welcome students to the online nptel course
ah visual communication design for digital
media this is the first lecture and in this
lecture will discuss about the brief introduction
and ah what will be the overall structure
of the course so ah here you can see that
we will talk about visual communication and
that is the subject and we will discuss mainly
on the paradigm of digital media
so visual communication is a broader fields
and it also encompasses ah any kind of communication
happens from the any designed object to with
the ah viewer or the user and ah there can
be different ah paradigms for example it can
be a painting it can be hand painted painting
it can be ah drama it can be ah photographs
it can be any three d object and how people
interpret and through visual interpretation
and visual ah perception and ah a communication
happened between the viewer and the design
object so ah in this complete visual communication
domain we will only a talk about the new emerging
paradigms of digital media in digital platform
there are many other ah ah options in within
the digital platform itself
so it can be a website it can be ah animation
and game design and it can be any ah graphics
generated on digital media not hand painted
but ah generated on digital media and it can
be anything which ah we ah ah the designers
do through digital media and communicate with
the user so ah lets discuss what is visual
communication ah in holistic approach so first
ah visual communication has a first term of
visuals so visual can be ah the design so
it can be graphic design it can be a painting
it can be photograph it can be website web
application it can be animation or game design
or any three d object or two d object we see
around ourselves it can be even ah the signages
and ah the pictograms what ah communicates
with only ah icons and images and how we are
interpret and those things are the visual
and how they communicate with the user
so there is two factor one is the design and
the another is a viewer or the user so the
connection between them what are the principles
what are the theories and how we communicate
through the ah visual and how we interpret
that is what the visual communication designees
so from design to viewer so ah here if we
think that there are two things one is the
design and another is the viewer so from designers
perspective what comes first the design designers
first design the thing and then they give
it to the ah then they open this for the audience
and then the viewers perceive that
so the flow ah goes from design to the user
but if you think about the ah users perspective
so users first perceive that and then they
try finding the meaning of the design so from
the users perspective they have their own
contextual learning they have their past experience
of the visual and from that they try to decipher
what is the meaning of the visual and then
they start understanding the design so from
ah user perspective so it ah works in the
other way
so in ah so it has two process so process
of designing and process of interpretation
for ah designer so first process of designing
will happen but that has to be based on the
process and understanding of the interpretations
so designer has to know what is the process
of interpretation what is the process ah how
people ah think how people perceive and but
still the process of designing comes first
in the ah designers end and then ah the process
of then they ah leave it to the user and how
they interpret
but for the user first this ah start processing
and first they start interpreting and then
they understand the what is the design so
there are two things will discuss in the ah
course so in the process of design so we need
to understand what what are the elements of
design so ah with what kind of elements what
are the different elements there are five
basic elements of design line shape texture
will discuss that and that will be discussed
in module two and module three will understand
what different elements we have what are the
ah tools ah we have to create our design and
these tools are very generic this ah this
tools are generic and this tools can be ah
transformed into animation this tools can
be similar ah tools ah with the similar tools
we can ah design website we can design any
other things
even the ah traditional media or the hand
painted things has ah based on the same elements
of design then then ah ah the principles of
design how we arrange these elements ah with
what kind of theories and in principles of
design it also its not just the process of
design its also derive from the interpretation
process of interpretation so how the user
perceive it to based on that we have to arrange
all these elements of design into a composition
it can be ah just ah two d composition it
can be ah it can have a time frame ah so the
so that it becomes ah animation or game design
or ah or the same process will follow even
in the websites
so this ah principles we ah then learn in
module number four and five five then there
is ah not just the elements in elements we
have shapes ah colours textures and all this
things we also have some text so we need to
understand what is typography and what are
the different typefaces available so when
we select the typefaces from the already available
already design typefaces so we need to understand
it should match ah it should go with the design
and what kind of style the type typefaces
have
so that we ah can judge what is the what typefaces
suits your design better and also in sometimes
ah ah if you are designing logo if you are
designing ah ah some brand identity for a
ah company then you might need to design your
own typography for that also you need to understand
ah what kind of typefaces are available what
are the different font families different
kind of ah ah ah different visual styles ah
they convey so that based on that we need
to incorporate the typefaces into our design
so understanding of typography is also very
important and this will be discussed in module
number seven and eight
then we come back to the ah come to the process
of interpretation so we designed something
but we need to know how people will perceive
that other ah ah if we dont have an idea of
how people perceive a particular design our
design ah we might think that design will
be successful design can successfully communicate
with the user but they are they might some
design can be lost in communication so we
need to understand what is the way of communication
and how people perceive a visual
so ah for that we need to discuss the design
semiotics so semiotics is ah the perception
of signs and symbols so we need to understand
if we are using some icons if you are using
some ah ah pictograms how people will perceive
that that design semiotics is will be discussed
in module ah nine and ten then ah we will
ah also discuss about the holistic composition
how people ah perceive ah visual composition
holistically not only with the signages and
ah pictograms but ah the ah the meaning of
photograph meaning of ah the complete composition
and how people understand the layout in a
in a total composition with typography with
