Running head: PERCEIVING VISUAL MESSAGES

Week 2: Reflective Essay

How Do We Perceive Visual Messages?
Renata Alexander
September 4, 2016
COM 30563 Visual Communications
Ottawa University

Running head: PERCEIVING VISUAL MESSAGES

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How Do We Perceive Visual Messages?
John Foer once said, If you want to live a memorable life, you have to be the kind of
person who remembers to remember (TED, 2012). I think the same can be said about visual
messages. Our brain processes information far long before we do because of blind spots (Mauser,
2015). Every image starts as a light that falls on our eyes as mere information. Therefore, if we
want to process visual messages, we have to be the kind of people who find meaning in what we
see (Lotto, 2009). Various theories and terms can help viewers make sense of what they see.
The moment a viewer receives a message, it remains a sensation with no meaning that
involves only what the brain sees. It is only when our minds begin to see an image that we can
begin to make sense of what we see (Lester, 2014, p. 42). Before our minds can delve into the
meaning of an image, our brains group the images, often by similarity or dissimilarity, according
to the gestalt theory (Lester, 2014, pg. 44). We are inclined to group images because our brain
can only process 11 bits of information at a time, out of the thousands we constantly receive.
(Noble Student Films, 2009). When viewers begin to focus on their chosen 11 bits of
information, their eyes actively perceive, thus taking a message from their brain to their mind, as
expressed by the constructivism theory (Lester, 2014, p. 49).
When the mind and eyes are actively involved, viewers can begin to see images as signs,
which are simply anything that stands for something else (Lester, 2014, p. 51). Signs can be
just as they seem, they can represent other grander concepts, or they can have no rhyme or
reason behind them (Lester, 2014, pp. 53-55). It is when a sign stands for something else, or acts
as a symbol, that viewers can learn the most. How one views society and culture in general will
greatly influence their reaction to a symbol. This is because symbols are unique to each

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individual, as suggested in the Da Vinci Code, Telling someone what a symbol meant was like
telling them how a song should make them feelit was different for all people (Lester, 2014, p.
55).
Although visual messages and signs are often designed for good purposes, sometimes,
they do not achieve intended results, especially in advertising. In order for advertising to be
successful, one must select the right image for the right intended audience with the right tone and
follow-through (Noble Student Films, 2009). One must be able to properly answer the questions,
What is the advertisement trying to get you to do and how do you know this? (Noble Student
Films, 2009). If one cannot properly answer this question, the advertisement could be a form of
propaganda, rather than persuasion (Lester, 2014, p. 79). The advertisement could be there
simply for commercial or shock reasons (Lester, 2014, p. 72; p. 77).
Advertising simply for visual appeal often leads to stereotypes, racial profiling, and
prejudice (Lester, 2014, pp. 102-103; p. 106). Various groups and peoples often fall victim to
stereotyping such as African Americans, Arabs, Asians, Latinos, women, LGBT, and Native
Americans. These people can be treated as animals to viewed as mere savages to viewed as
inadequate and not worthy of existence compared to others (Lester, 2014, pp. 105-119). Quite
frankly, Fulmore (2013) could not have said it better himself in the Prezi, Stereotypes: Dont
Judge a Book by its Cover, I am a person, so I must be stereotyped. That portion of the image
stuck out to me the most, for it is absolutely true. Being a human who lives and breathes will
cause heartache in some way. It is the same reason a photo caption with an African American
man reads he is looting a gas station after Hurricane Katrina, and a Caucasian is finding food
at a gas station after the storm (Kinney, 2005). Although further context is necessary in this
example and every controversial photograph, it brings to mind the importance of not judging a

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book by its cover. No matter the stereotype, it will affect the victim and those around them
(Fulmore, 2013).
All this to say, visual communication via images and messages matters. This is simply
because, These are as real to us as trees and rocks. Yet they, as well as our understanding of
trees and rocks have come about by interactions of humans individually and collectively through
the sign structures that we call culture (Digitmatt, 2007). As a society, messages are everywhere
constantly fighting for our attention. The brain and mind can read them far better than society is
willing to give them credit for.
For me, personally, reading about all this from a scientific level has made me appreciate
my God-given body all the more. It has made me realize just how powerful what I see is. It has
also allowed me to see just how unique human beings are. We are a people who can individually
make sense of all the chaos around, and still manage to chunk it with and associate it with
other parts of our lives and views of the world (Ottawa University, 2016). Thats incredible. It
takes something like an ordinary task like data entry and transforms it into something completely
different. Visual messages matter. Plain and simple. They are far grander than I could have ever
imagined. Yet, somehow, I think that is the point scholars and scientists alike are trying to tell
people. Everything in life has meaning. We simply have to be willing to find it and define it.

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References
Digitmatt [Digitmatt]. (2007, November 4). Semiotics: the study of signs. [video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEgxTKUP_WI
Fulmore, T. (2013). Stereotypes: Don't Judge a Book by its Cover. Prezi. Retrieved from
https://prezi.com/gwmxyn7jri43/view/#53
Kinney, A. (2005). Looting or finding? Salon Retrieved from
http://www.salon.com/2005/09/02/photo_controversy/
Lester, P. (2014). Visual Communications: Images with Messages. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage
Learning.
Lotto, B. (2009). Optical illusions show how we see. TED-Ed.
Mauser, M. (2015). Eye vs. camera.
Noble Student Films [Noble Student Films]. (2009, June 2). Semiotics (Documentary).
[video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=E5FZRa7h99A&feature=youtu.be
Ottawa University. (2016). Week 2: How we perceive images and stereotypes [course
materials]. Retrieved from
https://ottawau.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_
63436_1&content_id=_1934058_1&mode=reset
TED. [TED]. (2012, May 10). Joshua Foer: Feats of memory anyone can do. [video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6PoUg7jXsA