Visualizing Culture: Analyzing the Cultural Aesthetics of the Web

by Roxanne O'Connell

Overview

In an increasingly global society, the ability to identify a culture’s visual aesthetics helps us localize messages for better understanding and resonance with targeted audiences. But how do we identify the visual cues that specific cultures respond to? Based on Web design «best practices» and data collected from close to 2000 websites in more than 30 countries over a period of eight years, this book defines a methodology for identifying patterns – a «pattern language» – by which one can analyze the cultural aesthetics of a website to: (1) learn more about the visual communication patterns of a particular culture, (2) apply what is learned to the creation of new Web communication, and (3) identify trends in visual communication on the Web as influenced by emerging technologies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433122224
Publisher:	Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
Publication date:	12/23/2014
Series:	Visual Communication Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	198
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Roxanne O’Connell (PhD, Salve Regina University) is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication and Graphic Design at Roger Williams
University. She is the editor of the two-volume series Teaching with Multimedia and a contributing author to Visualizing the Web: Evaluating Online Design from a Visual Communication Perspective.

Table of Contents

Contents: A Pattern Language: Culture, Technology & Design – Getting Started: Two Methods – Color Palettes – Content: Modality, Ratio, Density & Flow – Time: Mode & Tempo – Audience Interaction & Information Density – Cultural Attitudes & Values – Usability, Uncertainty & Ambiguity – Using the Pattern Language.