all the visuals together and how people read
so here ah the principles justice principles
rule of third ah gutenbergs diagram and all
these things will come and that is termed
as a visual perception as module and this
module is ah there are two modules eleven
and twelve will focus on visual perception
and peoples interpretation so here we have
a completed the ah mostly are the visual communication
part we will discuss about the process of
design and we will also discuss about the
process of interpretation so in process of
design will discuss how to ah communicate
how how to design a particular ah domain and
we also ah simultaneously have to know how
people interpret that so that our design becomes
much more user friendly and communicative
with the user
but there is another thing which is ah like
if we ah we were discussing about the visual
perception and semiotics and design principles
so these things are very generic and these
things doesnt vary based on different people
are peoples perception because here ah the
users factor is also there so each and every
user has different background different ah
socio cultural ah backdrop so their perception
their understanding is different and they
they are preprogrammed with ah some kind of
a visuals they have already seen
so they have their own ah ah back back socio
cultural background and we call that in ah
the mental model they have a particular mental
model of each and every visual for for example
if we ah try to convey some ah flower so it
can be a very abstract form of a flower it
can be a very realistic form of a flower but
people ah who see ah looking at it should
be associated with the particular kind of
flowers to recognize that
so ah if people have recognized about that
and people have a different kind of understanding
of that we can even abstract even even make
it more ah simplistic even ah we can deconstruct
the meaning of flower we can we construct
the it in terms of elements of design for
example we can just take the line quality
and we can just take the colour and abstract
shape of the flower and people who are understand
who have seen that can decipher the meaning
out of it so we will discuss this in the ah
in a due course of ah this lecture and so
what we were trying to say is like it has
a contextual connotation and its subjective
in that subjective we ah will also discuss
in the process of interpretation the in in
visual perception but more ah more subjectivity
also adds ah in terms of time so some style
of design becomes old ah in due course of
time and some style of design ah becomes a
new and we follow on that and some a style
of design also has some association with the
different a timeline of the design so for
that we will discuss the contemporary visual
language in design and that will be spread
in two module ah module number twelve and
thirteen in this ah phase we will talk about
how visual style evolve so we will discuss
from ah mostly the contemporary visual style
we will not discuss the history of art and
design because visual communication design
and in digital media is a very new domain
and will only discuss the contemporary phase
will start with the ah renessa and industrial
revolution from where we start discussing
the contemporary
so in between that we will have modern a modernist
movements and post modern movements of art
that time as visual ah digital media is a
very new thing so we also need to understand
what happened before the emergence of digital
media ah thats ah traditional media in traditional
media what kind of movements art movements
and design movements already happens so will
discuss a modernist movements where baho de
stijl and archnova and all these movements
will be discussed and the postmodern pop art
and other movements will discuss and then
we will ah come to the digital media ah paradigms
so there we have apples design ah for example
apples design style and googles material design
style so we will discuss about the skeuomorphism
that is the design style of apple and ios
platform and on the other side we have googles
material design so what are the difference
different visual qualities they have and how
they are different and how they are evolving
so those things we will ah discuss in this
module number twelve and thirteen
then we talk about the design paradigm so
ah till the this phase we were talking in
general of ah in the general terms of visual
communication now we will come to the paradigm
of digital media so how ah in digital media
paradigm what are the different modes of designing
what is the tools and technique because when
we talk about a paradigm a particular platform
or particular methodology so we need to understand
what are the different tools and techniques
available because tools and techniques for
hand painted visual communication when somebody
is painting a poster with brush on canvas
the tools and techniques are absolutely different
and when we are using ah digital media the
tools techniques are absolutely different
and they also give us a different opportunities
to ah design like for example in brush and
canvas we have to go with a free flow of our
design skills and in digital media we can
also tweak that we can change the design we
can iterate and we can there are some opportunities
for example we can have users opinion so if
the users are liking it then we can ah go
ahead with the design but if the users are
not liking it so if the communication between
the user and the design is somewhere interrupted
we can change the design and we can create
multi variate options so different ah low
fidelity prototypes or alpha beta prototypes
we can create in digital media and taste and
then select the best option or iterate or
create a new option which can be a better
suited for the situation and then launch the
design
so we have lot of other variations so the
methodology is based on the method paradigm
the ah techniques of designing the methodology
itself ah is different so that we will start
discussing so we have different modes of communication
but we are talking about digital paradigm
and in digital paradigm we will focus only
on interaction design web design and graphic
design and animation these three are also
very different from each other their methodologies
are different but similar principles and elements
of design and similar concept can be followed
in interaction design we will ah will emphasis
on the interaction design more and will discuss
about the what is the process so how in corporate
office how this process of web design works
from inductive or the bottom up approach of
design so from ethnography or doing the user
survey then ideation a method and then a starting
different multi variate low fidelity prototype
and how we gradually ah start proceed towards
the final design
so that will be discussed in the introduction
design methodology and then in animation we
will mostly focus on the two d animation because
three d animation ah takes lot of other ah
ah ah challenges like modeling that in three
d and other software ah learning the software
is very important and how to move those characters
in in three d those are very important so
we will stick to the two d animations and
