Visual Communication and Design

Academic Session 2019-20 MJMC203TP

Course Code
Academic Session 2020-21 onwards MJMC302TP
Course Title Visual Communication and Design
Lecture Tutorial Practice Total
Course Credits
4 1 1 6
Contact hours 60 15 30 105
Internal Assessment Practical Theory Total
Examination
Attendance CCA Examination Examination Marks
Scheme
5 25 20 100 150
This course is aimed at achieving three goals. First, to build a theoretical
Course appreciation of the visual; second, to familiarize with the graphic design
objective concepts and tool; and lastly, to train the student in applying the conceptual
understanding and the tools in the art of graphic designing.
IA Practical Theory Exam Total
Pass marks Max Pass Max Pass Max Pass Max Pass
30 40% 20 40% 100 40% 150 50%

Instructions for Paper Setters:

Maximum time: 3 hours.
Part A Ten short answer (50 words) questions covering the entire syllabus 10 x 2 = 20 marks
for two marks each. All questions are compulsory.
Part B This section shall have five sub-sections covering the five respective 5 x 4 = 20 marks
units of the syllabus. One out of two questions from each sub-
section is to be answered (100-150 words) for 4 marks each.
Part C This section shall have five sub-sections covering the five respective 5 x 12 = 60 marks
units of the syllabus. One out of two questions from each sub-
section is to be answered for 12 marks each.
Total Marks (A+B+C) 100 marks

Course Components:
Contact Hours
Unit Topic
L T P
VISUAL COMMUNICATION THEORIES – I
Meaning of Visual Communication
Aesthetic Theory: Philosophical, artistic and scientific perspective;
Relationship between object, image maker and viewer; Perception of
aesthetic relationships (Configurational relationship, Physiognomic
I relationships, Flexibility and fluency, Implicit aesthetic relationships, 12 3 0
Holistic vision); Logic of visual aesthetics (Ambiguity and meaning,
Control of direction, Ecological relationships, Tensional relationship,
Unity, Realism, Layering)
Theory of Visual Rhetoric: Meaning of Visual Rhetoric; Visual Rhetoric as
Communicative Artifact; Visual Rhetoric as Perspective; Deductive

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 Application of the Rhetorical to the Visual; Inductive Exploration of the
Visual to Generate the Rhetorical
VISUAL COMMUNICATION THEORIES – II
Visual Cognitive Theory: Understanding Cognition as Intuitive and
Rational; Visual Cognition Models (Jaynes' Bicameral Mind and the
Evolution of Reason; Bogen and Sperry left-right brain specialization
theory; Parallel/Dualistic Organizational Models; Gardner's Multiple
Intelligences; Visual Cognition, the Unconscious Mind, and Behaviour);
Omniphasism: Balancing Visual Knowing and Cognitive Theory
Visual Semiotics Theory: Sign, Signifier and Signified relationship;
Oppositions and their Role in Creating Meaning; Motivated and
II 12 3 0
Unmotivated Relationships; Connotative and Denotative Meanings;
Signification (Process of Chains and Shifts; Inference); Codes as Systems
of Signs (Type of Sign Systems); Interpretation of Codes
Visual Literacy Theory: Meaning of Visual Literacy; Visual Literacy Skills
(Thinking in Pictures, From Scene to Shot Sequence, Editing and Spatial
Intelligence, Analogical Thinking, Visual Analogy); Critical Viewing
(Interpreting visual lies; Understanding the power of image – Analogy to
Everyday Experience, Manipulation of Point of View, Implicit
Argumentation, Associational Juxtaposition)
GRAPHIC DESIGN BASICS
Graphic design: Meaning and scope, Art or craft;
Graphic Design History: From the beginning to the turn of the century,
Modernism, Abstract Movements, Figurative Movements,
Postmodernism; Computer Graphics: Digital Focus, New Technologies,
III Interactivity, The Future 12 3 0
Perception: Seeing and Believing (Simplicity, Interpretations);
Figure/Ground (Categories – Stable Figure/Ground, Reversible
Figure/Ground, Ambiguous Figure/Ground; Letterforms); Shape (Shape
versus Volume, Grouping Shapes, Shape versus Subject, Form of Shapes,
Letterform Shapes)
GRAPHIC DESIGN PROCESS, TYPOGRAPHY AND COLOUR
Graphic Design Process: Research, Creative Brief, Concept Development,
Selling the idea, Execution, Process record
Elements of Design (Point, Line, Shape, Colour, Volume, Movement,
Space, Texture, Value, Typography); Principles of Design (Alignment,
Balance, Contrast, Emphasis, Gestalt, Harmony, Movement, Proportion,
Proximity, Repetition, Rhythm, Unity, White Space)
IV 12 3 15
Typography: Design of Characters; Typefaces; Size of Type; Stylistics
Variation of Type; Typeface Personalities; Selection of Typefaces;
Common Typefaces; Selecting Typesfaces for paper & ink; screen, visual
displays, computer print outs
Colour in Design: Designing with Colour (The Colour Wheel, Properties
of Colour, Colour Schemes); The Relativity of Colour; The Psychology of
Colour (Associations, Selecting Colour); Understanding Electronic Colour

