Visual Aesthetics Research Articles

Issue of gender and violence in Graphic fiction : Raj comics universe and the depiction of female characters and violence

Comics and graphic fiction in India have treaded on a fluctuating journey of sorts. The decade of the 90's was definitely a golden decade for comics and graphic fiction in India. Raj Comics as a torchbearer of sorts in graphic fiction in India can be studied to ascertain the issues with gender and violence in graphic fiction. The Raj Comics universe with its ensembled superhero universe is a big sample space for scholarly study in the finer aspects of graphic fiction. The study can also be vital in terms of psychographics and demographics of the Hindi heartland as the Raj Comics found its true footing in Hindi speaking states. The influence of Amar chitra katha can be seen on many comics of the era as the graphic artists often hopped from one project to other, simultaneously illustrating several works of graphic fiction at a time. An interesting observation is the depiction of female gender in graphic fiction in India. To add to it the visual depiction of violence within the realm of visual aesthetics of violence is also a worthy study in the direction of scholarly study of the comics and graphic fiction narrative in India.

Techno-aesthetic ceramic traditions and the effective communication of power on the North Coast of Peru

ABSTRACT In this paper, I examine the relationship between technological and aesthetic shifts in Andean North Coast prestige ceramics and sociopolitical change by focusing on pottery as a form of information technology in a world without formal writing. To do so, I begin by defining two techno-aesthetic macro-traditions to emphasize the interconnections among technique and visual appearance, semantics and aesthetics. I then demonstrate how these two traditions waxed and waned in complementary fashion for millennia, and I set the shifts in their popularity within their broader sociopolitical contexts. In investigating technological choices and their concomitant visual qualities, I explore the interplay between technological, aesthetic, and sociopolitical transformations, with a focus on the changing role of ceramics as media for communicating ideological narratives of power and authority.

‘Art of confinement’: Samuel Beckett, Alberto Burri

The essay attempts to draw a parallel between the ascetic, negative late modernist aesthetics of Samuel Beckett and Alberto Burri, tracing their post-humanist poetics and artistic practices of impoverishment, achievementlessness and their responses given to the crisis of humanist European culture and of a modernist ethos of mastery in the wake of WW2. It attempts to show how Burri’s works in the late 1940s–1950s converge with the articulation of Beckett’s visual aesthetics in his coeval essays on art, and how the artistic procedures of both move from prewar modernist models toward an embodied aesthetic of finitude, toward an ethical rupturing, scarring of frameworks and structures of mastery, by privileging a material imagination of indigence that is grounded in detritus, and finally, by creating forms of an art of melancholia that stage the ongoing disaster of contemporary history.

Mapping of Livability Assessment in Recreational Public Space: A Case Study of Titiwangsa Lake Gardens, Kuala Lumpur

Livability and recreational spaces are considered important aspects of urban life. However, there appears to be a knowledge gap in the current field of study of livability, which is the absence of an assessment criteria that can be used to assess/evaluate livability specifically for recreational public spaces. This research aims to address this knowledge gap by devising a custom assessment criteria that can be used to assess livability for a recreational public space and applying it to the selected case study of Titiwangsa Lake Gardens, a popular recreational park in Kuala Lumpur. The custom livability assessment criteria is used through an online questionnaire that serves to gauge the park users’ satisfaction towards livability qualities and was able determine that Titiwangsa Lake Gardens can in fact be considered as a livable recreational public space because the assessment revealed that the majority of qualities exhibited by the park is contributing positively to its livability. This research has also identified ‘comfort’ and ‘visual aesthetics’ as two of the most important aspects of recreational space design for livability suggests reasons for this. The custom livability assessment criteria for recreational public space devised through this research serves to contribute to the field of livability studies and can be used as a guide or reference for better planning, management, and design of recreational public spaces in the future.

