WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF GENDER DIVERSITY ON TECHNOLOGY BUSIN.docx

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF GENDER
DIVERSITY ON TECHNOLOGY
BUSINESS PERFORMANCE?
RESEARCH SUMMARY
What is the Impact of Gender Diversity on Technology Business
Performance: Research Summary
Copyright © NCWIT, 2014. All Rights Reserved. |
www.ncwit.org2
WHAT IMPACT
DOES GENDER
DIVERSITY HAVE
ON BOTTOM‑LINE
PERFORMANCE?
A comprehensive review of current research on
gender-diverse teams reveals that despite their
challenges, they demonstrate superior productivity
and financial performance compared with
homogenous teams.
In addition to summarizing recent research on financial
performance, team dynamics, and organizational
effectiveness, this summary also reviews strategies to
maximize the potential benefits of gender diversity on
technical teams.
KEY BENEFITS OF

GENDER DIVERSITY
Gender diversity benefits businesses in several
ways. Gender-balanced companies:
» Perform better financially, particularly
when women occupy a significant
proportion of top management positions.
» Demonstrate superior team dynamics
and productivity.
Studies report that gender-diverse
technology organizations and departments:
» Produce work teams that stay on
schedule and under budget.
» Demonstrate improved
employee performance.
To realize these benefits organizations
must create supportive infrastructures and
cultures that foster diversity.
Authors: Lecia Barker, Cynthia
Mancha, and Catherine Ashcraft
What is the Impact of Gender Diversity on Technology
Business Performance: Research Summary
www.ncwit.org 3
1 Rohner, U. and B. Dougan (2012). Gender diversity and

corporate performance. Technical report, Credit Suisse Research
Institute, Zurich.
2 McKinsey & Company. (2007). Women matter: Gender
diversity,
a corporate business driver, 12–14.
3 Krishnan, H. A., & Park, D. (2005). A few good women — on
top management teams. Journal of Business Research, 58(12),
1712–1720.
4 Herring, Cedric. (2009). Does diversity pay? American
Sociological Review, 74(2), 213.
5 Hoogendoorn, S., Oosterbeek, H., & Praag, M. van. (2013).
The impact of gender diversity on the performance of business
teams: Evidence from a field experiment. Management Science,
59(7).
WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT AND TEAMS IMPROVED
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Gender diversity at top
management levels improves
companies’ financial performance.
» An analysis of 2,360 global companies in a variety
of industries found that companies with women on
their executive boards outperformed companies
with all-male executive boards. Gender-diverse
management teams showed superior return on
equity, debt/equity ratios, price/equity ratios, and
average growth. Many of these benefits appeared
after the 2008 global economic crash, leading
researchers to conclude that gender diversity
might be especially valuable in times of recession.

The study also concluded that gender-diverse
executive boards decrease volatility and increase
balance throughout the economic cycle. 1
» A study of 101 public, private, and nonprofit
organizations found that those with three or more
women on their executive boards outperformed
other companies on all of the study’s measures of
performance: leadership, direction, accountability,
coordination and control, external orientation,
capability, work environment, and values. 2
» An investigation of 89 European companies
with the greatest gender diversity at the top
management level found that, on average, these
companies’ financial performance was higher than
average for their business sectors. In particular,
these companies demonstrated superior return
on equity, earnings before interest and taxes, and
stock price growth.2
» A study found a positive relationship between
organizational performance and the presence of
women on those organizations’ top management
teams. Researchers analyzed the gender
composition of the top management teams of 679
Fortune 1000 organizations and found a positive
association between higher proportions of women
and the companies’ return on assets. 3
Gender diversity in teams also
benefits the bottom line.
» An investigation of 500 U.S. businesses found that
companies with more race and gender diverse
teams had higher sales revenue, more customers,

greater market share, and greater profits than did
less diverse companies. 4
» A field experiment asked 12-person teams of
student entrepreneurs to start up, sell stock for,
and actually run 43 real companies with the goal
of maximizing profit and shareholders’ value.
Statistical analysis showed that gender-balanced
teams outperformed both male-dominated and
female-dominated teams. 5
www.ncwit.org4
GENDER‑BALANCED TEAMS IMPROVED
INNOVATION AND PRODUCTIVITY
Gender-diverse work teams
demonstrate superior team
dynamics and productivity.
» A report found that a greater proportion of women
was associated with higher collective intelligence,
defined as “the general ability of a group to perform
a wide variety of tasks.” Researchers studied 669
people working in teams of 2 to 5 people. They
found that teams’ collective intelligence rose
with the number of women in the group, possibly
because of the women’s higher performance on
tasks that required social sensitivity. 6

» A study surveyed 1,400 team members from
100 teams at 21 companies in 17 countries. The
study found that gender-balanced teams were
the most likely to experiment, be creative, share
knowledge, and fulfill tasks. The study also found
that the most confident teams had a slight majority
of women (60%). 7
» A study of 272 projects at four companies found
that gender diversity on technical work teams was
associated with superior adherence to project
schedules, lower project costs, higher employee
performance ratings, and higher employee
pay bonuses. 8
Gender diversity has specific benefits
in technology settings.
» When European competitors have gained
global market leadership, they have encouraged
innovation by drawing on a diverse knowledge
base. Researchers argue that innovative change
is less likely to emerge from a group with a more
homogeneous knowledge base. 9
6 Woolley, A. W., Chabris, C. F., Pentland, A., Hashmi, N., &
Malone, T. W. (2010). Evidence for a Collective Intelligence
Factor in the Performance of Human Groups. Science,
330(6004), 686–688.
7 Lehman Brothers Center for Women in Business. (2008).
Innovative potential: Men and women in teams, 6.
8 Turner, L. (2009). Gender diversity and innovative
performance,
Int. J. Innovation and Sustainable Development, 4(2/3), 124.

9 Doz, Y., Santos, J., & Williamson, P. (2004). Diversity: The
key to
innovation advantage. European Business Forum, 17, 26.
www.ncwit.org What is the Impact of Gender Diversity on
Technology Business Performance: Research Summary 5
Both opportunity costs and attrition
lead to big losses for IT Firms.
The IT labor force demand is growing, yet women’s
participation is decreasing. In 1996, women made up
37% of the U.S. IT workforce; by 2010, they made up
25%. The situation is similar in Canada: the Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) reported in 2012
that 30% of Canadian businesses were facing skilled
labor shortages — double the percentage seen in
early 2010. Retention is a big part of this decrease:
research has found that 56% of women who enter the
private-sector IT workforce leave private industry at a
midlevel position, and half of these departing women
go on to use their tech skills outside of private industry.
The cost to companies of replacing a single employee
in a technical position is $150,000–$200,000.
However, this cost does not take into account the
opportunity cost of losing gender diversity.
American businesses have responded to the skilled
labor shortage by hiring noncitizens. However,
obtaining visas for foreign hires has become increasingly
difficult and controversial. Recruiting and retaining U.S.
women in the IT workforce is a more expedient solution
to the skilled labor shortage.

10 Baugh, S. & Graen, S. (1997). Effects of team gender and
racial composition on perceptions of team performance in
cross-functional teams. Groups and Organization Management,
22(366), 366–379.
11 Cady, S. & Valentine, J. (1999). Team innovation and
perceptions
of consideration — what difference does diversity make? Small
Group Research, 30(730), 731–745.
Still, gender-diverse
teams may face specific
performance-related challenges.
Early research identified mixed results when assessing
the performance of gender-diverse teams. In particular,
» In one small study, gender-diverse teams evaluated
their own performance more negatively than
external evaluators, who judged them to
be successful. 10
» Diversity may also reduce the quantity of new ideas
a team generates, though it appears to have no
effect on the quality of new ideas generated. 11
www.ncwit.org6
TO PROFIT FROM DIVERSITY BUILD

A SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE
Organizations benefit most
from gender diversity initiatives
when they create a supportive
infrastructure.
» A study compared the diversity strategies of two
Dutch companies: an insurance and banking
company and a telecommunications company.
The insurance/banking company used an “add
diversity and stir” approach, limiting their diversity
initiatives to recruitment and selection. The
telecom company used an approach to actively
foster diversity, circulating brochures, intranet
sites, and posters to cultivate diversity awareness.
It also included diversity in its mission statement
and held annual diversity training seminars.
Making diversity part of everyday vocabulary
made it possible for telecom employees to address
differences in communication style, conflict
management, and other misunderstandings. 12
» A study of 20 Fortune 500 companies found that
performance-related benefits of diversity were
only realized when diversity was “managed”
or facilitated by, for example, training leaders
on communication and problem solving within
diverse teams. Otherwise, diversity was sometimes
associated with communication conflicts and
weak group cohesion, which sometimes led to
higher employee turnover rates. By contrast, the
most successful organizations instituted diversity-
focused human relations practices. At these
organizations, gender diversity was associated
with more constructive group processes. 13

» A study of 535 bank executives and 177 senior
human resource managers found a positive
relationship between gender diversity and
organizational cultures that highly value
teamwork, participation, and cohesiveness. In
contrast, gender diversity was not associated with
organizational cultures that valued competition
with the external environment. 14
» A study compared two Fortune 500 companies
with different approaches to diversity. The first,
which researchers described as a multicultural
organization, incorporated a value for diversity
into its organizational culture. The second, which
they called a plural organization, actively recruited
women and members of racial minorities, but
then required them to assimilate to the dominant
culture and did not incorporate a value for diversity
into the structure of the organization. The study
found that the multicultural organization had more
successfully integrated its diverse workforce into a
cohesive unit, as indicated by measures of informal
mentoring, advice networks, and friendships. 15
Businesses that effectively support gender diversity
perform better financially, enjoy exceptional team
dynamics, and attain greater productivity.
12 Benschop, Y. (2011). Pride, prejudice, and performance:
Relations between human resource management, diversity,
and performance. International Journal of Human Resource
Management, (12)7, 1161–1178.
13 Kochan, T., Bezrukova, K., Ely, R., Jackson, S., Joshi, A.,
Jehn,

