high-resolution fovea. Eye movements are executed to satisfy our need for
information and can be thought of as a sequence of visual queries on the
visual world. Each time the eye briefl y comes to rest, the pattern-processing
machinery goes to work sorting out what is most likely to be relevant to
our current cognitive task. Almost everything else is either not seen at all
or retained for only a fraction of a second. A few fragments are held for a
second or two, and a tiny percentage forms part of our long-term mem-
ory. To be sure we do have visual memories built up over our lifetimes and
these are what make the scraps of information we capture meaningful and
useful. ese memories are not detailed, but they do provide frameworks
for fl eshing out the fragments. ey also provide frameworks for planning
eye movements and other kinds of actions.
e idea of the visual query is shorthand for what we do when we
obtain information either from the world at large or some kind of informa-
tion display. We make visual queries every time we search for some visual
information that we need to carry out our cognitive task of the moment.
Understanding what visual queries are easily executed is a critical skill for
the designer. e special skill of designers is not so much skill with draw-
ing or graphic design software, although these are undoubtedly useful, but
the talent to analyze a design in terms of its ability to support the visual
queries of others. is talent comes from hard-won pattern analysis skills
that become incorporated into the neural fabric of perception, as well as
the skill to execute a cognitive process that takes into account a variety of
competing considerations.
One reason design is diffi cult is that the designer already has the knowl-
edge expressed in the design, has seen it develop from inception, and
therefore cannot see it with fresh eyes. e solution is to be analytic and
this is where this book is intended to have value. Eff ective design should
start with a visual task analysis, determine the set of visual queries to be
supported by a design, and then use color, form, and space to effi ciently
serve those queries. Skilled graphic designers already do this intuitively. It
is my earnest hope that this book will help in the transition from unskilled
to skilled designer by providing visual analytic tools derived from an up-
to-date understanding of human perception.
At this stage, it should be clear that this book is not about the kind of
visual thinking that goes into fi ne art where the goals are frequently the
opposite of clarity, but rather beauty, visual impact, or an investigation
of a new vocabulary of expression. Because of its exploratory, pioneer-
ing nature, leading-edge art often speaks only to small cliques of insiders,
collectors, critics, and gallery owners. is book is about graphic design
Conclusion 21
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