The successful application of acoustic lighting in restaurants

Contemporary restaurants suffer from acoustic deficiencies for myriad reasons, including minimal visual design, a prevalence of cleanable and durable surfaces, low room volume, high patron densities, the perceived cost of acoustic absorption, the late realization that a problem exists (after opening), lack of confidence in the effectiveness of proposed solutions, and the potential negative impact on visual aesthetics. Acoustic lighting is a new sector of the acoustic product market that shows potential in alleviating some of these problems. In this study, the basics of acoustic lighting history, design, and implementation are introduced, and the benefits and drawbacks of acoustic lighting are covered. Two case studies will be presented with measured data—a restaurant and a tap room—which are both located in Seattle. Finally, the potential future of acoustic lighting will be anticipated as this new approach solidifies in acoustic architecture.

Role of aesthetics in conviviality of public open spaces in new market, Bhopal: A case study

Conviviality means living happily together in the company of each other. A convivial public open space represents a healthy society. The qualities of the built environment surrounding a public open space can play an important role to make it friendly, sociable or convivial. This paper aims to investigate the conviviality of public open spaces with reference to visual aesthetics of the built environment around them. For this investigation, a perception survey has been carried out to examine the users’ perception of conviviality and built environment qualities of selected eight public open spaces in new market, Bhopal. The data gathered are analysed using the correlation between perception of built environment qualities (aesthetics, legibility and walkability) and supporting variables of conviviality. Aesthetics of a typical building facade in two public open spaces has been objectively measured apart from public perception. The objective measurement will help to rationalise the public perception of aesthetics. The objective measurement is based on the Gestalt law of visual organisation for evaluating visual aesthetics of a building facade using order and complexity. This study will help urban designers and planners to understand the role of aesthetics in creating convivial public open spaces.

User Experience Research, Experience Design, and Evaluation Methods for Museum Mixed Reality Experience

Wearable Mixed Reality (MR) technology is a tool that gives people a new enhanced experience that they have not encountered before. This study shows the process of designing new museum experiences while considering how this technology changes previous museum experiences, what those experiences are, and what people should feel through these experiences. This process was systematically conducted according to the UX design process of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. In the analysis step, six types of museum artifact viewing experiences were defined: knowing, restoring, exploring, expanded scale, encountering, and sharing experience through research and user surveys related to the museum experience. In addition, through research analysis related to MR technology, presence, flow, and natural interaction were defined as three essential factors that users should feel in the MR experience. In the synthesis stage, optimized wearable MR experiences were designed and implemented by applying the necessary experience types and essential factors according to the characteristics of each artifact. In the evaluation stage, user experience evaluations such as user experience tests for essential factors in the MR experience, User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) tests for interaction products, and the Visual Aesthetics of Websites Inventory (VisAWI) test for visual experiences from various perspectives were conducted on the developed results. Through these evaluations, users gave positive scores to the design results based on the experience types and essential factors defined in this study. When applying new media technologies such as wearable MR technology, improved technology implementation is important, but an understanding of the applied field must first be obtained, and user analysis must first be thoroughly conducted. This study will be a guide to the systematic development process to be followed when applying wearable MR technology to other fields.

Exploring the Relationship Between Visual Aesthetics and Social Commerce Through Visual Information Adoption Unimodel.

The visual revolution and attention economy of the digital world have put visual aesthetic communication into the primary position of social media marketing. However, this phenomenon remains underexplored within social commerce research. This study thus develops a visual information adoption unimodel (VIAUM), to explore the relationship between visual aesthetics and social commerce intentions. Users with social commerce experience are invited to complete our online survey, and 321 valid data are collected. The results reveal that visual aesthetics has direct and indirect (via perceived usefulness) effects on the social commerce intention of users. Besides, interdependent self-construal (InterSC) strengthens the direct effect between visual aesthetics and social commerce intention. In contrast, independent self-construal weakens the mediation effects of perceived usefulness. This study is among the first attempts to empirically examine the intervening mechanism and boundary conditions between the visual aesthetics of self-presentation of micro-celebrity and the social commerce intention of consumers.