K., ...Thomas, D. (2003). The effects of diversity on business
performance: Report of the diversity research network. Human
Resource Management, 42(1), 3-21..
14 Dwyer, S., Richard, O., & Chadwick, K. (2003). Gender
diversity
in management and firm performance: The influence of growth
orientation and organizational culture. Journal of Business
Research, 56, 1013–1017.
15 Gilbert, J. and Ones, D. (1998). Role of informal integration
in
career advancement: Investigations in plural and multicultural
organizations and implications for diversity valuation, Sex
Roles,
39(9/10), 685–687.
What is the Impact of Gender Diversity on Technology
Business Performance: Research Summary
www.ncwit.org 7
Ashcraft, C. & Blithe, S. (2010). NCWIT Supervising in a box
series:
Supervisors as Change Agents, 6–7. Retrieved from
www.ncwit.org/supervising.
Ashcraft, C. & Breitzman, T. (2012). NCWIT Who invents IT?
Women’s participation in technology patenting, 2012 update,
9–10. Retrieved from www.ncwit.org/patentreport.
Baugh, S. & Graen, S. (1997). Effects of team gender and racial
composition on perceptions of team performance in cross

functional teams. Groups and Organization Management,
22(366),
366–379.
Benschop, Y. (2011). Pride, prejudice, and performance:
Relations between human resource management, diversity,
and performance. International Journal of Human Resource
Management, (12)7, 1161–1178.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014). Occupational employment
projects 2012-2022. Retrieved from
http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_data_occupational_data.htm
Brown, D.A.H, & Brown, D.L. (2001). Canadian directorship
practice
in Conference Board of Canada.
Cady, S. & Valentine, J. (1999). Team innovation and
perceptions of
consideration — what difference does diversity make? Small
Group
Research, 30(730), 731–745.
Conference Board of Canada. (2002). Women on boards: not
just
the right thing, but the bright thing, i–5.
Rohner, U. and B. Dougan (2012). Gender diversity and
corporate
performance. Technical report, Credit Suisse Research Institute,
Zurich.
Doz, Y., Santos, J., & Williamson, P. (2004). Diversity: The
key to
innovation advantage. European Business Forum, 17, 25-27.

Dwyer, S., Richard, O., & Chadwick, K. (2003). Gender
diversity
in management and firm performance: The influence of growth
orientation and organizational culture. Journal of Business
Research,
56, 1009-1019.
REFERENCES
Ely, R. J. (2004). A field study of group diversity, participation
in diversity education programs, and performance. Journal of
Organizational Behavior, 25(6), 755–780.
Gilbert, J. and Ones, D. (1998). Role of informal integration in
career advancement: Investigations in plural and multicultural
organizations and implications for diversity valuation, Sex
Roles,
39(9/10), 685–704.
Herring, Cedric. (2009). Does diversity pay? American
Sociological
Review, 74(2), 208-224.
Hoogendoorn, S., Oosterbeek, H., & Praag, M. van. (2013). The
impact of gender diversity on the performance of business
teams:
Evidence from a field experiment. Management Science, 59(7),
1514-1528.
Kochan, T., Bezrukova, K., Ely, R., Jackson, S., Joshi, A., Jehn,
K., … Thomas, D. (2003). The effects of diversity on business
performance: Report of the diversity research network. Human
Resource Management, 42(1), 3–21. doi:10.1002/hrm.10061
Krishnan, H. A., & Park, D. (2005). A few good women — on
top management teams. Journal of Business Research, 58(12),

1712–1720.
Lehman Brothers Center for Women in Business. (2008).
Innovative
potential: Men and women in teams.
McKinsey & Company. (2007). Women matter: Gender
diversity, a
corporate business driver.
Turner, L. (2009). Gender diversity and innovative
performance, Int.
J. Innovation and Sustainable Development, 4(2/3), 124-138.
Woolley, A. W., Chabris, C. F., Pentland, A., Hashmi, N., &
Malone,
T. W. (2010). Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the
performance of human groups. Science, 330(6004), 686–688.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR WOMEN & INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY (NCWIT)
w w w. n c w i t . o rg | 3 0 3 . 7 3 5 . 6 6 7 1 | i n f o @ n c w
i t . o rg | Tw i t t e r : @ N C W I T
Strategic
Partners:
Investment
Partners:
Copyright © NCWIT, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

13
Section
The five chapters in this section—Visual Cues, Theories,
Persuasion, Stereotypes, and Analysis—all make the point
expressed by Aldous Huxley that it is the
mind—not the eyes—that understands visual messages. Toward
that end, we are pro-
grammed to notice the four visual cues and how they are
employed in print and screen
media to attract our attention so that we may learn from
pictures. Visual communica-
tion theories further refine our understanding of why some
pictures are remembered but
most are forgotten. And because these visual messages can
stimulate both intellectual
and emotional responses, they are powerful tools that persuade
people to buy a par-
ticular product, think a specific way, or learn from a detailed
story. A creator of images
also has an ethical responsibility to ensure that a picture is a
fair, accurate, and complete
representation of someone from another culture. Finally, if you
don’t engage intellectu-
ally with a visual message, there is little chance of

understanding its meaning and pur-
pose. Consequently, a 15-step methodology for studying any
image—still or moving—is
included that should change an emotional, short-term, and
subjective opinion about a
picture into a rational, long-term, and objective response.
1
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 13 02/11/12 3:00 PM
All colors will agree in the
dark.
Francis Bacon, 1561–1626
PHILOSOPHER, SCIENTIST, EDUCATOR
Visual Cues2
on a screen so they could measure the
response (Figure 2.1).
With the cat’s eyes open and focused
toward a screen, the scientists flashed simple
straight and slanted light patterns. With
their setup, Hubel and Wiesel could see and
hear immediately the effect of any nerve cell
stimulation by the patterns of light. After
they flashed the light on the screen several
times and adjusted their equipment, the sci-
entists recorded what they had thought was
possible: the stimulated activity of a single

brain cell responsible for vision.
The visual cortex is composed of sev-
eral thin layers of nerve tissue. By this
tedious and perhaps ethically disturb-
ing method of placing microelectrodes
in various cells within each layer of a
cat’s brain, Hubel and Wiesel found
that some cells responded to a spot of
light while others noted the edges of
objects, certain angles of lines, specific
movements, specific colors, or the space
between lines rather than the lines
themselves. In short, each brain cell in
the cortex reacts almost in a one-to-one
relationship with the type of visual stim-
ulation it receives. From all this informa-
tion, the brain constructs a map of the
outside world, which is projected upside
down on our retinas.
More importantly for visual commu-
nicators, it was eventually discovered by
other researchers that the brain, through
its vast array of specialized cells, most
quickly and easily responds to four major
attributes of all viewed objects: color, form,
depth, and movement. These four visual
cues are the major concerns of any visual
communicator when designing an image
to be remembered by a viewer because
they are noticed before a person even real-
izes what they are. The four visual cues,
therefore, are what the brain sees, not the
mind. Consequently, the four cues can be

It sounds like a horrible idea.
Put the head of a slightly anesthetized
cat into a vice so that it is forced to watch
a simple slide show while you poke the
back of its brain with a microelectrode.
That scene was not a horror-movie plot
that would give a member of PETA (People
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) night-
mares, but the real thing. Two scientists
won a Nobel Prize for lessons learned from
that experiment in 1981 (Weblink 2.1).
The work of Canadian David Hubel
and Swede Torsten Wiesel of the Johns
Hopkins University in Baltimore pro-
vided clues to how the brain sees images
provided by our eyes. The two jabbed a
microelectrode into a brain cell in the
visual cortex at the back of the brain of
an anesthetized cat and connected it to
both an amplifier that converted electri-
cal energy to a “put-put” sound and an
oscilloscope that turned signals to a blip
Figure 2.1
David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel shared a Nobel Prize for
attaching a tiny electrode to a
cat’s visual cortex and identifying the types of brain cells
responsible for sight. The simplic-
ity of this line drawing masks the fear the animal must have felt
at being restrained for
this experiment.
Co

ur
te
sy
o
f J
am
es
K
al
at
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 14 02/11/12 3:01 PM
VISUAl CUES 15
great masters of painting. Although all the
colors desired by painters can be made by
mixing those six color pigments together
in varying degrees, this property of paints
doesn’t explain how light is mixed.
Thomas Young, a British physician and
scientist, was the first to link color and
the human eye. In 1801 he suggested that
nerve fibers in the retina respond to the
colors red, green, and violet. Twenty years
later, the great German physiologist and
physicist Hermann von Helmholtz was
born. In 1851 he invented the ophthal-