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 (Colour Models, Another Colour Wheel, Colour Gamuts); Colour in
Printing (Tint Screens, Spot Colour or Process Colour?, Process Colour
Separations, Cutting Costs, Halftones, Duotones, and Tritones)
LAYOUT AND DESIGN
Layout: Paper size; Page composition (Page size, Text face, classic model
for page design, Margins, Grid systems, Oppositions); Text layout
(Justified or unjustified text, Line length, Interline distance, Space,
Headings, Paragraphs, Tables, Captions, Quotations, Lists,
Miscellaneous); Layout of text and pictures (Different layouts, Balance in
design, The picture area index); Photography in a Layout (Cropping,
Resizing, Selecting, Multi-panel Design)
Images In Design: Types of images, scanning and resolution, file formats
V 12 3 15
for digital image, vector images;
Printing and Production: Analog and Digital Data (Analog to Digital
Conversions, The Screen Image, Object-Oriented and Bitmapped
Graphics, Hardware and Software, Memory, RAM and ROM, Storage
Devices); Input/Output Devices;
Production: Preparing for Press (The Process, Quality Issues, Digital
Prepress – The RIP, Fonts, Scanning, LPI and DPI, File Links, File Formats,
Compression)
Paper selection; Selection of Printing Process; Types of binding

Essential Reading:
• Dake, D. (2005). Aesthetics Theory. In Smith, K., Moriarty, S., Barbatsis, G., and Kenney, K. (Eds.),
Handbook of Visual Communication (3-22). Mahwah, New Jersey, London: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates
• Foss, S. K. (2005). Theory of Visual Rhetoric. In Smith, K., Moriarty, S., Barbatsis, G., and Kenney,
K. (Eds.), Handbook of Visual Communication (141-152). Mahwah, New Jersey, London:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Williams, R.(2005). Cognitive Theory. In Smith, K., Moriarty, S., Barbatsis, G., and Kenney, K.
(Eds.), Handbook of Visual Communication (193-210). Mahwah, New Jersey, London: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
• Sandra Moriarty, S. (2005). Visual Semiotics Theory. In Smith, K., Moriarty, S., Barbatsis, G., and
Kenney, K. (Eds.), Handbook of Visual Communication (227-242). Mahwah, New Jersey, London:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Messaris, P., and Moriarty, S. (2005). Visual Literacy Theory. In Smith, K., Moriarty, S., Barbatsis,
G., and Kenney, K. (Eds.), Handbook of Visual Communication (479-502). Mahwah, New Jersey,
London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Arntson, A. E. (2007). Graphic Design Basics (5th Ed.). Thompson, Wadsworth
• Ambrose, G., and Harris, P. (2008). The Production Manual: A Graphic Design Handbook. AVA
Publishing SA
Additional Reading:
• Machin, D. (Ed.). (2014). Visual Communication. Berlin and Boston: Walter de Gruyter

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