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What is “real”, what is “reality”? How can we be sure that we see the world as it really is, and afterwards are making decisions and conducting actions based on logical thinking and reliable facts? The main topic of this period deals with reality, light, perception, and shaping behavior through shaping perception. How can the process by which people receive and process information be utilized for greater influence in our messaging and design?

On the other side, this semester explores how we observe, analyze, and study phenomena around us. What is easily seen or hidden? What can we learn from careful observation, documentation, comparison, and analysis? How does light emphasize or hide information from our eyes and other senses? How can data be studied to show us order in seeming chaos?

Light makes apparent what our most often relied upon sense can observe. The absence of light hides what might otherwise be obvious. In addition to observable light, light which is beyond the scope of normal human vision also affects and is utilized by us on a daily basis.

During this period, we paid special attention to some examples of how light can be used to communicate and express messages (photography and visual messaging) and how it affects us directly on the physical level (UV radiation and ways to reduce harmful UV light). Through the use of light, we created art, visual messages, and conducted various scientific experiments.

The process of perception starts with sensory input. The class learned about our five main senses, and other senses that that science has identified. We learned about how sensory input might be ignored or misreceived based on different factors.

After learning about our senses, we explored the other steps of the perception process. What causes us to pay attention to certain things? How do we decide that certain pieces of information input belong and fit together to form a whole? When certain information has been grouped as one, how do we decide what it actually means? What experiences or memories might we be drawing on as the framework for how we interpret the information we receive?

We often define “reality” to refer to the state of existence or the world as it is, independent of subjective perception or interpretation. At the same time, we can’t help but wonder if reality can exist outside of observation and experience of an observer. This philosophical question will likely not be answered in the near future, but one thing is for sure: what one person calls “reality” may seem like a delusion to some others. It is clear that regardless of if there is a reality outside of our perception, the “realities” that each of us live in inside our own heads seems to clearly have variation.

This means that through effective and strategic design and communication, we can hope to be able to more or less help shape and influence the reality of others, and thus to influence their decisions and behavior. The culmination projects this semester involved utilizing all we learned about light, photography, needs and wants, the sensory and perception process, spatial and retail design, shaping behavior, and image editing to create messaging, designs, and art to influence others and bring beauty and interest to the world.