Performing Darna: The Role of Entertainment Press in Spectacularizing Darna Actresses

This paper looks at the actresses who portrayed Darna and how they are presented as spectacles in the entertainment articles that promote the film and television adaptations. This frame of inquiry comes from the notion that the visual aesthetics of Darna in komiks is largely informed by the superhero genre’s dependence on spectacle as shown in the superhero’s feats of greatness and in her actions and movements which are all larger than life and extraordinary. If this is the case for Darna in print, then how about the actresses tasked with performing her in the movies and television series? How are their bodies being turned into a spectacle in promotional materials in order to conform to the needs of the capital (entertainment industry)? In using the spectacle of the body as framework, the paper also draws on the star system and the role of producers of text in the creation of Darna as we know her today. The aim is to reveal how female bodies were made part of the construction of Darna’s image outside of its fictional universe which results in a discourse that highlights the body of the celebrities rather than Darna’s continuing relevance as a Filipino icon. This sets aside her representational power to embody the struggle and demand of Filipinos for justice and a better life as audience’s attention is diverted towards how these actresses prepared their bodies to perform Darna.

Multimodal

Multimodal

Sunflower’s Oakland: The Black Geographic Image as a Site of Reclamation

AbstractDevelopment campaigns in Oakland, California advance gentrification in the city through the use of Black visual cultures. Black communities that produce this culture are in turn displaced by processes of gentrification. This article proposes two concepts, the “Black geographic image” and “emancipatory framing”, to explain methods for interrupting this visual exploitation and reclaiming space for Black visual culture in Oakland. I analyse the connections between visual aesthetics, geography, and racialised identities by drawing on ethnographic interviews and the photographic works of Oakland artist and entrepreneur, Sunflower Love. I suggest that her photos exemplify a Black geographic image‐making process; these images rebuke a two‐dimensional production of space in favour of a trialectic form of representation that highlights the value of a Black experience of place. How Sunflower uses these images to advance her business is a form of emancipatory framing, in which she unsettles hegemonic racialising images while still working within capitalistic strictures to generate income for herself. The paper concludes by arguing that these visual negotiations are integral to ongoing contestations over the identity of, and therefore spatio‐political claims to, Oakland as a Black city.

Stage design of the modern Ukrainian director theater

The purpose of the article is to identify and analyze the leading directions in the development of stage design in modern domestic director's theater, as well as to explore the problem of director's search in stage design. Methodology. A systematic method was applied, aimed at theoretical and artistic, and practical comprehension of the main aspects of the process of solving a stage work in the complex of organizing stage action and stage space; the method of artistic-critical analysis in the process of studying the modern theatrical repertoire, made it possible to study the stage design of the domestic director's theater in the variety of its forms; the typological method, helped to systematize traditional and innovative approaches to the development and implementation of stage design, as well as to determine its features in modern Ukrainian theater; the method of figurative and stylistic analysis, thanks to which the specifics of the stage design of modern productions of Ukrainian theater directors have been identified and analyzed; the hermeneutic method helped to identify and interpret the meanings laid down by the director in the rhythm-chronotopic configuration of the stage design. Scientific novelty. The directing-staging and scenographic activity of the leading Ukrainian directors (B. Polishchuk, D. Kostyuminsky, S. Masloboyshchikova) has been investigated, the variable variety of approaches to solving stage design in modern Ukrainian drama theater has been revealed and their influence on the artistic structure of the performance has been characterized; the specifics of the design solution for a modern theatrical performance by Ukrainian stage designers, as well as production directors, have been determined. Сonclusions. The transformations of the functions and vocabulary of stage design in Ukrainian directing theater XXI century are directly related to changes in the visual aesthetics of modern theatrical art, the problems of interpretation of the literary source, and its stage embodiment. Taking over the functions of a theatrical artist, stage directors strive to create a unique author's environment for a dramatic situation, visualizing a literary text in the space-time continuum of presentation in accordance with the individual definition of the meaning of the production, in an effort to accurately illuminate their own concept. But in the production, carried out by theatrical artists, the dominant position is occupied by the image - the performance is a series of visual images, and visual symbols exert an emotional impact on the viewer, which is usually stronger than a dramatic text and acting.

