Types of visual communication and their characteristics. Visual communications and the history of their occurrence 5 channel of visual communication content of the concept types

This version has been approved and is the latest.

Visual communications- communication (transmission of information) through visual language (images, signs, images, typography, infographics...), on the one hand, and visual perception (organs of vision, psychology of perception...), on the other. Visual communication combines colors, speech, written language, and images to create messages that are aesthetically pleasing to the viewer's eye, filled with understandable and relevant information.

Classifications

Funds

Visual communications are often used in advertising. Funds visual communication can be divided into groups:

Printed or polygraphic (booklets, posters, flyers and brochures, etc.).
TV screen (television programs, animation, graphic videos, etc.).
Means of outdoor advertising (billboards, signs on buildings, transit advertising, etc.).
Advertising media on the Internet (banners, flash-animations, etc.).

The history of development

The first forms of visual communication were drawings and paintings on stone, bone, and clay. These were paintings and sculptures of deities and mythical creatures and scenes from real life. The participants in the communication process were both the contemporaries of the authors and their descendants, for whom these images are of historical and artistic value.

With the discovery of different forms of writing, images were accompanied by verbal texts, the possibilities of visual and verbal communication were combined. This process was developed after the invention and widespread use of paper and the improvement of printing processes.

In the Middle Ages, the technique of engraving became widespread. Thus, in visual static communication, several channels of artistic and cognitive communication are formed: pictorial, including small sculpture, architectural and urban planning, including large sculpture and outdoor advertising, print and design.

Visual communications in the twentieth century carried out a powerful expansion into all spheres of culture and fixed in the operational field such concepts as visual text, visual language, visual culture. Visual communications are one of the basic components of modern mass media that create a visual interface for the transmission and consumption of information, as well as transforming and translating, in turn, any information into a visual language (images and press portraits, photos from the scene and a television picture in real time...).

Professional communities

National Association for Visual Communications (NAVC)

Fund "Objective Reality"

Fund "Objective Reality" - non-profit organization, since 2001 working in the field of visual communication development and support of the professional photographic community. The main goal of the Foundation's activity is to create the widest possible geographical, social and professional environment for socially significant photography and new media.

Interesting Facts

In the British high school design, there is a separate training course for art directors "Visual Communications", during which students master the entire arsenal of tools for creating high-quality graphic design with in-depth knowledge from other areas (fonts, photography, advertising, marketing, branding, project management, communication when working with clients and within project teams etc.)

Andrey Baturin, July 27, 2017

Andrey Baturin

It is not the first time to say that the site should not wander around the vast expanses of the web because it simply is. It has its own tasks and goals, which communication with the user helps to achieve. Obviously, he cannot sit quietly in the kitchen with a cup of tea with his visitor. But he has his own ways of communication, which are no worse, and in some ways even better than conversation.

Today, visual communications are extremely advanced and designed to perform several tasks at once. In web design, they play an important role: thanks to their competent use, the user performs targeted actions, can navigate the site spaces well and interact with it.

Visual communication is a type of communication in which the transmission of information partially or entirely relies on vision.

Color

In many areas, color plays a big role. With regards to communication, the perception of colors is similar for all of us, and therefore they easily convey their message to huge audiences.

Red- emotionally, this color is perceived as important, confident and powerful. It grabs our attention more than other colors and, as a result, is used for warnings and important announcements. In website design, color can carry the following emotional messages: passion, energy, importance, strength, blood, etc. You need to use it wisely, otherwise there is a risk of scaring off the audience, which seeks to leave the “dangerous” zone full of aggressive tint as soon as possible.

Orange- a cheerful and cheerful neighbor of red color in the spectrum. Color is associated with energy, youth, movement and cheerfulness.

Yellow- cheerful, juicy and sunny color. Its use and meaning depend on the selected hue. So, for example, bright yellow carries positive energy, and its darker shades, such as gold, refer us to noble and wise antiquity.