moscope, which enabled doctors to see
inside a person’s eye. In 1867 he published
his greatest work, a handbook on optics,
in which he refined Young’s ideas on how
humans see color. Their combined work
became known as the Young-Helmholtz
theory, or the tri-chromatic theory, and
explained how the eye physically sees color.
used to attract attention to a presentation,
whether in print or on a screen.
COLOR
Throughout human history, people
have been fascinated by light. Civiliza-
tions prayed and celebrated at each new
sunrise and invented gods that ruled
the sun. Religious leaders equate light
with life, and most religions begin with
its creation (Figure 2.2). When the light
from fire was discovered, probably by
accident through a lightning strike, most
were awed by its power. literary refer-
ences and colloquial expressions about
light and vision abound because of the
importance placed on seeing. When we
want to learn the truth, we say, “Bring
light on the subject.” After a revelation
of some truth, we have “seen the light.”
If we are concerned that we are not get-
ting the full story, we complain, “Don’t
keep me in the dark.” Performers such as
Daft Punk (Weblink 2.2) and Radiohead
(Weblink 2.3), among others, know the
power of light to attract attention, so
they produce expensive light shows to

accompany their concert performances
(Figure 2.3). light can intrigue, educate,
and entertain, but nowhere is light so
exquisitely expressed as through color.
Various philosophers, scientists, and
physicians throughout recorded history
have attempted to explain the nature of
color. Aristotle reasoned correctly that
light and color were different names for
the same visual phenomenon. Much later,
leonardo da Vinci proposed that there
were six primary colors—white, black, red,
yellow, green, and blue. He came to that
conclusion simply by reasoning that the
six colors were wholly independent and
unique. Da Vinci showed that by mix-
ing these six colors in the form of paints
in varying degrees, all the other colors
capable of being seen by a normal human
eye could be created. His interest in and
theories on the mixing of colors came
directly from his experience as one of the
Figure 2.2
Located in Istanbul, Turkey, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque
completed in 1616 is also known
as the “Blue Mosque” for the tiles that cover its walls. The
windows that ring its dome not
only help illuminate the vast interior, but also convey religious
meaning.
Co
ur
te

sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L
es
te
r
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 15 02/11/12 3:01 PM
16 VISUAl CUES
“I admire ever more the original, free
thinker Helmholtz” (Figure 2.4).
Every color we see can be made with
three basic, primary colors—red, green,
and blue. When these colors are mixed,
it is called additive color. Equal amounts
of these colored lights will add together
to produce white light. The additive
mixing of colors is the basis for color we
see from our eyes and in photography,
television and computer monitors, and
stage lighting.

Some students get confused because
they are taught that the primary colors
are magenta, yellow, and cyan. But those
colors are the primaries used for paint
pigments and printing presses—not light.
When paints are mixed together, the col-
ors in the paint absorb every color except
the wavelength that we see reflected
back. This method of color mixing is
called subtractive color because as they
are mixed they become darker. Subtrac-
tive color is used in offset printing, in
which four colors are used to create color
photographs and illustrations on paper—
magenta, yellow, cyan, and for added
definition, black (Figures 2.5 and 2.6).
Three different methods can be used
to describe color: objective, comparative,
and subjective. The objective method for
describing colors depends on known stan-
dards of measurement. The comparative
and subjective methods rely on the evalu-
ation of the person who sees the color.
ObjeCtive MethOd
The objective, or scientific, method for
describing colors rests on the assumption
that the perception of color is a result of
various light wavelengths stimulating the
cones along the back of the eyes’ retinas.
A color can be accurately measured by
the location of its wavelength on the
electromagnetic spectrum. The length of
an energy wave is measured in parts per

millimeter. The wavelength of the visible
light spectrum is 300 nanometers wide.
That’s about one one-hundredth of an
inch. Blue shows up on the visible spec-
trum at about 430 nanometers, green has
Figure 2.3
A typical stage lighting configuration can be seen for the
English band Oasis in concert.
Spotlights directed from the front illuminate the musicians
while backlights help separate
them from the background.
Am
ra
P
as
ic
©
2
00
9,
u
se
d
un
de
r l
ic

en
se
, S
hu
tte
rs
to
ck
.c
om
Figure 2.4
For the 100th anniversary in 1994 of Hermann von Helmholtz’s
death, Polish engraver Jakob
Kanior created a stamp for the German government that honors
the physicist’s work with the
tri-color theory.
©
C
an
S
to
ck
P
ho
to

In
c.
/B
or
is
15
Their theory became a fact in 1959 after
their idea was experimentally proven. Sir
John Herschel, the scientist who invented
the word “photography,” praised Young
as a “truly original genius.” The immortal
physicist Albert Einstein had kind words for
von Helmholtz as well when he remarked,
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 16 02/11/12 3:01 PM
VISUAl CUES 17
a wavelength that starts at about
530 nanometers, and red has a wave-
length beginning at 560 nanometers.
The objective method can also be used
to measure a color’s unique temperature
that distinguishes it from every other
color. The color red, for example, is about
1,500 degrees Fahrenheit, and a deep
blue color is a much hotter 2,700 degrees.
Sunlight at noon, depending on the time
of day, is about 3,100 degrees at sunrise,

9,400 degrees at noon, and 4,000 degrees
at sunset. The next time you look at logs
burning in a fireplace, note the various
colors produced. Yellow and red colors
are cooler on the temperature scale than
green or blue colors.
Because of its long wavelength and
quick recognition by the eye, red is used
for signal lights, stop signs, and other
warning or attention-getting purposes.
There are two reasons why the eye notices
red more easily—one has to do with the
length of the color’s wavelength, and
the other with the physiology of the eye.
Since red has a longer wavelength, it is
noticed from farther away and stays inside
a person’s eyes longer than any of the
other visible colors. Plus, the slightly yel-
low-colored cornea protects the eye from
harmful ultraviolet rays and also absorbs
the shorter wavelength colors of blue and
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar

tin
L
es
te
r
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L
es
te
r
Figures 2.5 and 2.6
These simple graphs illustrate the primary (red, green, and blue)
and secondary (cyan, magenta, and yellow) colors.
Yellow and red colors are cooler on the temperature scale than
green or blue colors.
green, letting the longer wavelengths of

red pass through to the retina easier.
COMpaRative MethOd
The second technique for describing
colors is less accurate than the objec-
tive method, but more useful. As with a
dictionary definition, the color red might
be compared to the color of blood, green
with healthy plants, and blue with the sky
on a clear, sunny day. But one person’s
conception of the color red isn’t always
the same as someone else’s. Blood red is
dark, but the red of poinsettia plant leaves
and traffic lights are slightly different. For
the comparative method to be of use, the
color that another color is compared with
must be accepted universally as a stan-
dard. A problem arises when the word for
a color is not understood. Paints used for
canvases, house walls, and automobiles
are sometimes hard to compare if you are
unfamiliar with their names. Automobile
paint from the Dulux company used for
Volkswagen cars from 1954 to 1982 could
come in 28 shades of blue—andorra,
bahai, bahama, baltic, belgrave, commer-
cial, diamond, flipper, gemini, gulf, hori-
zon, lavender, miami, mountain, neptune,
ocean, pacific, pastel, pigeon, regatta, sea,
seeblau, slate, space, strato, summer, tas-
man, and zenith. It should be clear that
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 17 02/11/12 3:01 PM

18 VISUAl CUES
the comparative method could only be
used to give a rough estimate of what a
color might look like.
SubjeCtive MethOd
This third technique for describing color
is the most symbolic. A person’s men-
tal state or association with an object
strongly affects the emotional response to
a color. In their drawings, children tend to
prefer abstract colors to shapes and lines.
Girls generally use more intense colors
than boys in their early picture mak-
ing. Educational psychologists consider
such use of color to indicate enjoyment
of social interactions and possession of
higher reasoning abilities. Painters have
known for years that the warm colors—
reds and yellows—appear closer than
the cooler colors—blues and greens. The
terms warm and cool are psychological
distinctions and are not related to the
actual temperature of the color. lighter
colors tend to be viewed as soft and
cheerful, and darker colors have a harsh
or moody emotional quality about them.
A room painted a light color will appear
larger than the same room painted a
dark color. Colors or hues that are tinted
(made lighter) tend to recede, whereas
shaded (made darker) colors advance
toward the viewer, making the room look
smaller. Because people associate colors
with objects and events, this visual attri-

bute is highly subjective and emotional.
We tend to associate a memorable
experience, whether pleasant or bad, with
the colors of the objects that constitute
the event. Do you relate a memory to a
specific object? Most people never associ-
ate color with a formless blob, but with a
definite object. For that reason, memory of
an object affects the perception of its color.
Take the color green, for example.
Green symbolizes fertility, youth, nature,
money, jealousy, hope, and the Irish. In
1434 the painter Jan van Eyck painted
“The Arnolfini Portrait,” with a woman
wearing a green dress and simulating
pregnancy with her pose (Figure 2.7).
Figure 2.7
“The Arnolfini Portrait,” oil on oak panel, 1434 by Jan van
Eyck. The Dutch artist Jan van
Eyck’s painting is a seemingly simple portrait of a man with his
wife, and yet it is consid-
ered to be one of the most complex in Western art. The image is
actually a memorial.
It shows Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his first wife,
Costanza Trenta, who had died
the year before. With its use of natural, realistic lighting, a
perspective probably achieved
from the use of a camera obscura visual aid to create an illusion
of depth, and numer-
ous objects displayed throughout the work that have symbolic
meanings, the work is a
favorite of art history students. Although it is often mistakenly
thought that the woman

is pregnant, it was fashionable at the time for dresses to make
their wearers appear to be
with child. In the 15th century, the color green symbolized
hope—in this case, hope that
the couple would have a child by the green dress she wears. But
as signified by the one lit
candle in the chandelier on his side and the burned-out candle
on hers, their hope was
dashed when she died.
©
N
at
io
na
l G
al
le
ry
, L
on
do
n/
Ar
t R
es
ou
rc

