The affective notes of represented space as motors of emotional and sensorial response

The following essay proposes to investigate the perceptual and emotional aspects related to the visualization of architectural images. The field of research is limited to a well-defined category: figurative representations as the photographic and digital images of contemporary architecture. In particular, two types will be analysed: the un-built architecture produced by Studio MIR and Bloomimages compared with the photographed built architecture. Using figurative images as a tool of reading, the aim of this work is to identify and classify three types of affective spaces capable of generating a specific kind of perception, producing a sensorial classification of atmosphere for architecture. The study of the Psychology of Art, as well as Aesthetics and Neuroaesthetics can be a valuable tool in understanding the phenomena of the present, considering the marked pictoriality of these images. The application of the analytic methodology, developed in these disciplines, can suggest a new way of "looking" at the project, paying attention to the representation of the atmospheres, which characterizes the experience of felt space

Advertising and brand trust: perspectives from the UK and Italy

The creation of a trusting brand identity through advertising has received relatively little attention in European marketing research. We explore this relationship by undertaking focus group research in the UK and Italy to identify the characteristics of print advertisements perceived as portraying a trusting image. The results show that advertisements that are simple, straightforward and clear are perceived as being more trusting. However, findings also show some differences between our national samples in relation to factors such as colour perception and consumer ethnocentrism. Young consumers are also quite critical of current advertising efforts in building a trusting brand image.

Memory grids: Forgetting East Berlin in Krass Clement’s Photobook Venten på i går. Auf Gestern warten (2012)

Memory grids: Forgetting East Berlin in Krass Clement’s Photobook Venten på i går. Auf Gestern warten (2012)In the article, I argue that by means of qualities intrinsic to the medium of the photobook, the renowned Danish photographer Krass Clement (b. 1946) constructs a complex narration, which, on the one hand, seeksmeta-refl ection on the relationships between photography, memory, and the perception of reality, and, on the other, explores the post-GDR condition of Berlin and Germany. Venten på i går. Auf Gestern warten (Danish and German for “Waiting for yesterday”) includes both old and contemporary images, in both colour and black-and-white, but the book is neither (n)ostalgic nor documentary. Rather, I insist that Clement’s project epitomizes memory work and that its guiding principle can be understood through Rosalind Krauss’ concept of the grid. Th e grid is here inseparable from photography’s relation to memory and reality. I explore how the dialectics between remembering and forgetting, inherent to photography, is enacted by the book, and how it foregrounds the opaqueness rather than the transparency of the medium and perception. I also present how the universe constructed by Clement unfolds within the three temporal dimensions suggested in the title of the book: a present (post-ideological) suspension between the future and the past

Towards a Unified Knowledge-Based Approach to Modality Choice

This paper advances a unified knowledge-based approach to the process of choosing the most appropriate modality or combination of modalities in multimodal output generation. We propose a Modality Ontology (MO) that models the knowledge needed to support the two most fundamental processes determining modality choice – modality allocation (choosing the modality or set of modalities that can best support a particular type of information) and modality combination (selecting an optimal final combination of modalities). In the proposed ontology we model the main levels which collectively determine the characteristics of each modality and the specific relationships between different modalities that are important for multi-modal meaning making. This ontology aims to support the automatic selection of modalities and combinations of modalities that are suitable to convey the meaning of the intended message

Fruit over sunbed : carotenoid skin coloration is found more attractive than melanin coloration

Skin coloration appears to play a pivotal part in facial attractiveness. Skin yellowness contributes to an attractive appearance and is influenced both by dietary carotenoids and by melanin. While both increased carotenoid coloration and increased melanin coloration enhance apparent health in Caucasian faces by increasing skin yellowness, it remains unclear firstly, whether both pigments contribute to attractiveness judgements, secondly, whether one pigment is clearly preferred over the other, and thirdly, whether these effects depend on the sex of the face. Here, in three studies, we examine these questions using controlled facial stimuli transformed to be either high or low in (a) carotenoid coloration, or (b) melanin coloration. We show, firstly, that both increased carotenoid coloration and increased melanin coloration are found attractive compared to lower levels of these pigments. Secondly, we show that carotenoid coloration is consistently preferred over melanin coloration when levels of coloration are matched. In addition, we find an effect of the sex of stimuli with stronger preferences for carotenoids over melanin in female compared to male faces, irrespective of the sex of the observer. These results are interpreted as reflecting preferences for sex-typical skin coloration: men have darker skin than women and high melanisation in male faces may further enhance this masculine trait, thus carotenoid coloration is not less desirable, but melanin coloration is relatively more desirable in males compared to females. Taken together, our findings provide further support for a carotenoid-linked health-signalling system that is highly important in mate choice.PostprintPeer reviewe