Green- a transitional color from yellow to blue, from warm to cold, which combines the characteristics of both colors and is on the verge of relaxing and invigorating. The result is a balanced and stable color. Depending on the shade, it is used for various purposes: brighter colors symbolize freshness, environmental friendliness, and darker ones symbolize abundance and luxury.

Blue- cold color, the value of which also depends on the shade used. Lighter shades carry the meaning of security, openness and friendliness. This is especially noticeable in the world social networks, where every second developer chooses them. Darker tones evoke in us associations with reliability and inspire confidence, as a result, they are in great demand among corporate sites.

Violet- Historically, purple is associated with us as truly royal, with a hint of luxury. Again, to the difference in shades: if light ones, such as lilac, evoke feelings of romance and lightness, then dark shades are the epitome of rich chic.

Black- the strongest of the neutral colors, and is used on almost every site. Its meaning depends on the colors used with it in the palette. As a base color, it can be associated with evil and aggression, but for most sites, black is used to create a sense of sophistication. To achieve the effect of elegance, black is used together with white.

White- White color in Western culture is associated with kindness and innocence. Most often on websites, it is used as a background for minimalistic design. The abundance of white creates a feeling of lightness and purity.

Brown- natural color: it surrounds us in nature and is inseparable from it. Brown conveys warmth, integrity and honesty. Lighter shades are associated with comfort and coziness, while darker ones carry signs of conservatism and are more often considered masculine.

Pictograms

A pictogram is a sign denoting an object or phenomenon, using its most important recognizable characteristic features.

It is usually presented rather schematically. The image of a shopping cart in the corner of the online store page is an icon, a question mark next to the word “Help” is an icon, a gear for the settings menu is an icon. The site communicates with us using these icons, using the space of the page blocks in an ergonomic way. The principle of their work is based on the associations that images evoke in us: if lightning is drawn here, then there is electricity there, and electricity hurts, and you can die ... so I probably won’t get into this transformer box.

Banners

Banners - a graphic image of an advertising nature.

It can be either a static image or a sticky interactive element. Banners usually contain a link to the website of the advertised product.

There are several types of banners:

Static images- the usual, well-known and gradually disappearing banner-picture.

Animated Images- banners that can sparkle and shimmer, tell whole stories and generally be quite sticky. Due to the animation, they attract more attention than the previous view, and as a result, they are more effective. But the main thing is not to overdo it, otherwise the abundance of animation will bring users to epilepsy, and there will be no one to perform targeted actions :(

richtext- Literally “rich in text” banners are text blocks. They are the most nondescript of all types, but you should not remove them from the arsenal. There are cases where colorful advertising is simply inappropriate.

Interactive- the block most beloved by users, in which there is an opportunity to have a little fun by feeding, for example, the cat on the Whiskas advertising banner, or play a real mini-game within advertising campaign. Such banners rarely go unnoticed.

Banners have several tasks:

The task of selling goods is to attract, interest and push to target action(going to the site, ordering a product or service, etc.) of a potential client.

Branding task or image task is to increase brand awareness and the formation of emotional associations.

Definition 1

Visual communications are a type of interaction in which the transfer of information is carried out using sign systems, images, infographics, and images.

The main difference of this type of communicative interaction is the fact that communication is wholly or partially relies on vision.

AT modern society visual communications are at the stage of their intensive development, realizing several urgent tasks. The over-intensification of the pace of development of this type of interaction is due to the active introduction of modern information and communication technologies into social reality, which facilitate the processes of transmitting visual images. Visual communication today is an integral part of the activities of the media, social media etc.

Approaches to understanding the essence of the definition of visual communications in the framework of social psychology

Visual communications are one of the fundamental categories of social psychology. Within the framework of the indicated direction of scientific knowledge this species interaction is interpersonal communication based on visual, optical interaction. Tools non-verbal communication signals of movements appear - gestures, facial expressions, postures, eye contact, gait, as well as physiognomy - the structure of the body, the structure of the face, skull. These means of interaction organically complement verbal signals, help to clarify and correct the meaning of what was said.