e,
N
Y
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 18 02/11/12 3:01 PM
VISUAl CUES 19
Figure 2.8
“Soir Bleu,” oil on canvas, 1914 by Edward Hopper. When the
American Edward Hopper was 32 years old he
painted this Parisian scene: A sex worker with heavy makeup
surveys possible prospects while her pimp sits
alone, his eyes focused on another view. During this blue
evening lit by oriental lanterns, she considers the strange
trio of a bearded Vincent van Gogh look-alike in a beret, a
military officer, and a “classically attired” clown in
white, while an upper-class couple enjoys a late-night drink.
Hopper’s use of color is an “early attempt to create,
rather than merely record, a sophisticated, anti-sentimental
allegory of adult city life” that he duplicated later in
“Nighthawks” (1942).
©
H
ei
rs
o
f J

os
ep
hi
ne
N
. H
op
pe
r,
Li
ce
ns
ed
b
y
th
e
W
hi
tn
ey
M
us
eu

m
o
f A
m
er
ic
an
Ar
t.
Ph
ot
og
ra
ph
b
y
Ge
of
fre
y
Cl
em
en

ts
The puppet Kermit was a logical choice
as the spokesfrog for Ford’s line of hybrid
cars. Green is a favorite color of those
who are outgoing and have large appe-
tites. Emerald green connotes versatility
and ingenuity, whereas a grayish green
signifies deceitful behavior. Green stones
worn around the neck were thought to
promote fertility. Green also is believed
to have a calming effect. Many backstage
waiting rooms in theaters are called
greenrooms because of the color of their
painted walls.
Another artist, the New York–born
Edward Hopper, became a leader in the
realist style of oil painting. A tall, shy,
introspective person, Hopper often cap-
tured lonely or contemplative people who
were unable or unwilling to communicate
with each other. His use of lighting and
colors often gave an eerie, otherworldly
spookiness to his works such as “Early
Sunday Morning,” “Morning Sun,” “New
York Movie,” “Hotel Room,” and his mas-
terpiece, “Nighthawks” (Figure 2.8).
Graphic designers in print and
screen media know the power of color
to attract attention. logo and poster
designers are careful about their use of
color. They must consider not only the
possible symbolic meanings of color, but
also how color should be used to make

a logo memorable and prominent in a
crowded media market. Two colors that
are distinct but not too similar should
be used (Figure 2.9). A website that uses
too many colors that are too bright runs
the risk of looking amateurish. Care
should also be taken in choosing colored
copy and backgrounds so that persons
with low vision or color deficiencies
can read the words. Since green and
red colors are sometimes hard to see, a
designer should avoid highlighting text
in those colors. Many times newspapers
that must compete with other publica-
tions on a newsstand’s rack for a reader’s
eyes often display red banners and pho-
tographs with the color prominently
displayed.
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 19 02/11/12 3:01 PM
20 VISUAl CUES
restaurant outside San Diego. The front
page of The Tribune showed a ghastly
pair of color photographs. In one, blood
streams down the leg of a young victim
sitting on an ambulance, and the other
has a yellow “golden arches” logo and
arrow pointing to rescue workers trying
to save the life of a boy on the ground.
Readers wrote letters and made phone
calls to the editor of the San Diego news-
paper complaining about the gruesome

nature of the images. If the pictures had
been printed in black and white, it is
doubtful readers would have complained
(Figure 2.10).
Color in the hands of an inspired
movie director should be studied. Brit-
ish director Sir Ridley Scott’s science fic-
tion classic Blade Runner (1982) was one
of many standout directorial achieve-
ments in his career, alongside Alien
(1979), Thelma & Louise (1991), and
Gladiator (2000), which won the Acad-
emy Award for Best Picture. Two scenes
from Blade Runner show why it earned
two Oscar nominations for best art
direction and visual effects. The scenes
are similar in content—they both show
a character taking a type of lie detector
test that determines whether or not the
subject is a robot, called a “replicant”
in the film. In the first scene, the two
characters don’t like each other much.
In fact, at the end of the scene, one of
them is murdered. To show the animos-
ity they feel for each other, the set is
filled with a cold, blue, unemotional
light. The other scene shows two char-
acters meeting for the first time. They
will later fall in love. The set for this one
is bathed in a warm, golden color indi-
cating their love interest.
Color is a highly subjective and power-
ful means of communicating ideas. James
Maxwell, the Scotsman who gave the

electromagnetic spectrum its name and
invented color photography in 1861, once
wrote that the “science of color must be
regarded essentially as a mental science”
(Figure 2.11).
The use of color on the front page
of a newspaper can be controversial. In
1984, the worst mass murder in the his-
tory of America up to that time occurred
when a gunman opened fire and killed
22 and wounded 19 at a McDonald’s
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f C
ry
st
al
A
da
m
s
Figure 2.9
A poster created by graphic designer Crystal Adams announces
a design competition.

Overlapping silhouettes of common household objects are set
large and in the center of
the poster, with a subtle gradated color scheme over a black
background, for maximum
viewer effect.
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 20 02/11/12 3:01 PM
VISUAl CUES 21
Figure 2.11
Although a black and white
photograph conveys a
documentary feel, the same
picture in color communicates
important visual information
including the colors on the
scoreboard, the green of the
grass, and the pink of the
cotton candy.Co
ur
te
sy
o
f x
tin
e
bu
rro

ug
h
Figure 2.10
In San Ysidro, California a mass murder at a McDonald’s
restaurant on July 18, 1984
resulted in 22 deaths with 19 injured. Part of the horror of these
front-page images comes
from the added information supplied by color. Blood can be
seen on the girl’s leg, whereas
the brightly colored and usually benign McDonald’s “golden
arches” and entrance sign
points to an emergency worker struggling to save the life of a
young victim.
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f U
-T
S
an
D
ie
go
FORM
The brain responds to another common

attribute of images, which is the recogni-
tion of three types of forms: dots, lines,
and shapes.
dOtS
The dot is the simplest form that can be
written with a stylus. A dot anywhere
within a framed space demands immedi-
ate attention. In the center, it becomes
the hub of visual interest. If off to one
side, it creates tension since the layout
appears out of balance. Two dots within
a framed space also create tension, since
the viewer is forced to divide attention
between the two forms. When three or
more dots appear in an image, the viewer
naturally tries to connect them with an
imaginary line. It may be a straight or
curved line, or it may take the basic shape
of a square, triangle, or circle.
Hundreds of small dots grouped
together can form complex pictures
(Figure 2.12). Georges Seurat in the 19th
century used a technique called pointil-
lism in which he peppered his paintings
with small colored dots that combined in
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 21 02/11/12 3:01 PM
22 VISUAl CUES
the viewer’s mind to form an image. His
most famous work, “Un dimanche après-

midi à l’Île de la Grande Jatte” (1884–
1886), is an invigorating concert of colored
dots. If a security guard at the Chicago
Institute of Art lets you get a few inches
from the canvas, you can appreciate the
technique involved, but you won’t be able
to tell the work’s subject. But if you view
this work from 20 feet away, you see a
scene of pleasant relaxation on a sunny
day (Figure 2.13). Seattle-based photogra-
pher Chris Jordan (Weblink 2.4) produced
a variation of Seurat’s painting in which
the surprising “points” that compose the
image are revealed upon a close-up view.
In “Cans Seurat,” instead of dots of paint,
Jordan used photographs of 106,000 tiny
soda cans—“the number consumed in the
United States every 30 seconds” (Figures
2.14–2.16).
Figure 2.12
“Bottle House, Rhyolite, Nevada,” 2002, by Gerry Davey. The
thousands of beer, whiskey,
soda, and medicine bottles that create a pattern of circles—
besides being a relatively
inexpensive alternative to lumber—provide a visually pleasing
aesthetic and has been an
eye-catching photographic subject since this house was built in
1906.
Co
ur
te
sy

o
f G
er
ry
D
av
ey
Figure 2.13
“Un Dimanche après-midi à l’Île de la Grande Jatte,” 1884–
1886, by Georges-Pierre Seurat. The 19th century French
pointillist constructed his paintings by using a series of dots and
only 12 separate colors, never mixing one color with
another. This tedious, mathematically based painting technique
found few advocates because the style lacked spon-
taneity. Nevertheless, this Sunday Parisian scene, his most
famous work, can be appreciated on a technical level when
the thousands of tiny dots are clearly discerned from a close-up
view while its sunny optimism is communicated by its
inherent vibrancy viewed from a few yards back.
Er
ic
h
Le
ss
in
g/
Ar

t R
es
ou
rc
e,
N
Y
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 22 02/11/12 3:01 PM
VISUAl CUES 23
Figures 2.14–2.16
“Cans Seurat,” 2007, by Chris Jordan. Viewed from far away,
the photograph seems like a faithful reproduction of Seurat’s
famous painting. However,
as you get closer to the work, the “dots” are revealed for what
they are—soda pop cans. According to Jordan, the photograph
contains “106,000 alu-
minum cans, the number consumed in the United States every
30 seconds.” His work is a type of informational graphic (see
Chapter 9). For Seurat,
taking a faraway view of the work reveals the subject of his
paintings. Jordan’s photographs require the opposite focus—you
need to put your eyes
right up to them to understand the point.
All three courtesy of Chris Jordan
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 23 02/11/12 3:01 PM

24 VISUAl CUES
Figure 2.18
Conceived by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and completed in
1973, the spherical rooflines
and sail-like vaults of the Sydney Opera House constitute one of
the most famous curved
shapes in the world.
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L
es
te
r
Figure 2.17
The world is an optimistic place when a patron of a cruise ship
from the Bahamas notices
the low horizon line of the ocean under a sunny day.

Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L
es
te
r
and rigidity, and they can be horizontal,
vertical, or diagonal. Horizontal lines,
especially when low in the frame, remind
viewers of a horizon with plenty of room
to grow (Figure 2.17). If the horizontal line
is high in the frame, the viewer feels con-
fined, as the layout seems heavy. Vertical
lines bring the eye of the viewer to a halt
in a layout. The eye attempts to travel
around the space created by the line.
Diagonal lines have a strong, stimulating
effect in a field of view. The most restful
diagonal line is one that extends from
one corner to its diagonal opposite. It is a

perfect compromise between horizontal
and vertical forces. Any other diagonal
line strongly moves the eye of the viewer
in the line’s direction. Several diagonal
lines within a composition create a ner-
vous dynamic energy. Curved lines convey
a mood of playfulness, suppleness, and
movement. Curves have a gracefulness
about them that softens the content of
their active message (Figure 2.18). If lines
are thick and dark, the message is strong
and confident. If lines are thin and light
with a clear separation between them, the
mood is delicate, perhaps a bit timid.
Grouped lines form blank spaces that
the eyes naturally want to inspect. When
drawn as part of an object, they combine
to simulate the sensation of touch. The
lines that form the surface of an object
may be part of an illustration or part of
the natural lighting where the object is
located. A rough surface has several small
curved lines that make up its bumpy exte-
rior. A smooth surface has few lines that
mark its coating. Texture stimulates the
visual sense by the image itself and the
tactile sense through memory. For exam-
ple, previous experience with the sharp
points of the needles of a cactus transfers
to a picture of the plant.
lines can be controversial when a graphic
artist or photographer uses a Photoshop
tool to stretch the legs of models to make
them appear thinner and perhaps more

attractive. lines can also be powerful tools
in conveying complex messages.
LineS
When dots of the same size are drawn
so closely together that there is no space
between them, the result is a line. Accord-
ing to anthropologist Evelyn Hatcher,
straight lines convey a message of stiffness
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 24 02/11/12 3:01 PM
VISUAl CUES 25
Commercials for AT&T’s wireless net-
work service cleverly repeat its logo, which
comprises rising vertical lines. In “Sweet Pea,”
with music by Amos lee, the logo can be
seen as palm trees, buildings, newspapers,
bread sticks, and playground equipment
(Weblink 2.5). likewise, a public service
announcement (PSA) for the Peace Corps
starts with a hand’s life line and continues
the theme of a horizontal journey in its “life
Is Calling” commercial narrated by Matthew
McConaughey (Weblink 2.6).
ShapeS
The third type of form, shapes, is the
combination of dots and lines into pat-
terns that occur throughout nature and in
graphic design. Shapes are figures that sit
on the plane of a visual field without depth
and define the outside edges of objects.

They can be as simple as a beach ball
and as complex as the side of a person’s
face. A shape that is quickly recognized
is clearly separated from the background
of the image. The three basic shapes are
parallelograms, circles, and triangles. From
these three shapes, variations that make all
known or imagined forms can be created.
The name of a form created by a combina-
tion of shapes is polygon. As with all visual
attributes, cultural meaning is assigned
to each shape. In 1987, American anima-
tor Bill Plympton was nominated for an
Academy Award for his short cartoon, Your
Face. In its short time frame, Plympton
shows how a creative and talented mind
can make variations on the shapes that
combine to form a human face. In 2005
he collaborated with Kanye West on a
music video of the song “Heard ‘Em Say”
(Weblink 2.7). Four years later Plympton
drew illustrations for 12 of West’s songs for
the book Through the Wire.
paRaLLeLOgRaMS
The parallelogram is a four-sided figure
with opposite sides that are parallel and
equal in length. The two major types of
parallelograms are squares and rectangles.
“Be there or be square” is often a challenge
given by those organizing a party. In West-
ern culture, a square is defined as an
unsophisticated or dull person. Similarly,
a square shape, with its formally balanced,
symmetrical orientation, is the most dull

and conventional shape (Figure 2.19). But
strength also comes from its plain appear-
ance. A square is considered sturdy and
straightforward. In language, the equiva-
lents are a square deal or a square shooter.
The implication from the phrases is that
the business transaction or person so
described may not be flamboyant but that
you can trust that the person or transac-
tion is fair. Rectangles are the slightly more
sophisticated cousins of squares. Of all
the geometric figures, rectangles are the
most common and are the favored shape
of the frame for mediated images. High-
definition television (HDTV) changed the
Figure 2.19
The dull square shape of a table during a conference in
Helsinki, Finland is made more
interesting by the turned perspective, the casual arrangement of
discarded objects, and
the harsh side lighting that distorts the shadows.
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar

tin
L
es
te
r
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 25 02/11/12 3:01 PM
26 VISUAl CUES
sides that a rectangle naturally creates. In
a rectangular frame, the chief object of
focus does not have to be in the center
for the work to appear balanced. A clever
commercial for a Volkswagen Beetle aired
in 2003. It compared the modern, oval
shape of the car with everyday square
objects—a clock, house, piece of toast,
sponge, and so on, which made the point
that you didn’t want to drive just another
box (Weblink 2.8).
CiRCLeS
The first shapes primitive humans proba-
bly took notice of were the bright, circular
forms in the sky (the sun and the moon),
the round shape of another person’s head,
and the two circular eyes staring at them.
As leonardo da Vinci once wrote, “The
sense which is nearest to the organ of per-
ception functions most quickly, and this
is the eye, the chief, the leader of all other

senses” (Figure 2.20).
Circles have always been important
attention getters. No wonder advertis-
ers of video games, picture agencies, and
motion pictures use the human eye in ad
campaigns. To emphasize the form of the
red Target logo, a television commercial
featured eyes, a door’s peephole, a ball,
and other circular shapes (Weblink 2.9).
Photojournalists also know how telling
a person’s eyes are in understanding a
subject’s personality. If the subject stares
straight into a camera’s lens, the message
might be one of bewilderment, defiance,
innocence, happiness, or concentration.
A specific genre of photography, the
police mug shot, in which the person
arrested must look into the lens, often
reveals a hidden side of a celebrity
caught doing something wrong, whether
it’s Mel Gibson in a nice shirt and a glow-
ing smile in 2006 or Nick Nolte in 2002
with disheveled hair and a much too
colorful Hawaiian shirt (Figures 2.21
and 2.22).
Eyes that look away from a camera
might signify embarrassment, disgust,
longing, worry, a wish for privacy, or a
Figure 2.20
Window to the soul: The eye not only absorbs light but also
reflects it, while its round
shape catches the eye of a viewer.

Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L
es
te
r
Figures 2.21 and 2.22
In their booking photographs by patrol and sheriff officials for
being under the influence,
actors Mel Gibson and Nick Nolte are contrasts in demeanor,
hair styles, and shirt choices.
But they do have one thing in common—they look straight into
the camera’s lens, a require-
ment of such pictures. Gibson’s eyes reveal playfulness and
vulnerability, whereas Nolte’s
show defiance and anger.
Ge
tty
Im

ag
es
E
nt
er
ta
in
m
en
t/
Ge
tty
Im
ag
es
Ge
tty
Im
ag
es
E
nt
er
ta

in
m
en
t/
Ge
tty
Im
ag
es
shape of television screens from squares
to the wide-screen rectangular form used
in movie theaters. Composition in motion
picture and still photography formats
often takes advantage of the horizontal
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 26 02/11/12 3:02 PM
VISUAl CUES 27
disregard for being photographed. Los
Angeles Times photographer luis Sinco’s
riveting picture of Marine lance Corporal
James Blake Miller’s “thousand-mile stare”
after an assault on Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004
captures the physical and mental exhaus-
tion of war (Figure 2.23).
A person might close her eyes or hide
them behind hands, sunglasses, or a

veil. Such gestures could mean that the
person wants to block out the world,
to hide the extent of grief from others,
to look fashionable, or to obey cultur-
ally bound religious restrictions against
showing her eyes in public. Secret Ser-
vice members and many security guards
like to wear sunglasses so you can’t see
what their eyes are watching (Figure
2.24). The Dublin-born singer Sinéad
O’Connor gained tremendous popu-
larity early in her career with a 1990
music video directed by John Maybury,
a British filmmaker known for his films
The Jacket (2005) and The Edge of Love
(2008). “Nothing Compares 2 U,” writ-
ten and originally performed by Prince
with his 1980s band The Family, showed
arresting, close-up images of O’Connor
singing with her eyes mainly looking
into the camera’s lens. The intimate
filmmaking technique allowed a viewer
to feel her pain after losing a love
(Weblink 2.10).
tRiangLeS
These are the most dynamic and active
of shapes. As energetic objects, they
convey direction, but they can burden a
design with the tension they can create.
The two types of triangles—equilat-
eral and isosceles—have vastly differ-
ent symbolic meanings. All three sides
of an equilateral triangle are the same
length. Its shape conveys a serene mood
because of symmetrical balance. Think

of the silent stone pyramids of Egypt.
They calmly watch the passing of each
millennium and tourist with a camera.
Seen from a distance, they are an abrupt
change in the naturally sloping sand
Figure 2.23
Only another soldier who has experienced combat can
understand the look in Marine
Lance Corporal James Blake Miller’s eyes after a hard fought
battle.
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f L
ui
s
Si
nc
o/
Lo
s
An
ge
le

s
Ti
m
es
Figure 2.24
Although looking right at the camera’s lens, this New England
bench sitter reveals little
about his personality since a pair of sunglasses covers his eyes.
Rather than an attempt to
look cool, the man probably wears them to avoid harmful
ultraviolet rays of the sun.
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L
es
te
r
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 27 02/11/12 3:02 PM

