In his book Interaction of Color, Joseph Albers tells us that color is almost never seen exactly as it physically is. All color judgements are relative. How a color appears is affected by the colors of the objects around it.
Why do some designs evoke an emotional response where others don’t? Why is it that some designs make a connection with us and deliver meaning on a more personal level? Why do some sites wow us and quickly grab our attention and hold our interest? And perhaps most important, how do they do it?
Our world is complex and it shouldn’t be a surprise that visually depicting a world of complex objects, systems, and processes leads to some rather complex graphics. Simplifying should be a first step, but sometimes all that complex information needs to remain. How can we help people understand our message despite its complexity?
Visual information contributes greatly to thinking and cognition. Some concepts are difficult to communicate with words alone and so human beings sketch and draw. We create graphs, charts, diagrams, maps, and timelines to help communicate complex ideas and make them more concrete.