A dot that went for a walk: People prefer lines drawn with human-like kinematics.

A dominant theory of embodied aesthetic experience (Freedberg & Gallese, 2007, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11, 197) posits that the appreciation of visual art is linked to the artist’s movements when creating the artwork, yet a direct link between the kinematics of drawing actions and the aesthetics of drawing outcomes has not been experimentally demonstrated. Across four experiments, we measured aesthetic responses of students from arts and non‐arts backgrounds to drawing movements generated from computational models of human writing. Experiment 1 demonstrated that human‐like drawing movements with bell‐shaped velocity profiles (Sigma Lognormal [SL] and Minimum Jerk [MJ]) are perceived as more natural and pleasant than movements with a uniform profile, and in both Experiments 1 and 2 movements that were perceived as more natural were also preferred. Experiment 3 showed that this effect persists if lower‐level dynamic stimulus features are fully matched across experimental and control conditions. Furthermore, aesthetic preference for human‐like movements were associated with greater perceptual fluency in Experiment 3, evidenced by unbiased estimations of the duration of natural movements. In Experiment 4, line drawings with visual features consistent with the dynamics of natural, human‐like movements were preferred, but only by art students. Our findings directly link the aesthetics of human action to the visual aesthetics of drawings, but highlight the importance of incorporating artistic expertise into embodied accounts of aesthetic experience.

Les troubles du récit: pour une nouvelle approche des processus narratifs

Les troubles du récit: pour une nouvelle approche des processus narratifs

Research on the Application of Computer Aided Technology In Graphic Design Visual Aesthetics

With the continuous progress of The Times, the traditional paper graphic design has been unable to meet the needs of graphic design, through the use of computer aided technology in graphic design visual aesthetics, can effectively improve the aesthetic sense of the work. In this paper, first of all, the visual aesthetics of graphic design and graphic design of the construction type and computer aided technology analysis, at the same time, the specific application of computer aided technology in graphic design, for the reader’s reference.

Research on the Application of Computer-aided Analysis System in the Concept of Visual Aesthetics in Graphic Design

The utilization of computer-aided analysis in graphic design mainly focuses on the design and testing of works, which helps to realize the effective use of visual aesthetics in graphic design works, and can maximize its effectiveness, so it has important research value. Based on this, this paper first analyzes the method of computer-aided graphic design, and then studies the parametric, modular and visual design in computer-aided graphic design, and finally gives the computer-aided analysis process of visual aesthetics of graphic design.

Engaging the Social Imagination in the College Classroom Through Radiant Readings of Global Picturebooks

Building on Kelly Wissman’s (2019) work, the article describes and analyzes artifacts from the author’s college children’s literature class, during which students read radiantly: in ways that may take them outside of themselves, their realities, and points of view, “like rays emitting from the sun, to seek out alternative perspectives, new directions, and unique pathways” (p. 16). The analysis of these collected student artifacts is guided by Wissman’s understanding of the social imagination as the capacity of a reader to imagine “the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of others” as well as “to invent visions of what should be and what might be” (p. 15). It also builds on the theoretical framework developed by Kathy Short (2019) in relation to the social responsibility that needs to be practiced and cultivated by those involved in the creating, teaching, and reading of global children’s literature. Nurturing reading as an act of creativity and fostering dialogic inquiry around global picturebooks is shown to be quite effective in engaging college students’ social imagination. The author brings evidence from the prompts and artifacts that supports this effectiveness, demonstrating the different ways in which students were able to read Two White Rabbits (2015) and The Arrival (2007) radiantly. The prompts that were designed for these immigration-themed picturebooks were successful in nurturing reading as an act of creativity and fostering dialogic inquiry, and thus succeeded in engaging the students’ social imagination. A main reason behind their success was that, by design, they required readers to use their imagination and creativity as well as pay close attention to the picturebooks’ visual aesthetics in order to fill in the gaps. Another important reason behind the students’ radiant readings was the selection of these specific picturebooks, which fit Jessica Whitelaw’s (2017) definition of disquieting picturebooks as they encourage their readers to embrace unfamiliarity and discomfort.

