Chapter II

The Basics of Visual Communication

For the print journalist, the ability to create a meaningful visual message depends in part on learning about basic compositional elements and their interactions. The basic elements of a visual message are point, line and shape. These elements generally have characteristic visual weight and direction. To control weight and direction effectively, visual communicators often adhere to principles of perceptual organization first described by the Gestalt psychologists. Borrowing from the literacy analogy, a basic knowledge of these elements of composition and their interactions is comparable to knowing the alphabet, a few simple words and some elementary rules of syntax.

Point, line and shape

The point is the simplest, irreducibly minimum unit of visual communication. According to Dale G. Cleaver, “Line may be thought of as the path of a moving point, as the edge of a flat shape, as the axis (dominant direction) of a shape, or as the contour of a solid object.”¹ A shape is an area or plane with distinguishable boundaries and, as Cleaver explains, “Shape, like line, may have many personalities: rigid, flexible precise, uncertain, calm, active, awkward, or graceful.”²

The three basic shapes are the square, associated with dullness, honesty and straightness; the triangle, associated with action, conflict and tension; and the circle, associated with endlessness, warmth and protection.

In composing a picture or designing a page, it is generally desirable to strive for balance. Equilibrium is man’s firmest and strongest visual reference³ and, according to Rudolf Arnheim, “man strives for equilibrium in all phases of his physical and mental existence.”⁴ The various compositional elements have characteristic visual weights determined primarily by their size, tone, shape, color, location on the visual axes and subject matter. These relationships are summarized in Table 1 and illustrated by the author in Figures 1 through 6. 

It should be emphasized that these are relationships, not absolutes, and that the various factors can interact. For example, a large visual element may be balanced against a high-interest subject, or an element placed on one of the visual axes may be balanced by a warm-colored off-axis element. In any case, unless the specific effect of imbalance is desired, compositions should ultimately resolve into a balance.

Cleaver writes:

Balance may be axial, that is, organized on either side of an actual or implied axis that acts as a fulcrum, or central, that is, radiating from or converging upon an actual or implied central point. Axial balance may be obvious (symmetrical), having very similar or identical elements on either side of the axis, or it may be occult (asymmetrical), having an equilibrium of elements that are dissimilar in size or shape. Central balance may also be obvious with similar elements in equilibrium around a center, or occult, using dissimilar elements.⁵  

Some of the most important techniques of balance are illustrated in Figures 7 through 10 (adapted from Cleaver) and Examples 1 through 3, taken from recent issues of various popular magazines. 

In Example 1, notice how each visual element on the left page of the spread is symmetrically balanced against an element on the facing page. Example 2 achieves asymmetrical balance with the visual weight of the two children near the center balanced against that of the boy to the left whose weight is increased by his distance from the vertical axis. Visual elements are balanced around a central figure in Example 3.  

Movement

According to art historian and theorist E. H. Gombrich, movement always helps confirm or refute provisional interpretations or anticipations of visual messages and, for that reason, reading of static images is prone to large variations and contradictory interpretations.⁶ The print journalist is confined to static images and, as a consequence, confronts problems similar to those described by Gombrich. It is possible, however, to give the impression of movement in a static image. As Cleaver explains, “To suggest or emphasize movement, …line may be used in at least two ways: It may represent or suggest things we know are capable of motion, such as rippling waves, or it may imply motion by its form or by its relation to other lines.”⁷ Shapes, too, can have characteristic motions. Cleaver writes, “Static shapes maintain a rigid equilibrium within themselves and with their environment. Shapes become more dynamic as they draw our attention in a specific direction.”⁸

Besides the implied physical activity of visual elements, the term “movement” is also used to describe the activity of the viewer’s eye as it is affected by those visual elements. According to Dondis, the visual directions have strong associative meanings. Horizontal-vertical movements are associated with well-being and maneuverability because of man’s overriding need for equilibrium. Diagonal movements imply instability, and are provoking and threatening. Curved movements give the feeling of encompassment, repetition and warmth.⁹ Again, it must be noted that these phenomena are not absolutes, but are very much related to the visual contexts in which they appear. Properties of movement are illustrated in Examples 4 through 7. In Example 4, dotted lines suggest water’s movement. Parallel lines appear to move out of alignment because of their relation to the diagonal lines. The strong horizontal line created by the two snorkelers in Example 5 conveys rest and stability while the diagonal lines of the man’s body and the net in Example 6 suggest activity and stress. In Example 7, circular eye movements from face to fact and to objects on the table convey encompassment and warmth.  

Gestalt principles of organization

In addition to being influenced by the inherent visual weight and direction of visual elements in a composition, the viewer’s response is influenced according to innate tendencies of visual organization first described by the Gestalt psychologists. In explaining Gestalt theory, psychologist M. D. Vernon writes, “There exists an inherent tendency to organize what is perceived into configurations…. Organization takes place in accordance with the Law of Prägnanz, (‘goodness’), which states that configurations tend to appear as clear, impressive and stable as possible.”¹⁰ To this definition, Arnheim adds, “Any stimulus pattern tends to be seen in such a way that the resulting structure is as simple as the given conditions permit.”¹¹ People simplify visual stimuli in several predictable ways. The Gestalt principles are descriptive of these common ways of organizing, The four most important principles of visual organization are those of similarity, proximity, closure and good continuation.

According to the principle of similarity, when two elements resemble each other in some way, such as size, weight, form, color or structure, the similarity will create a visual attraction across intervening space, The principle of proximity is defined as a tendency to see elements that are close together as belonging together. According to the principle of closure, there is a tendency to create a unified mass through the association of isolated elements and to shape optical units into closed, compact wholes whenever possible. The principle of good continuation is described as a tendency to see lines and edges as uninterruptedly as possible, and when there is a choice between several possible continuations of lines, hues, tonal values or chroma, to prefer spontaneously the one which carries the intrinsic structure most consistently. These four basic Gestalt principles are illustrated by the author in Figures 14 through 19 and in Examples 8 through 11. 

Because of their similarity of shape, the three candles in Example 8 tend to be grouped together. 

In Example 9, the proximity of the two upper pictures makes readers tend to pair them while seeing the picture to the lower right of the page as unrelated to the other two. 

Closure makes readers see the areas defined by dotted lines in Example 10 as complete forms while good continuation makes the pictures in Example 11 appear to be lying on top of each other rather than appearing oddly shaped.

Summary

The basic elements of a visual message are point, line and shape. These elements generally have a characteristic visual weight determined by size, tone., shape, color,, location on the visual axes and subject matter, a visual direction determined by shape and subject, and a characteristic visual movement determined by shape and eye motions. To control weight and direction effectively, visual communicators often adhere to various principles of organization first described by Gestalt psychologists. The most important of these principles are those of similarity, proximity, closure and good continuation.  

Notes from Chapter II

¹Dale G. Cleaver, Art: An Introduction (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1972), p. 4.

²Ibid., p. 8.

³Ibid., p. 22.

⁴Rudolf Arnheim, Art and Visual Perception (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1974), p. 36.

⁵Cleaver, pp. 20-21.

⁶E. H. Gombrich, Julian Hochberg and Max Black, Art, Perception and Reality (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1972), p. 32.

⁷Cleaver, p. 6.

⁸Ibid., p. 10.

⁹Dondis, pp. 46-47.

¹⁰M. D. Vernon, Perception Through Experience (London: Methuen and Company, Ltd., 1970), p. 35.

¹¹Arnheim, p. 53.

© 1980 by Gretchen Kerry Nesbit