what are the different processes and what
ah and with some case examples we will discuss
that and also in graphic design so graphic
design ah in i mean now steel image and posters
we will discuss
so here ah in module number six we will discuss
what are the different types of digital media
technology available and how this field is
emerging and how ah how they are different
and that will be discussed and its a brief
introduction about the field that will be
given in module number six and then we will
proceed further and technology advancement
of digital media what are the different technologies
ah are available and how what is the future
of digital media technology because this technology
is a very a new technology and still emerging
its in ah its changing rapidly the even the
paradigms within the digital media technology
is rapidly changing for example right now
you are we were seen digital interfaces through
laptop desktops and mobile and tabs but you
must have you might be aware about that there
are many other ah emerging trends and techniques
are ah added in this field for example augmented
reality ah and ah virtual and mixed realities
are also emerging techniques so you must have
also have aware about that must of heard about
the google glass and ah microsoft hololens
they give us an opportunity to perceive the
mixed reality so we perceive the what we see
through our eyes is the physical reality and
then in google glass and microsoft hololens
we ah they have an opportunity to superimpose
the digital layer in terms of ah interaction
design
so ah we have a combination of physical reality
with the virtual reality so what we perceive
through a digital media and which does not
exist the virtual reality in mixed reality
they allow us to perceive the physical reality
as well as the ah virtuality and as a layer
on top of the physical reality for example
the way google glass and hololens let us perceive
so in that domain if it is not ah regular
display like laptop and tab and mobile so
in that domain also the visual change change
has to be there and some kind of tools and
techniques will be different in that media
and even there are also ah completely virtual
reality headsets like oculus rift and vive
so in that we ah the users are completely
cutoff gets completely cut off from the physical
reality in terms of visual so they ah in those
kind of equipments they will give a complete
ah they will imitate at the complete ah three
dimensional visual as well as the sound so
people only perceive ah the virtual reality
so then we will also discuss one by one the
methodology in the first module number six
fifteen we will discuss the generic design
methodology ah how the inductive process of
methodology happens and what are the different
methodologies are available there and how
they evolved through time so that will be
discussed in module number ah fifteen and
from module number sixteen to nineteen onwards
will discuss each and every different ah different
domains of this digital media for example
graphic design interactional web design and
animation each and every process design methodology
will be discussed in different modules
so in between that also we will give you a
software demonstration so in interaction design
and visual communication or graphic design
its as it is it gives us an opportunity to
iterate ah gives the designer the opportunity
to understand what user perceive and whether
the communication is happening not only there
is just an aesthetic attribute to it because
there is a also a functional attribute so
that the visual should communicate with the
user properly for that we need to understand
whether ah the communication is happening
through what we have designed so that for
that we need to understand the user so user
survey has to be done so that we are understand
our design and then after designing the low
fidelity or the initial stage are design we
can also have an opportunity to test that
with the user whether its working or not for
that we have some software some tool some
hardwares and software combination to attest
that so eye tracker you might have heard about
this so eye tracker gives us an opportunity
to track users eye so eye tracker is a glass
and variable head mounted eye tracker is ah
we have that in our lab so that machine gives
us an opportunity to understand where people
are looking at and how their eye movements
are happening in within the designed display
so that we will give a demonstration about
that and we will understand how people are
looking at perceiving your design and from
that how we can receive for what iterations
are required and what ah whether our design
is working ah properly and able to communicate
with the user or not so eye tracker is usability
testing and visual analysis demonstration
will be given and this is very important for
the interaction designers and as well as a
graphic designers so in graphic designers
graphic design we can find out whether the
focal point is the acting as a focal point
or not whether people are looking at the focal
point and devoting more time in the focal
point or not whether the figure ground relationship
is properly established whether ah people
are perceiving the figure and ah backdrop
is actually a acting as a ground or not that
we can understand we can interpret from the
peoples eye movement so that ah demonstration
has will be given and also the usability testing
for interaction design whether people are
following a particular ah people are going
with the ah information architecture whether
the information architecture is proper or
not that can also be ah tested with the eye
tracker
so i would also like to give you some reference
books so that you can ah follow ah the lectures
better so ah first in the initial stages when
we will discuss about the elements and principles
of design then you can follow the second book
lauer and pentaks ah design basics and then
ah we ah when we move to the typography then
ellen luptons ah thinking with type and emil
ruders typography a manual of design can be
followed and then when we start discussing
about the semiotics and semantics theories
and visual perception then you ah can consult
this book design of everyday things and emotional
design by donald norman and visual grammar
also you can have a look at for understanding
visual ah design principles and then also
you have visual agronomics which ah will also
fit into the visual semiotics and visual perception
ah chapters and then when we ah discuss about
the new media then we you can consider this
manovich lev manovich book of language of
new media and then design basics index and
design colour index as the very important
books for understanding for the new designers
to they they can give you a guideline of what
kind of design you ah are creating and steve
krugs dont make me think is one of the very
ah comprehensive book on web design and their
usability
so thank you and in the next lecture we will
discuss about we will start with the elements
and principles of design we will start with
the elements of design in next two module
and will ah proceed to the principles of design
on the the further modules
thank you