28 VISUAl CUES
Figure 2.25
The Temple of Kukulcan,
known as “The Castle” at
Chichén Itzá, Mexico, is a
Mayan structure built about
800 c.e. At 30 meters high, the
terraced pyramid with a tem-
ple on top is a masterwork
that demonstrates precise
architectural and construction
skills. As with the pyramids
in Egypt, its shape causes
passersby to notice its silent,
solemn dignity.
Ci
ty
Im
ag
e/
Al
am
y
Figure 2.26
A gift from the people of Japan, cherry trees in full
blossom ring the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC,
and frame the Washington Monument in the

background. The powerful and striking shape of
the monument against the clear sky is in contrast to
the stable and constant pyramid shapes found
in Mexico and Egypt.Sc
ot
t B
au
er
, U
.S
. D
ep
ar
tm
en
t o
f A
gr
ic
ul
tu
re
dune–filled horizon. Seen up close,
their power obviously comes from their
stable bases. The triangle juggles its two
parts—the base and the apex—to create

a dynamic energy. From its base comes
stability, but from its peak comes tension
(Figure 2.25). In contrast, the isosceles
triangle draws its power not from its
base but from its sharp point. Think of
the Washington Monument in Washing-
ton, D.C. When the point is vertical and
used in architecture, the shape is called
a steeple and symbolizes a religious
person’s hoped-for destination. But
pointed in any direction, isosceles trian-
gles invite the eyes to follow. When using
the isosceles shape, a visual communica-
tor must be sure to give the viewer some-
thing to see at the end (Figure 2.26).
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 28 02/11/12 3:02 PM
VISUAl CUES 29
depth
If humans had only one eye and confined
their visual messages to drawings on the
walls of caves, there would be no need
for more complex illustrations that could
be made from dots, lines, and shapes.
But because we have two eyes set slightly
apart, we naturally see in three dimen-
sions—width, length, and depth—rather
than only the first two. In 1838, Sir Charles
Wheatstone presented a paper to the
Royal Society of london detailing his
views on binocular vision. He concluded
that our two eyes give different views and

create the illusion of depth. The images
are projected onto each two-dimensional
(2-D) retinal screen at the back of each
eye and travel to the brain, which inter-
prets the difference between the images
as depth.
Wheatstone used his studies in depth
perception to discover the stereoscopic
process. Based on his findings, the three-
dimensional (3-D) photographic illusion
printed on stereocards was introduced
to the public. Each card had two slightly
different photographs mounted side
by side on a cardboard backing. When
each eye viewed them simultaneously
through a viewer called a stereoscope, the
brain merged the images into one, 3-D
image. The difference between looking
at an ordinary photograph and an image
through a stereoscope is striking.
Stereoscopically enhanced views were
enormously popular as educational and
entertainment sources from about 1860
until 1890. Before the invention of the half-
tone method for printing pictures in publi-
cations, stereocards viewed through
stereoscopes were the main source of picto-
rial news for wealthy patrons (Figure 2.27).
In the 1990s, Magic Eye Inc. started a
fad using random dot stereogram images
that gave most viewers a 3-D effect from
color patterns. Advertisers from the Ford
Motor Company to the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers have commissioned stereo-

grams using Magic Eye’s computer process
(Figure 2.28).
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L
es
te
r
Figure 2.27
After British scientist Charles Wheatstone published a paper in
1838 detailing the prin-
ciple that creates a 3-D view from our two eyes slightly apart,
Sir William Brewster
invented an inexpensive viewer for seeing the 3-D effect. With
Queen Victoria’s interest in
stereocards during the Great Exhibition in 1851 at the Crystal
Palace in London, the public
took notice of the effect. The American physician Oliver
Wendell Holmes spread the fad further
with his handheld viewer shown here. Home users subscribed to

a stereocard company and
received sets of images in the mail. Before photographs could
be published in newspapers,
stereocards were the main source for visual news.
U.
S.
A
rm
y
Co
rp
s
of
E
ng
in
ee
rs
Figure 2.28
Autostereograms produced by such companies as Magic Eye
Inc. are images that create
the illusion of a 3-D picture floating on a graphic background.
If you focus your attention
at an imaginary point behind the picture, you may see a figure
swimming above the frog.
Such images were popular in the 1990s for fun and in
advertising, but interest has waned
since then.

08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 29 02/11/12 3:02 PM
30 VISUAl CUES
the placement of content elements is
important for an image. Often, beginning
photographers are told to add interest to
their pictures by including a tree limb or
some other object in the foreground of
the frame (Figure 2.29).
Size
If a viewer is aware of an object’s actual
size, it can help in the illusion of depth
perception. An airliner seen from a
distance is a small size on the viewer’s
retina. If someone had no idea what the
flying object was, she might conclude
that it was quite small. But because we
are familiar with the actual size of the
aircraft, we know that it is far away and
not as small as an insect (Figure 2.30).
Size, consequently, is closely related to
our ability to determine an object’s dis-
tance. Distance is related to space and
helps in our perception of depth. Size also
is related to scale and mental attention.
Since perception is such a complicated
combination of eye and brain properties,
researchers have identified eight possible
factors, used singly or in combination,
that give viewers a sense of depth: space,

size, color, lighting, textural gradients,
interposition, time, and perspective. All of
these cues, when combined with our two
eyes, help us to notice when one object is
near and another farther away.
eight depth CueS
SpaCe
This cue depends on the frame in which
an image is located. With a natural scene,
the illusion of space depends on how
close you are to a subject. Standing in
an open field gives the feeling of a large
amount of space and enhances the feeling
of depth. If an object is close to the eyes,
depth perception is limited. likewise,
Figure 2.29
“Abandoned Restaurant Window, Pecos, Texas,” 2005, by Gerry
Davey. A cloudy day without direct sunlight
makes it hard to determine which forms are in the foreground
and which ones are in the back. Are the dark
shapes on the right side the eyes of a space alien looking at
you?
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f G
er

ry
D
av
ey
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 30 02/11/12 3:02 PM
VISUAl CUES 31
Figure 2.30
Captured via telescope, the
space shuttle Atlantis is seen
in flight in front of the sun in
2009. Knowing the relative
size of objects helps deter-
mine the foreground from
the background. The extreme
telephoto effect also makes it
appear that the spacecraft is
quite close to the star.
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f T
hi
er

ry
L
eg
au
lt
Without knowing an object’s size, we have
to view it next to an object of known size.
Archaeologists take pictures of artifacts
found at historical sites with a ruler in the
frame so that viewers will know how large
the recovered object is. Tourists often are
disappointed when they travel to Mount
Rushmore in South Dakota because, with
no frame of reference, the presidential
faces carved in the rock do not convey a
sense of their enormous size. Educational
psychologist Jean Piaget found that if
much attention is given to an object, its
size will be overestimated. A small, refined
figure often attracts attention within a
visual frame because the viewer must
concentrate on it. Scale and attention are
related to depth perception because there
is no illusion of depth if objects are all
viewed as the same size.
COLOR
As indicated at the start of this chapter,
an object’s color can communicate depth.
Warm-colored objects appear closer than
those that are cool colored. High-contrast
pictures with great differences between

light and dark tones seem closer than
objects colored with more neutral tones
(Figure 2.31).
Figure 2.31
The muralist who painted this scene on a wall near the Pacific
Ocean in Long Beach,
California, understands the power of the color red to help
viewers notice the objects in the
background.
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L
es
te
r
Lighting
Differences in light intensities can com-
municate depth. A television studio
technician will position a light above

and behind a news announcer. Called a
“hair light,” the brightness level is slightly
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 31 02/11/12 3:02 PM
32 VISUAl CUES
higher than the lights in front in order to
separate the person from the background.
The prevalence of shadows also indicates
an object’s volume and gives the viewer
another depth cue. The light’s brightness
and position create shadows that the
viewer notices (Figure 2.32).
textuRaL gRadientS
The ripple effect seen in a still pond sud-
denly disturbed by a rock and the ridges
from the wind on a sand dune are called
textural gradients. With water, the ridges
appear closer together as they move away
from a viewer’s point of view. With sand,
shadows in the foreground are larger than
the shadows in the craters that are farther
away. The difference in their size contrib-
utes to the illusion that the scene fades
into the background (Figure 2.33).
inteRpOSitiOn
Graphic designers for Sports Illustrated mag-
azine regularly use interposition for their
covers with a picture of a player in front of
a headline or the publication’s name. The
3-D effect often shows a player seemingly

