The Picture in Design: What Graphic Designers, Art Directors and Illustrators Should Know about Communicating with Pictures

Pictures are as vital to graphic design as type, yet graphic design theories barely give them a look. The seemingly unconscious nature of the act of seeing has meant that vision and pictures have been taken for granted. Finally, here is a way for graphic designers to understand pictures. This book explains the paradox that we are able to communicate more accurately through less accurately rendered images. There is a difference in the way pictures communicate depending on their realism quotient. The removal of realistic detail by the designer or illustrator allows for other aspects to be emphasized in or imposed upon the image; such as line, shape, colour, and orientation. These attributes in turn accentuate relationships that are less apparent in realistic images. This book explains the psychology behind why this is the case. This book will help designers, art directors and illustrators to defend their pictorial decision to clients. It will allow design teachers to explain image choice to students. The research expressed in this book can be applied across the gamut of visual design; from precise, data –based graphics and instructional design, through to expressive illustration and animation graphics