Designing with Care - Interior Design and Residential Child Care Final Report

This exploratory study examined the attitudes to a range of design interventions in four residential care homes for children in South Lanarkshire. The project set out to identify the benefits and disadvantages to young people and staff of a change in approach to the design of interior spaces. It was undertaken by Farm7 (specialists in design research and consultancy) and the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care (SIRCC). The main focus of the research was to evaluate design interventions aimed at removing 'institutional' approaches to design in the care environment and improving the experience of looked after children. This involved the commissioning of interior design consultants Graven Images in the development and design of South Lanarkshire's residential children's homes. Post-occupancy evaluation of the four residential homes was undertaken with the participation of both looked after children and staff. It was envisaged that this study would contribute to the development of design guidance that will promote a more systematic approach to the design of care environments. This will allow social work and design professionals to draw on a design framework in order to significantly enhance the experience of looked after children and staff

Measuring Visual Consistency in 3D Rendering Systems

One of the major challenges facing a present day game development company is the removal of bugs from such complex virtual environments. This work presents an approach for measuring the correctness of synthetic scenes generated by a rendering system of a 3D application, such as a computer game. Our approach builds a database of labelled point clouds representing the spatiotemporal colour distribution for the objects present in a sequence of bug-free frames. This is done by converting the position that the pixels take over time into the 3D equivalent points with associated colours. Once the space of labelled points is built, each new image produced from the same game by any rendering system can be analysed by measuring its visual inconsistency in terms of distance from the database. Objects within the scene can be relocated (manually or by the application engine); yet the algorithm is able to perform the image analysis in terms of the 3D structure and colour distribution of samples on the surface of the object. We applied our framework to the publicly available game RacingGame developed for Microsoft(R) Xna(R). Preliminary results show how this approach can be used to detect a variety of visual artifacts generated by the rendering system in a professional quality game engine

Modelling 3D product visualisation for online retail atmospherics

Purpose: The Stimulus (S) Organism (O) Responses (R) paradigm has been extensively studied in conventional retailing but has received little attention in the online context. This study aims to investigate the effects of an online retailer atmospheric using three dimensional (3D) product visualisation. Design/methods/approach: We operationalise 3D antecedents, the main online atmospheric cues, as the “stimulus” (S) that attracts consumers’ attention towards the online retailer, authenticity of the 3D, hedonic and utilitarian value as the “organism” (O) part, and consumers’ behavioural intention as the “responses” (R) part. A hypothetical retailer Web site presents a variety of laptops using 3D product visualisations. Findings: The control and animated colours represent the main stimuli (S). Furthermore, 3D authenticity, hedonic and utilitarian values are the main determinants of behavioural intentions. The proposed conceptual model achieves acceptable fit and the hypothesised paths are all valid. Practical implications: Retail website designers can contribute to enhancing consumers’ virtual experience by focusing more on utilitarian and hedonic value. Any 3D flash should include the essential information that consumers seek and consumers should be able to click to any part of the 3D flash to access further information. Originality/values: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first in the U.K. that uses a U.K. sample to investigate the effects of using 3D product visualisation on consumers’ perceptions and responses. Our research makes an important contribution to the online atmospheric literature by providing a rich explanation of how authenticity of the 3D virtual models adds more information, fun and enhances consumers’ responses towards the online retailer

The virtual human face – superimposing the simultaneously captured 3D photorealistic skin surface of the face on the untextured skin image of the CBCT Scan

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of simultaneous capture of the three-dimensional (3D) surface of the face and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan of the skull on the accuracy of their registration and superimposition. 3D facial images were acquired in 14 patients using the Di3d (Dimensional Imaging, UK) imaging system and i-CAT CBCT scanner. One stereophotogrammetry image was captured at the same time as the CBCT and another one hour later. The two stereophotographs were then individually superimposed over the CBCT using VRmesh. Seven patches were isolated on the final merged surfaces. For the whole face and each individual patch; maximum and minimum range of deviation between surfaces, absolute average distance between surfaces, and standard deviation for the 90th percentile of the distance errors were calculated. The superimposition errors of the whole face for both captures revealed statistically significant differences (P=0.00081). The absolute average distances in both separate and simultaneous captures were 0.47mm and 0.27mm, respectively. The level of superimposition accuracy in patches from separate captures ranged between 0.3 and 0.9mm, while that of simultaneous captures was 0.4mm. Simultaneous capture of Di3d and CBCT images significantly improved the accuracy of superimposition of these image modalities