VISUAL ANALYSIS 1

Description

For your Final Visual Analysis Paper, review the feedback and grading on your Week 4
Thesis and Outline submission. Apply the feedback comments in your written analysis
paper. This paper needs to be at least six pages in length using APA formatting; this
length does not include images or the APA title/reference pages.
Be sure to substantiate your analysis ideas with quotes and information from at least
four academic sources.
These four academic sources may include any of the following:

In your final paper, remember to consider the effects the visual elements have on the
viewers:

1. Sensory Response – When analyzing the viewer’s sensory response to a particular

visual, it is important to consider the visual elements that attract the eyes. Close your
eyes when considering a visual. When you open your eyes, what are the first visual
elements that you see? When analyzing a viewer’s Sensory Response, you may
consider analyzing at least two of the following effects:
a. Colors
b. Lines
c. Shapes
d. Balance
e. Contrast

2. Perceptual Response – When analyzing a viewer’s perception of visuals, it is

important to consider the audience. Consider who is or is not attracted to this type of
visual communication. When analyzing a viewer’s Perceptual Response, consider at
least two of the following effects:
a. Target audience specifics (age, profession, gender, financial status, etc.)
b. Cultural familiarity elements (ethnicity, religious preference, social groups, etc)
c. Cognitive visuals (viewer’s memories, experiences, values, beliefs, etc.)

3. Technical Response – When analyzing a viewer’s response to certain visuals, we

need to consider the technical visual aspects that may affect perception. Describe how
visuals affect the interpretation of the intended media communication message.
Address specific technological elements that impact perception. When analyzing the
Technical Response, consider the Laws of Perceptual Organization (similarity,
proximity, continuity, common fate, etc), and at least two of the following types of
visuals:
a. Drop-down menus
b. Hover-over highlighting
c. Animations
d. Quality of visuals

4. Emotional Response – When analyzing a viewer’s Emotional Response, it is

VISUAL ANALYSIS 2

important to consider the targeted audience preferences and emotional intelligence.

Discuss what the viewer might want to see and what type of visual presentation will set
the tone for that response. When analyzing the Emotional Response, consider the
effects of at least two of the following types of visuals:
a. Mood setting colors
b. Mood setting lighting
c. Persuasive images
d. Positioning of search or purchase buttons
e. Social media icons and share options

5. Ethical Response - When analyzing a viewer’s Ethical Response, it is important to

consider the targeted audience values and beliefs. Identify any negative messages
about certain ideas, groups, or cultures. Describe and pinpoint images that may be
inappropriate for a variety of viewers. Keep in mind that your website can be accessed
by all ages and groups. When analyzing the Ethical Response, consider at least two of
the following types of visuals:
a. Visual stereotypes
b. Limitations in diversity
c. Inappropriate images for all audiences
d. Digital alterations
e. False representation or advertising

I. Introduction

Media and Communication’s main thematic issue focuses attention on the changing

dynamics and landscape of visual analysis. Social media is the main platform where the

transformation of visual communication is taking place, thanks to the strong online ecosystem of

social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc. The effect of visual elements on viewers
VISUAL ANALYSIS 3

varies depending on various aspects like a sensory response, perceptual response, etc. This study,

therefore, will analyze the five perceptions and demonstrate how the visuals used in the Nike

website work to create an emotional connection with viewers and persuade them to buy their

products.

Secondly, an analysis of these five perspectives will demonstrate how the visuals in the

Times Magazine website, enhance the viewer’s understanding of the concepts presented by

transcending language barriers and clarifying communication. Arguably, the shift towards

visuals is transforming how people relate to each other as well as how they construct and

interpret their sense of self. For analysts and scholars in this field, these ideas raise theoretical,

methodological, and conceptual challenges (Landa, 2018). This study aims to analyze the effects

of visual elements on the viewers with a view of analyzing their sensory, emotional, perceptual,

technical, and ethical responses.

Sensory Response

On the Nike website, the visual examples of sensory responses used are color and shape.

