGS . . . 433

    INDEX OF TERMS BY CHAPTER/CREATIVE . . . 437

    ALPHABETICAL INDEX. . .443

    COLOR PLATES. . .449


    Biography

    Rick Williams is Chair of the Division of the Arts at Lane Community College in Eugene, OR. Julianne Newton is Associate Professor of Visual Communication in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon.

    "…the authors unexpectedly surprised me with their passion, examples, and comprehensive literature review to support their 'new' approach." – Technical Communication, Volume 55, Number 3, August 2008