Figure 2.32
Electric lights along the walls and sunlight through a window in
the background help
create the illusion of depth and an eerie feeling in this hallway
in a Taos, New Mexico, hotel.
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L
es
te
r
Figure 2.33
Our eyes can sense the illusion of depth in this photograph of a
Southern California beach because the shadows
within the footprints in the sand in the foreground are large
compared with those farther back in the picture.
Co
ur

te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L
es
te
r
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 32 02/11/12 3:02 PM
Visual Cues 33
Figure 2.34
The close-up view of the
spelling-challenged Occupy
Wall Street protester in
New York City is an example
of interposition as the sign
and the Guy Fawkes’ mask fill
the foreground.
leaping off the page. such a graphic tech-
nique is employed so that the cover catches

the eye of a potential customer within a
crowded bookstore (Figure 2.34).
Time
as a depth cue, time refers to a viewer’s
attention to a particular element within
an image. When something interests us,
we tend to stare at it for a longer amount
of time than other parts of a visual array.
examples might be someone you know or
something you are attracted to because
of past associations. To an outsider, the
element may technically be considered in
the background. in a magazine advertise-
ment, for example, words, a model’s face
or clothing, or an unusual object in the
background that triggers a memory might
propel that element to the foreground for
you (Figure 2.35).
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L

es
te
r
Figure 2.35
The Taos, New Mexico, Pueblo is an archeological site where
Native Americans lived almost 1,000 years ago. Pres-
ently, about 150 persons still live there. Depending on your
personal interest, you may spend more time looking at the
adobe structure, the store “OPEN” sign, the window frame, the
sleeping dog, the handwritten sign with the “F” letters
drawn as two “7s,” the elaborate smiley face, the parched
ground, the play of light and shadow in the background, or
some other detail. Consequently, whichever element you spend
more time looking at becomes the foreground.
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L
es
te

r
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 33 11/2/12 5:39 PM
34 VISUAl CUES
commonly used by artists of the day to
draw accurate landscapes was the cam-
era obscura, or “dark chamber.” A small
hole in a box projects an upside-down
view of the outside scene if lighting
conditions are favorable. Artists inside a
large camera obscura traced the outside
view on a thin sheet of paper to repli-
cate depth cues. Much later, light-sensi-
tive material replaced paper and became
the basis for modern photography. The
medium, more than any other invention,
spurred artists to render scenes in their
proper perspective.
In her book Visual Metaphors: A Meth-
odological Study in Visual Communication,
Evelyn Hatcher identifies three major
forms of perspective: illusionary, geomet-
rical, and conceptual.
iLLuSiOnaRy peRSpeCtive
An illusionary perspective can be
achieved through size, color, lighting,
interposition, and linear perspective.
When you stand on a railroad track and
look down the ties, the steel rails seem to
converge into a single area, or vanishing

peRSpeCtive
The most complex depth cue is per-
spective. That’s because it is equal parts
brain function and learned behavior.
A person’s cultural heritage has more
bearing on the interpretation of per-
spective attributes than any other cue.
The concept of perception as used in
Western art is relatively new compared
with the entire history of art. In Europe
during the Renaissance, visual communi-
cators usually were artists and scientists.
Probably the most famous during this
era was leonardo da Vinci. His paintings
reflect an early attention to duplicating
on a 2-D surface the illusion of depth
as viewed in the real world. One of
leonardo’s most famous works, “The
last Supper,” uses perspective to express
the social importance of the Christ fig-
ure. His “leonardo box” aided painters
in duplicating depth by tracing a scene
on a sheet of paper (later on glass) with
the artist’s eye remaining in the same
position. Using this method, a painter
could be sure that the drawn lines
accurately mimicked an actual scene
(Figure 2.36). But the “box” most
Figure 2.36
These 1525 woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer show two examples of
apparatuses for translating 3-D objects into 2-D drawings. They
were published in
his book, Introduction in the Art of Measurement with Compass
and Ruler. No doubt a best seller. The perspective tools use a

frame to achieve an
accurate linear perspective of an object.
He
rit
ag
e/
Th
e
Im
ag
e
W
or
ks
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 34 02/11/12 3:02 PM
VISUAl CUES 35
Figure 2.38
“Escaping Criticism,” 1874. The Spanish painter Pere
Borrell del Caso used the trompe l’oeil effect to make
it appear the wide-eyed peasant boy is leaving the
frame. Co
lle
ct

io
n
of
th
e
Ba
nk
o
f S
pa
in
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L
es
te

r
Figure 2.37
Delta Airlines flight attendant
Katherine Lee, dubbed
“Deltalina” by her fans who
think she resembles the
actress Angelina Jolie, is
placed within the center of
the frame of the preflight
safety video to maximize pas-
senger interest and the linear
perspective effect.
point, in the distance. This trait of parallel
lines when seen at a distance is called lin-
ear perspective and provides the illusion
of 3-D depth in a painting, photograph,
film, or other flat surface (Figure 2.37).
Some artists played with the illu-
sion of depth by having their subjects
appear to be escaping from their frames.
Called trompe l’oeil, or trick of the eye,
techniques that gave the illusion of 3-D
depth were used by artists such as Titian,
Pere Borrell del Caso, Edward Collyer, and
George Henry Hall. (Figure 2.38). Contem-
porary British artist Julian Beever creates
pavement chalk drawings that delightfully
trick and intrigue the eyes (Weblink 2.11),
and the Italian artist known as Blu further
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 35 02/11/12 3:02 PM

36 VISUAl CUES
Those who make 3-D motion pictures
and television shows are currently enjoy-
ing a renaissance of the genre. Instead
of the poor quality sci-fi and horror 3-D
pictures of the 1950s seen with red-and-
blue cellophane pasted on cheap card-
board frames, audience members now are
able to watch motion pictures originally
produced in 3-D such as A Very Harold &
Kumar 3D Christmas (2011), Avatar
(2009), and Coraline (2009) and previ-
ously released 2-D movies converted into
3-D such as Titanic (1997), Jurassic Park
(1993), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Top
Gun (1986), and all six Star Wars films.
With comfortable glasses in theaters
equipped to show digitally projected 3-D
movies, producers expect new box office
life from their past efforts.
Advertisers also produce commercials
using 3-D technology. In 2006, a
Norwegian animation studio named BUG
created the first 3-D commercial for the
Mitsubishi car company. In 2009, about
150 million glasses were handed out to
viewers so that commercials for Monsters
vs. Aliens and SoBe’s lifewater drink could
be seen during the Super Bowl. Home
watchers are also able to enjoy the effect
with 3-D TV, which is particularly popular
for sports and action movies.

geOMetRiCaL peRSpeCtive
This form of perspective is common
among traditional Japanese and Mayan
artwork. A 20th-century Indian paint-
ing of Shakti, or Divine Mother, by Shri
Rajam shows, to Western eyes, the god in
the background. But because the deity is
higher and larger in the frame, it is in the
foreground (Figure 2.39). So-called naïve
wall murals as seen in Belfast, Northern
Ireland, in the 1980s often showed the
main subject of a painting higher and
larger in the frame than all other ele-
ments (Figure 2.40). Young children
without artistic training also often exhibit
this form of perspective in their drawings.
The child’s drawing in Chapter 1 is an
example.
advances the artform with his large, 3-D
animated drawings. In his piece named
“Muto,” Blu makes a drawing, a camera
records the frame, he erases it, makes a
new drawing, and repeats the process.
When edited, the result is a captivating
animated film of the 3-D public artwork
(Weblink 2.12).
Figure 2.39
A denomination of Hinduism at least 5,000 years old, Shaktism
acknowledges a Divine
Mother named Shakti or Devi. In this painting by the Indian
artist and musician Shri S.
Rajam, the deity sits upon lesser gods and holds the traditional
symbols in her hands—a
sugarcane stalk, a bow, and a flower arrow. Contrary to Western

traditions, this geometrical
perspective uses the size and placement of Shakti in the frame
to signify supremacy over the
other gods.
Di
no
di
a
Ph
ot
o
Li
br
ar
y/
Th
e
Im
ag
e
W
or
ks
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 36 02/11/12 3:02 PM

Visual Cues 37
ConCeptual perspeCtive
This form of perspective is a composi-
tional trait that relies on a more symbolic
definition of depth perception. it can be
divided into two types: multiview and
social.
Multiview. With the multiview type of
conceptual perspective, a viewer can see
many different sides of an object at the
same time. The picture is like an X-ray,
or transparent view of the object. Near
objects overlap far objects only by the
outside edges or lines that make up their
shapes. Pablo Picasso often used this
type of perspective in which the subject’s
various moods and angles are seen all at
the same time. Photographer Clarence
John laughlin in “The Masks Grow to us”
(1947) employed a multiple exposure
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M

ar
tin
L
es
te
r
Figure 2.40
After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Dutch Protestant
Prince William III of Orange overthrew the Catholic
King James II of England to become King of England, Scotland,
and Ireland. Two years later, William’s Protestant
troops conquered the Catholic army in Ireland at the Battle of
the Boyne. What followed was almost 300 years
of discrimination and attempted genocide of the Catholics in
Northern Ireland. Despite recent progress in rela-
tions between the two religious groups, districts in Belfast are
still segregated. With a simply drawn wall mural
showing William of Orange on a white steed large in the frame,
his dominance over the land is celebrated on an
abandoned building within a Protestant neighborhood.
technique in which the hard, cold stare
of a mannequin’s face starts to cover the
soft features of a live model. His point
was to say that if a person is not truthful,
she might become permanently phony
(Figure 2.41).
Social. in the social type of conceptual
perspective, the most important person
in a group picture is often larger in size,
centrally located, or separated from

other, less important people (Figure 2.42).
a viewer often assumes power relation-
ships because of social perspective. a
group picture of a large family often has
older adults in the center with the chil-
dren surrounding them on the edges.
The owners and partners of a law firm
may pose for an advertising photograph
in the center. in advertising images, a
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 37 11/2/12 5:46 PM
38 VISUAl CUES
content analysis Gender Advertisements
is a classic collection of visual sexism in
advertising.
One of the reasons the motion pic-
ture Citizen Kane (1941), directed by
Orson Welles, is considered the great-
est movie ever made is because of its
technical innovations. One advance that
particularly impressed director Roger
Corman was the use of depth. Ordinarily,
action within a film takes place along the
so-called x-axis, an imaginary line along
the horizontal plane, and the y-axis, a
line that represents the vertical plane.
But when the illusion of depth is intro-
duced to an image, the z-axis, a line that
moves into the frame, is introduced. With
special lenses, lighting, and films, Gregg
Toland, the cinematographer for Kane,

created deep-focus photography—
characters were in focus far into a scene,
adding more information and the illusion
of depth to the picture.
MOveMent
Color, form, and depth join movement
to constitute the principal qualities of
images that make the cells in the visual
cortex respond quickly to a stimulus.
Recognizing movement is one of the
most important traits in the survival of
an animal. Knowing whether an object or
other animal is moving closer or farther
away helps the animal avoid potentially
harmful encounters. There are four types
of movement: real, apparent, graphic,
and implied.
ReaL MOveMent
This type of movement is motion not
connected with an image presented in
the media. It is actual movement as seen
by a viewer of some other person, animal,
or object. Because real movement does
not involve mediated images, we don’t
emphasize it in this textbook.
man nearer and larger in the frame with
his hand resting or with an arm wrapped
around a woman’s shoulder often signi-
fies his dominance over her. Over the
past three decades, the feminist move-
ment has made advertisers and others
more sensitive to nonverbal, negative ste-
reotypes such as these. Erving Goffman’s