Color psychology and symbolism is well designed to capture the attention of the viewer. For

instance, the white shoes on display on the website are used to symbolize happiness and purity.

The second visual example evident in both websites is the use of contrast. Contrast is the

difference that is visible in the properties of objects. However, the difference stated must be big

enough to clearly differentiate the objects. The contrast in the Nike and the Times Magazine

websites occurs in the design, form, space, and the typography.

In the Nike website, in particular, the design to which the shoes displayed follows an eye-

catching decorative pattern. The visual look of the shoes is attractive and follows a distinctive
VISUAL ANALYSIS 4

geometry in its design. The drawings on the shoes on display on the website follow a distinctive

artistic pattern meant to capture the audience’s attention. Typography is another element of

contrast evident in the Times Magazine. It is the way words and letters are arranged in print or

design works. The bold headlines and catchy phrases written in italicized formats attract the

audience’s attention. The intentional use of typography on the website is a way of making

reading the contents in the magazine easy. It helps the readers to quickly scan the text and

engage with it while enhancing the message it presents to the reader.

The shape of the shoes on display on the Nike website is appealing, well designed to capture

the audiences’ attention to buy them. Therefore, the firm’s strategy on using these visual symbols

is to attract many people from various cultures to visit the website and buy the footwear, thus,

increase the firm’s sales. (Panigyrakis, 2015) in his book, he suggested that the use of shape is

essential in accomplishing various factors in an organization. One such factor is that it creates an

impact on the audience's perceptions of a firm's products like Nike's shoes, for instance. The

distinct shape of shoes unique to Nike can solely be the main factor attracting customers to buy

them. Secondly, Panigyrakis suggests that shape attracts the interest of an indifferent group of

audiences through the conveyance of the items' selling points.

Perceptual Response

Looking at the Parents magazine website, the target audience is young parents interested

in leisure and excursion activities, mainly because of the vivid description of places to visit for

leisure activities. For instance, a child with a happy face surrounded by sand on a beach area

appeals to parents to buy the magazine and see its contents. Conversely, the images displayed on

the website can have a different taste to someone else. For instance, a person who had a bad
VISUAL ANALYSIS 5

experience on a beach might have a negative attitude towards the beach image and would not

want to buy the magazine.

The Nike website is making good use of perceptual responses to woo more customers to

its platform. For example, a section of the website has footwear only meant for people who love

soccer. The shoes on display are only meant for soccer players or persons interested in

purchasing soccer footwear. Similarly, one of the sections of the shoes displayed on the Nike

website is for athletes. The sketcher shoes on display are designed for running. Therefore, it is

clear that the social group of people purchasing the shoes are athletes. This Nike strategic shoe

display is meant to attract a specific audience to its platform.

Technical Response

The visual examples of technical responses include; hover-over highlighting and drop-

down menus. In both websites, the drop-down menu is accessible whenever the user scrolls up or

down on all bottoms page. The hover-over highlighting is used when the user hovers over any

image on the page. The hover-over highlighting gives the potential customer the much-needed

extra push to click and check on a product. The drop-down menu arouses interest from the

viewer to want to explore the products more on the website. Nike and the Times Magazine use

the drop-down menu to strategically reach certain products that stimulate interest in them and

make them buy the products.

An example of this is when moving the mouse or the computer cursor to the right side of

the website to use the scroll bar, the drop-down menu is easily triggered. Similarly, the hover-

over highlighting on any of the images on display is also triggered. The designers of the websites
VISUAL ANALYSIS 6

make these two visual elements sensitive to the computer mouse as much as possible to

maximize users’ experiences (James, 2017).

The quality of the visuals in the Times Magazine website is top-notch. It incorporates

custom design on its website. Illustrations are precise, and the photos used are impersonal. The

illustrations of objects on display are accurate and exclusively directed to a particular group and

gender. The high-quality visuals are purposefully meant to quickly deliver messages. The few

words used in displaying photos in the Magazine are meant to keep the audience engaged in the

visual content. The utilization of powerful high-quality data visualization in the Magazine can

immediately cut to the chase and convince viewers to take time checking the content.

