11 research outputs found
What you see is not always what you get: A qualitative, comparative analysis of ex ante visualizations with ex post photography of landscape and architectural projects
This study presents a qualitative, comparative analysis of ex ante visualizations, created during planning
and design phases, with ex post photography of landscape and architectural projects. Visualizations play
an increasingly important role as decision-making tools in the planning process and are expected to
successfully communicate proposals to both experts and laypersons. Outside of the wind farm industry
there is a lack of detailed guidance for those creating landscape visualizations and currently no method
of analyzing the accuracy of visualizations exists. In a world where we increasingly rely on information
communicated in a visual manner itis imperative that potential viewers are provided with clues to enable
them to distinguish between what is real and what is not. This study analyses a selection of visualizations
from a cross section of landscape and architectural projects and reveals reoccurring patterns of inconsistencies
in the depiction of content elements. The control of production through agreed guidelines
proposed by previously published research could have both positive and negative effects for the future
of visualization production. This research proposes that the starting point for honest communication lies
in transparency, in both production techniques and presentation to clients, stakeholders and the public.
There is scope for more in depth image analysis of a larger body of projects that may reveal more detailed
findings that could contribute to future guideline discussions