Figure 2.41
Louisiana-born poet and photographer Clarence John Laughlin
often wrote lengthy cap-
tions for his photographs. For his “The Masks Grow to Us”
created in 1947 he wrote an
apt description of the conceptual perspective, “In our society,
most of us wear protective
masks (psychological ones) of various kinds and for various
reasons. Very often the end
result is that the masks grow to us, displacing our original
characters with our assumed
characters. This process is indicated in visual, and symbolic,
terms here by several expo-
sures on one negative—the disturbing factor being that the mask
is like the girl herself,
grown harder, and more superficial.”
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f t
he
C
la
re
nc
e

Jo
hn
L
au
gh
lin
A
rc
hi
ve
a
t T
he
H
is
to
ric
N
ew
O
rle
an
s
Co

lle
ct
io
n
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 38 02/11/12 3:02 PM
VISUAl CUES 39
white or background colored space also
are crucial (Figure 2.43).
iMpLied MOveMent
Implied movement is motion that a
viewer perceives in a still, single image
without any actual movement of an
object, image, or eye. Some graphic
designs purposely stimulate the eyes with
implied motion in order to attract atten-
tion. Optical or Op art has been used in
advertisements and in psychedelic posters
of the 1960s to achieve frenetic, pulsating
results. Visual vibration is the term used
for these images. Through high-contrast
line placement or the use of complemen-
tary colors, moiré (wavy) patterns seem
to move as if powered by an unseen light
source (Figure 2.44).
Implied movement also has roots in
the beginnings of human communication.
appaRent MOveMent

The most common example of this type
of movement is motion picture films.
Moving images are a series of still images
put together sequentially for film, video-
tape, or digital media and moved through
a viewing device at a fast speed. Each
single picture is shown for only a frac-
tion of a second. Movement is perceived
in the brain because of a phenomenon
called persistence of vision. In 1824 Peter
Mark Roget, who later became famous
for his popular Thesaurus, proposed that
this phenomenon resulted from the time
required for an image to fade from the
cells of the retina. Scientists now know
that persistence of vision, or diligence
of foresight if a Thesaurus is handy, is a
result of the time needed for the brain to
receive and recognize the picture. It takes
about one-tenth of a second for an image
to enter the eyes and register in the mind.
Consequently, at 24 frames a second,
a character or object in a film appears
to move because of a blurring between
individual frames as they pass through a
projection device at that speed.
gRaphiC MOveMent
Graphic movement can be the motion of
the eyes as they scan a field of view or the
way a graphic designer positions elements
so that the eyes move throughout a lay-
out. Visual communicators often position
the graphic elements in a design to take
advantage of the eyes’ movement around
a picture and layout. A viewer’s eyes will

move through and notice elements in an
image based on previous experiences and
current interests, seeing certain parts of
the picture and ignoring others. Neverthe-
less, a visual communicator can direct a
viewer’s eyes in a preconceived direction.
The eye will usually follow a line, a slow
curve, or a horizontal shape before it fol-
lows other graphic elements. Of course,
colors, sizes of individual pieces, and
placement of elements against a frame’s
Figure 2.42
The low camera angle and position of the models emphasize that
the man in front is the
boss—an example of social perspective. Not surprisingly, he is
the one holding the per-
sonal digital assistant.
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f A
pp
le
C
om
pu
te

rs
, I
nc
.
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 39 02/11/12 3:02 PM
40 VISUAl CUES
In 1994, while exploring a cave on his fam-
ily’s land in southern France, Jean-Marie
Chauvet discovered the oldest known
cave etchings and paintings. le Grotte
Chauvet contains 416 cave paintings of
extraordinary detail and cultural signifi-
cance dating from approximately 30,000
years ago. One of the drawings shows a
bison running but with additional legs.
With so many other animals accurately
displayed, archeologists were puzzled
why this one was not anatomically cor-
rect. Speculation about the artist’s intent
ended after someone brought in a flam-
ing torch to see the drawing as the cave
dwellers themselves would have seen it.
With the aid of a fire’s light, it could easily
be seen that the extra legs gave the viewer
the illusion that the bison was actually
galloping across the cave. Perhaps this
example of implied movement is evidence
that early humans longed for motion pic-
tures (Figure 2.45). Unfortunately (or for-

tunately) for these cave dwellers, buttered
popcorn and flavored carbonated sugar
water were invented much later.
New York City–born director Martin
Scorsese won Academy Awards for
Best Director and Best Picture for The
Departed (2006). In 1990 he made a criti-
cally acclaimed mobster movie, Goodfel-
las. The action leading up to a drug-bust
scene is a clinic in camera and actor
movements synchronized to make an
audience member feel the tension and
paranoia that the characters have when
taking drugs and performing other illegal
acts. The scene starts with the character
Figure 2.44
“A Hand for Riley,” 2009, by xtine burrough. The Brit-
ish artist Bridget Riley is one of the most influential
painters of the Op Art movement. After earning her
degree from the Royal College of Art in London, she
worked as a teacher and illustrator for the J. Walter
Thompson advertising agency. In the 1960s, she devel-
oped her distinctive style of black and white geometri-
cal forms that created an internal, vibrant, visual
energy and helped launch the Op Art movement. This
piece is based on Riley’s “Movement in Squares,” 1961.Co
ur
te
sy
o
f x

tin
e
bu
rro
ug
h
Figure 2.43
At this newsstand in Los Angeles, newspaper front pages and
magazine covers are
prime examples of graphic movement that attracts the eyes.
Co
ur
te
sy
o
f P
au
l M
ar
tin
L
es
te
r

08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 40 02/11/12 3:03 PM
VISUAl CUES 41
played by Ray liotta snorting a line of
cocaine and ends with him being busted
in the driveway of his house. In between,
the camera zooms in and out, pans left,
right, up, and down, and moves in and
out. The shots are quickly edited for maxi-
mum tension. The musical selections also
enhance the frenetic feeling. The actors
are constantly moving, talking, and look-
ing for surveillance helicopters. It is not
only a brilliant example of the visual cue
of movement, it is also a powerful anti-
drug message.
David Hubel, Torsten Wiesel, and other
scientists who built on their work through
experiments with rats, monkeys, and
people with brain injuries demonstrated
that the cells in the visual cortex respond
primarily to color, form, depth, and move-
ment. But even without the knowledge
of research, for many millennia visual
communicators have used these four
visual cues in their work, whether it has
appeared on cave walls or on computer
screens. An important lesson for image
producers who want to make memorable
messages is to understand that brain cells
are complex “difference detectors.” They
are stimulated more by the relative dif-

ferences between visual elements than by
the intensity of each one. Consequently,
a gaudy, colorful presentation may lose
much of its impact if all its graphic ele-
ments have the same intensity. Differ-
ences between the visual cues detected by
brain cells are only part of the reason that
some messages are noticed and others are
ignored. The content of a visual message,
which we discuss in Chapter 3, also plays
a vital role.
Figure 2.45
Estimated to have been painted about 30,000 years ago, the
animals depicted in the “Chapel
of the Mammoths” can be found within the cave known as Pech
Merle, located about
70 miles north of Toulouse in southern France. It is thought that
the wispy, flowing lines of the
mammoth and cattle depictions create an illusion of the animals
running when viewed by
the light of a flickering fire.
©
D
eA
P
ic
tu
re
L
ib

ra
ry
/A
rt
Re
so
ur
ce
, N
Y
To access the weblinks in this chapter, go to the “Free Study
Tools” on the book’s website at
www.cengagebrain.com.
Words in the Glossary
from this Chapter
• Binocular vision
• Composition
• Electromagnetic
spectrum
• Feminist
movement
• Genre
• Gesture
• Halftone
• layout
• logo

• Microelectrode
• Moiré pattern
• Mug shot
• Multiple exposure
• Pan
• Photoshop
• Public Service
Announcement
(PSA)
• Random dot
stereogram
• Renaissance
• Retinas
• Shot
• Visual array
• Wavelength
• Zoom
08645_ch02_ptg01_hr_013-041.indd 41 02/11/12 3:03 PM

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF GENDER DIVERSITY ON TECHNOLOGY BUSIN.docx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF GENDER DIVERSITY ON TECHNOLOGY BUSIN.docx

Similar to WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF GENDER DIVERSITY ON TECHNOLOGY BUSIN.docx (20)

More from philipnelson29183

More from philipnelson29183 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF GENDER DIVERSITY ON TECHNOLOGY BUSIN.docx