Emotional Response

The visual examples in use are social media icons and positioning of search and buy

options. The positioning of these options is such that the search button is at the top of the drop-

down menu. The buy options are not accessible unless a user clicks on the product. The social

media icons are at the bottom of the page in the Times Magazine website. The strategic use of

visuals on this website is a strategy to lure young people who like the magazine to link it with

social media for continuous updates. The social media variety of buttons gives the customer

numerous options to go to different social media websites to see their products.

‘’Media consumption preference or multiplatform research (finding out the customer’s

favorite way to access content: TV, online, mobile, etc. (Berman, 2016). In his book, Berman

suggests that for successful entrepreneurship, firms must understand the best platforms their

customers prefer to obtain content. He argues that knowing the way customers access to content,

whether online, TV or mobile phone is essential in tailoring the information to fit them at the
VISUAL ANALYSIS 7

right place and the right moment. This is the strategy that Nike and the Times Magazine use on

their websites. They bring the social media buttons at the end so that it becomes easy for

customers to follow the content on their social media pages.

Ethical Response

The visual examples of ethical responses used are transparency and diversity in all the

images. The openness for access to all is because the images on display on the Nike website have

no sensitive content restricted to a certain group. The images on the Nike website are free for all

to see. Times Magazine, on the other hand, has age-specific content. Therefore, children are

limited from viewing some of the images like fashion clothing for women on the website. Thus,

some content is restricted to only a section of the population that can associate with it.

To achieve such visual element in its website, the Times Magazine is employing visual

alterations as one of the ethical response features. The digitally altered photos on the website

appear nice and inspiring. Though not evident to the normal customer perusing through the

website, a keen eye will pinpoint a digitally altered photo. Women garments, for instance, have

been massively altered digitally, where an appealing background is used to illuminate and

increase the contrast of a would-be an ugly photo. These e-commerce websites make good use of

digital alterations to show a bright, neat, and clean product that easily catches the eyes of

potential customers. This, in turn, implies more sales and profit to the corporation.

This lack of diversity can cause a section of the population to feel angry due to a lack of

representation. On the other hand, the use of inappropriate images on the website may be a

strategic objective aimed at reaching the target audience that thinks that the ideal clothing is what

is represented in the images in the magazine, thus, influencing them to purchase. For instance,
VISUAL ANALYSIS 8

the inappropriate images may cause parents whose teenage children wanting to buy the clothes

displayed, to decline to buy them (Berman, 2016).

Conclusion.

The analysis of the five aspects demonstrates how visuals in Nike and the Times

magazine utilize brilliant standards to persuade customers to purchase their products. The

information that I obtained from both analyses shows that the ethical and perceptual responses

majorly use visuals to lure people into buying their products. The effects of these visuals on the

viewers are both positive and negative, depending on how the website develops and runs the user

interface and the ease to which the viewer interacts with the website. Additionally, these brilliant

strategies by the Nike and Times Magazine websites attract millions of customers to visit their

platforms regularly. These customer visits translate to more items sold and thus more profit to

these companies. Furthermore, the use of visuals by these two firms improves their reputation

and the brand. Therefore it implies more revenue from sales.

References

Berman, M. (2016). The Blueprint for Strategic Advertising: How Critical Thinking Builds

Successful Campaigns. Routledge.

James, J. P., Lee, K., Zhang, M., & Williams, J. D. (2017). Ethics and policy

issues for internet advertising: Targeting multicultural consumers in the

VISUAL ANALYSIS 9

digital marketing era. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 18(4),

93-106.

Landa, R. (2018). Graphic design solutions (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage

Learning.

Panigyrakis, G. G., & Kyrousi, A. G. (2015). Color effects in print advertising:

A research update (1985-2012). Corporate Communications, 20(3), 233-

255.