Functions of visual communications

Visual communication tools successfully implement a number of relevant functions, including the following:

informational - the function of transmitting information messages;
expressive - the ability not only to convey the meaning, but also the subjective evaluation of the meaning of the message;
pragmatic - the ability to broadcast communicative attitudes that have a certain impact on the recipient.

Optical-Kinetic Visual Communications Subsystem

The implementation of visual communicative interaction largely depends on appearance interlocutor, his facial expressions, facial expressions, gestures, postures, body movements, etc., forming the optical-kinetic subsystem of communication.

Definition 2

In modern scientific literature, kinetic gestures are understood as a set of movements of the hands, head, and other parts of the body that accompany the speech of a person, emphasizing the meaning of what was said.

More than a million bodily signals are distinguished, signs that can be used by a person in the process of interaction. Gestures can emphasize the meaning of what was said, enhance the expressiveness of the informational message. At the same time, inappropriate use of gesticulation can give out confusion, uncertainty of the communicant, possible lies contained in the words. Indirect evidence that a person is telling a lie is such gestures as licking the lips, rubbing the eyelids, avoiding a direct look, protecting the mouth with a hand, an expressionless voice, etc.

There are a number of gestures that testify to the openness or closeness of a person for communication. Open, open palms are evidence that a person is set up for frank, sincere communication. On the contrary, clasped fingers, as a rule, act as a negative signal that betrays disappointment, the desire to suppress emotions. Grasping the wrist with a hand can act as a signal of nervousness, insecurity of a person. Crossed arms give out a negative or defensive position of one of the actors of the interaction. Intertwined fingers can signal disappointment, hostility, nervous tension.

Thus, visual communications in social psychology are an integral component of interpersonal communication, organically complementing, clarifying the meaning of a verbal message, and in some cases completely refuting it.

We look at the world with wide eyes! How much information around us that we perceive visually: objects, images, signs, colors, images. We like something, and we look at it with interest, something, on the contrary, is unpleasant, and we try to look away. This is our visual perception of the world - visual communications.

Visual communications is communication (transmission of information) by means of visual language (images, signs, images, typography, infographics, etc. ...) on the one hand and visual perception (organs of vision, psychology of perception ...) on the other.

In an everyday, vulgar sense, visual communication can be defined as what I see. However, today visual communication is extremely developed and complicated both at the level of language and at the level of perception due to the active development of visual art and electronic and digital technologies.

Visual communications in modern society are increasingly moving away from the role of a passive intermediary, "accumulating" codes and (especially in advertising) acquire a pronounced manipulative character - that's what I want to show.

Visual communication combines colors, speech, written language, and images to create messages that are aesthetically pleasing to the viewer's eye, filled with understandable and relevant information.

The modern system of visual communication is characterized by a change in logos, redesign. And this is natural. Progress is sweeping, changing the lives and needs of people, and, consequently, the components of visual communication are also changing. People themselves create for themselves such a system of visual communication that satisfies their needs to the maximum and helps to better navigate in this world.

The development of visual communication is based on the same functions as other types of communication:

1) information (transfer of information);
2) expressive (transmission of information evaluation);
3) pragmatic (transmission of a communicative attitude that has an impact on the recipient).

A person receives information through all the channels available to him. But some of them have a special character for communication. It is primarily visual and verbal communication. Even Nietzsche wrote in his aphorisms: "People freely lie with their mouths, but the mug they make at the same time still tells the truth." These words quite accurately convey both the autonomous nature of the transmission of information through the visual channel, and the fact that we are not able to equally control the visual channel, as is done with the verbal channel.

It should be noted that visual communication also includes the visual appearance of a person, and not just his words. Experts write that your clothes can be very informative in relation to the story of your personality and your emotional adjustment to life.

