The Ultimate Guide to Visual Perception and Design
How This Course Will Help Your Career
What You’ll Learn
- How visual perception is formed, based on an understanding of the anatomy of the eye
- What the theories of human color vision are, as well as important color considerations for your designs
- How to apply color information to designs
- How to apply Gestalt principles, such as the law of proximity and the figure/ground organization, so as to create effective designs
- How imagery, context, and attention form important considerations for all kinds of designs
- How humans perceive objects, and how to use that knowledge for screen-based interfaces
Human vision is an amazing ability; we are capable of interpreting our surroundings so as to interact safely and accurately with little conscious effort. However, we are well attuned to nature and things that occur naturally in our environment, which has significant implications for design. Unless man-made products are attuned to, and support, human visual perception, the viewing experience suffers and there is significant potential that users will be unable to use your products quickly, safely, or without error. For this reason, it is essential that we investigate how we see the world and why we see things in the way we do in order to know what we can do to ensure our products provide the best viewing experience possible. This is why we have developed “The Ultimate Guide to Visual Perception and Design,” and why it is such an important topic for designers to master.
For those of us who are blessed with good eyesight, we seldom consider it. That’s why going off to investigate the whys and hows involved is a little like trying to get behind the wind for the sake of finding the exact spot where it comes from. Happily, getting to the bottom of the phenomena involved in visual perception is a lot less laborious, and perhaps infinitely more fascinating. During the course, we will first cover the basic anatomy of the human eye so as to understand how vision is formed. We will then look at lots of different designs, evaluating each one according to specific aspects of the human visual experience. We will also identify how we can improve designs to support human vision better and improve usability as a direct result. Using the knowledge it imparts earlier on, this course will then analyze the design of icons in screen-based interfaces.
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Is This Course Right for You?
This is an advanced-level course greatly relevant to designers, particularly visual designers and UI designers, who are interested in creating effective software interfaces:
- UI and visual designers keen on boosting their work experience with solid theory on visual perception and Gestalt principles
- UX designers interested in gaining a deep understanding of how to create user interfaces and graphics that are effective
- Project managers who want to learn how to use colors and graphics to communicate with users effectively
- Software engineers who are interested in boosting their careers with an understanding of visual perception and design
- Entrepreneurs with some exposure to visual or graphic design who want to improve how their products communicate with graphics
- Newcomers to design who are considering a career in design
Courses in the Interaction Design Foundation are designed to contain comprehensive, evidence-based content, while ensuring that the learning curve is never too steep. All participants will have the opportunity to share ideas, seek help with tests, and enjoy the social aspects afforded by our open and friendly forum.
Learn and Work with a Global Team of Designers
You’ll join a global community and work together to improve your skills and career opportunities. Connect with helpful peers and make friends with like-minded individuals as you push deeper into the exciting and booming industry of design.
Lessons in This Course
- Each week, one lesson becomes available.
- There's no time limit to finish a course. Lessons have no deadlines.
- Estimated learning time: 13 hours 34 mins spread over 7 weeks .
Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction
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0.1: Welcome and Introduction (7 mins)
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0.2: An introduction to courses from the Interaction Design Foundation (37 mins)
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0.3: Let our community help you (1 min)
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0.4: How to Earn Your Course Certificate (16 mins)
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0.5: Meet your peers online in our discussion forums (5 mins)
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0.6: Meet and learn from design professionals at an upcoming meet-up (1 min)
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0.7: Gain Timeless Skills Through Courses From the Interaction Design Foundation (21 mins)
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0.8: Mandatory vs. Optional Lesson Items (7 mins)
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0.9: A Mix Between Video-Based and Text-Based Lesson Content (6 mins)
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0.10: The Exercise (7 mins)
Lesson 1: An Introduction to Human Vision
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1.1: Understanding Human Vision (42 mins)
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1.2: The Fovea and Design (8 mins)
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1.3: Anatomy and Function of the Eye (9 mins)
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1.4: Designing Visual Displays (6 mins)
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1.5: Vision and Design (6 mins)
Lesson 2: Visual Perception and Colour Vision
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2.1: Colour Vision: Visual Perception (40 mins)
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2.2: Using Colour: Visual Perception (21 mins)
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2.3: Theories of Human Colour Perception (11 mins)
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2.4: Colour Blindness: Visual Perception (18 mins)
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2.5: Photoreceptors fovea (34 mins)
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2.6: 25 Examples of Colourful Websites that Impress (2 mins)
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2.7: Colour Vision 1: Colour Basics (31 mins)
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2.8: Vision and Design Considerations (5 mins)
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2.9: Light Conditions: Visual Perception (6 mins)
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2.10: Colour Combinations: Visual Perception (6 mins)
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2.11: Your Experience (6 mins)
Lesson 3: The Gestalt Principles of Perceptual Organisation
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3.1: A Valuable List of Gestalt Principles (11 mins)
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3.2: 'Law of Pragnanz' (43 mins)
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3.3: Applying the Laws (11 mins)
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3.4: 'Law of Similarity' (11 mins)
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3.5: 'Law of Proximity' (8 mins)
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3.6: Law of Familiarity/Meaningfulness (15 mins)
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3.7: 'Law of Common Fate' (11 mins)
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3.8: 'New' Grouping Laws (7 mins)
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3.9: Research: 'New' Grouping Laws (10 mins)
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3.10: The Law Of Element Connectedness (7 mins)
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3.11: 'Law of Synchrony' (7 mins)
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3.12: 'Law of Common Region' and The Origin of The Gestalt Laws (18 mins)
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3.13: Figure/Ground Organisation (14 mins)
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3.14: 'Figure/Ground' (8 mins)
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3.15: An example of Figure/Ground (6 mins)
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3.16: Design Considerations (8 mins)
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3.17: '1minus1': Playing with perception (6 mins)
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3.18: The Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organisation (7 mins)
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3.19: 'Mr Porter': Playing with perception (5 mins)
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3.20: Colour Decisions: Playing with perception (6 mins)
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3.21: Checklist for Designers: The Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organisation (6 mins)
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3.22: Identifying Gestalt Laws (6 mins)
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3.23: Gestalt Principles in Practice (7 mins)
Lesson 4: Important Considerations: Imagery, Context and Attention
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4.1: Using Images: Vision and Design (14 mins)
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4.2: Context and other influences (56 mins)
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4.3: Vision and Attention (24 mins)
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4.4: Visual Perception (10 mins)
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4.5: Vanishing Head Illusion (6 mins)
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4.6: Nature of Human Vision (6 mins)
Lesson 5: Object Perception and Design
Lesson 6: Visual Perception, Design Examples and Elaboration
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6.1: Icon Design: Visual Perception (21 mins)
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6.2: Vision and Design Consideration (42 mins)
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6.3: Seven Principles of Effective Icon Design (5 mins)
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6.4: Icon Design Mistakes (6 mins)
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6.5: Icon Design Tips (5 mins)
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6.6: Community-based learning and networking (6 mins)
Lesson 7: Course Certificate, Final Networking, and Course Wrap-up
Learning Paths
This course is part of 1 learning path:
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