The Influence of Religious Soundscapes on the Image of the City: The Case of Thiruvananthapuram

The world is undergoing urbanisation, eventually transforming the character of cities. Although urban designers and planners have used visual aesthetics to shape the urban environment, acoustic ecology and soundscapes have often been overlooked. In fact, cities have developed legislation to effectively reduce noise, considering them as pollutants, where environmental sound can actually be perceived as a resource. Today, urban designers continue to follow the imageability concept developed by Kevin Lynch, which has always focused on the visual senses. Hence, this study adds an auditory understanding of places. The research commences by understanding the gap between soundscape and urban design, emphasising the need for a soundscape approach in the urban design process and highlighting the impact of sounds in an urban space. The sonic data for the research was collected through sound walks conducted during two different time periods. The study reveals the presence of a range of sounds that enrich the experience of any person walking through the sound walk routes and the creation of mental images in the minds of locals, workers and tourists. The results also indicate that apart from natural and artificial sounds, soundscape also covers cultural sounds, social sounds, religious sounds and image sounds. However, the transformation due to urbanisation has put the place into constant change, thereby challenging the future of sound experiences in the areas. This research underlines the need to preserve such sounds forming a part of intangible cultural heritage and concludes by formulating recommendations to sustain the same through a soundscape-based urban design and a sonic model that can be used as a reference for future research for shaping a sustainable image for other cities.

The Influence of Religious Soundscapes on the Image of the City: The Case of Thiruvananthapuram

The world is undergoing urbanisation, eventually transforming the character of cities. Although urban designers and planners have used visual aesthetics to shape the urban environment, acoustic ecology and soundscapes have often been overlooked. In fact, cities have developed legislation to effectively reduce noise, considering them as pollutants, where environmental sound can actually be perceived as a resource. Today, urban designers continue to follow the imageability concept developed by Kevin Lynch, which has always focused on the visual senses. Hence, this study adds an auditory understanding of places. The research commences by understanding the gap between soundscape and urban design, emphasising the need for a soundscape approach in the urban design process and highlighting the impact of sounds in an urban space. The sonic data for the research was collected through sound walks conducted during two different time periods. The study reveals the presence of a range of sounds that enrich the experience of any person walking through the sound walk routes and the creation of mental images in the minds of locals, workers and tourists. The results also indicate that apart from natural and artificial sounds, soundscape also covers cultural sounds, social sounds, religious sounds and image sounds. However, the transformation due to urbanisation has put the place into constant change, thereby challenging the future of sound experiences in the areas. This research underlines the need to preserve such sounds forming a part of intangible cultural heritage and concludes by formulating recommendations to sustain the same through a soundscape-based urban design and a sonic model that can be used as a reference for future research for shaping a sustainable image for other cities.

An eye tracking study: positive emotional interface design facilitates learning outcomes in multimedia learning?

Unlike the other studies on emotional design in multimedia learning, the present study differentiated the two confounding variables of visual interface design and structured content to manipulate the instructional material. Specifically, we investigated how the visual aesthetics of positive emotional interface design influenced learners’ cognitive processes, emotional valences, learning outcomes, and subjective experience. Eighty-one college students took part in the experimental study. They were divided into the three experimental groups: a holistic layout of positive emotional design group (HPED), a local layout of positive emotional design group (LPED), and a neutral emotional design group (ND). By using a mixed approach of questionnaires and eye tracking, we further explored the differences among the three groups in cognitive processing, learning outcomes, and subjective experience. Results indicated that the LPED group invested higher cognitive effort, put more attentional focus in the relevant knowledge content module, and achieved better learning performance (i.e., retention and transfer tests) in contrast to the HPED group and the ND group. However, no significant difference in dynamic changes of emotional state among the three groups was detected. The analytical results can provide researchers and practitioners with valuable insights into the positive emotional design of multimedia learning, which allows for the facilitation of mental engagement, learning outcomes and subjective perception.