According to the results scientific research it has been established that a person receives an average of 70% of information through the eyes, 69% of the information read from the TV screen falls on visual communication

Thus, the visual component dominates in communications between people, as well as between a person and a symbolic system. Visual perception is the most important for a person. It is divided into two stages: the collection of information at the physical level and the decoding of visual signals.

At the first stage, the human eye considers more information if the image is:

- contrast;
- large enough
- concise.

If the information is collected successfully at the first stage, it is sent for decryption and comparison with the existing database. In other words: “What a person sees is the result of a merger of visual impressions from an object and the counter activity of a person who sends clots of past experience towards this information, signified and meaningful, integrated into overall structure human consciousness".

For easy and quick decoding of information, visual communication should focus on:

- familiarity of images;
- easy to read fonts.

Every day, the amount of information around a person is growing at a tremendous speed. These redundant volumes of information are difficult to process both physically and psychologically. Therefore, a person is forced to choose from a huge amount of necessary information. In this situation, the advantage is obtained by simple and visual information, presented in an easy and accessible form.

The correct result of communication is influenced by many aspects, starting with the social status and mentality of the viewer, ending with the decision of the message itself.

Each message must inevitably be endowed with meaning and have a very tangible purpose. The designer, having the ultimate clarity of message goals, can easily find the right visual solution, and the owner of the advertised product or service will be able to more accurately track the results of campaigns. The lack of a holistic understanding of the meaning of communication with the consumer leads to dead-end decisions and often comes down to superficial "decoration" promotional material (printed matter, sites, souvenirs). This applies to both designers and their clients - business owners.

Building an effective message (poster, advertising banner, ad, web page) or communication systems (corporate identity of the company, advertising campaign, navigation signs in a supermarket, etc.) start with a thorough study of the target audience. The more information there is about the public to be addressed, the more accurately it will be possible to formulate the appeal, your idea for them. By using clear and simple images, you will convey the message to the mind of the target consumer, while weeding out unwanted ones.

The image that the viewer sees in the first moment should be emotionally rich, this will arouse interest and make him study the message as soon as the opportunity presents itself, at this stage the target audience screened out from unwanted audiences. The information component is perceived by the viewer after the primary image has interested him. The slogan, headline or text message should be short and clear. All information in the message should be thought out for the sequence of perception.

Visual communication is a game, a game between a brand and a consumer. By means of visual images and sharp words, you dictate the rules of the game. The more honest and interesting this “game” is for the consumer, the more successful and effective it will be.

“The overarching goal of design and information graphics is to be more concise and understandable, to be read faster compared to text information. In this case, we can talk about the effectiveness of visual communication and the creation of additional value with its help.

The means of visual communications are widely used in the institute of advertising. They overtake us everywhere: at the points of sale of the advertised product, on the streets, in public transport, at home, in cafes and cinemas, in newspapers and magazines. Their goal is to grab our attention. Visual communication is a deeply penetrating tool with a high degree of efficiency, so its popularity, when choosing marketing communication technologies, is great.

All means of visual communication can be divided into the following main groups:

· printed (printing) means of visual communications: from a campaign poster and a bright election leaflet, to advertising calendars, picturesque brochures and colorful booklets at exhibitions and presentations;
· television-screen means of visual communications: from cinema (initially purely visual, silent) to the all-powerful monster-communicator of all times and peoples - television. These two types of art are the basis of the combat squad of game, animation, graphic videos and movie clips;
The means of visual communication used in outdoor advertising: from billboards (billboards) and stationary panels on buildings (firewalls) to light boxes and stretch banners;
· means of visual communications on the Internet: from the classics of the genre - banners, to flash-animation.

To create effective visual communication, it is necessary to professionally use a large arsenal of techniques from various disciplines:

fine arts (graphics, drawing, illustration);

photography (including collage art);

cinematography;

modern polygraphy;

design, including web design;

modern technologies (including digital, holography, video art, liquid crystals);

modern computer technologies (special programs);