Computer Graphics Basics
To understand graphics file formats, you need some background in computer graphics. Of course, computer graphics is an enormous subject, and we can't hope to do it justice here. In general, we assume in this book that you are not a novice in this area. However, for those who do not have an extensive background in computer graphics, this chapter should be helpful in explaining the terminology you'll need to understand the discussions of the individual graphics file formats.
Contents:
Pixels and Coordinates
Pixel Data and Palettes
Color
Overlays and Transparency
For Further Information
If you're interested in exploring any of these topics further, far and away the best overall text is Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice by James D. Foley, Andries van Dam, S.K. Feiner, and J.F. Hughes. This is the second edition of the book formerly known throughout the industry as "Foley and van Dam." You'll find additional references in the "For Further Information" section at the end of this chapter.
Pixels and Coordinates Locations in computer graphics are stored as mathematical coordinates, but the display surface of an output device is an actual physical object. Thus, it's important to keep in mind the distinction between physical pixels and logical pixels.
Physical Pixels Physical pixels are the actual dots displayed on an output device. Each one takes up a small amount of space on the surface of the device. Physical pixels are manipulated directly by the display hardware and form the smallest independently programmable physical elements on the display surface. That's the ideal, anyway. In practice, however, the display hardware may juxtapose or overlay several smaller dots to form an individual pixel. This is true in the case of most analog color CRT devices, which use several differently colored dots to display what the eye, at a normal viewing distance, perceives as a single, uniformly colored pixel.
Because physical pixels cover a fixed area on the display surface, there are practical limits to how close together two adjacent pixels can be. Asking a piece of display hardware to provide too high a resolution--too many pixels on a given display surface--will create blurring and other deterioration of image quality if adjacent pixels overlap or collide.
Logical Pixels In contrast to physical pixels, logical pixels are like mathematical points: they specify a location, but are assumed to occupy no area. Thus, the mapping between logical pixel values in the bitmap data and physical pixels on the screen must take into account the actual size and arrangement of the physical pixels. A dense and brightly colored bitmap, for example, may lose its vibrancy when displayed on too large a monitor, because the pixels must be spread out to cover the surface.
Figure 2-1 illustrates the difference between physical and logical pixels.
Figure 2-1: Physical and logical pixels
Contents:
Pixels and Coordinates
Pixel Data and Palettes
Color
Overlays and Transparency
For Further Information
If you're interested in exploring any of these topics further, far and away the best overall text is Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice by James D. Foley, Andries van Dam, S.K. Feiner, and J.F. Hughes. This is the second edition of the book formerly known throughout the industry as "Foley and van Dam." You'll find additional references in the "For Further Information" section at the end of this chapter.
Pixels and Coordinates Locations in computer graphics are stored as mathematical coordinates, but the display surface of an output device is an actual physical object. Thus, it's important to keep in mind the distinction between physical pixels and logical pixels.
Physical Pixels Physical pixels are the actual dots displayed on an output device. Each one takes up a small amount of space on the surface of the device. Physical pixels are manipulated directly by the display hardware and form the smallest independently programmable physical elements on the display surface. That's the ideal, anyway. In practice, however, the display hardware may juxtapose or overlay several smaller dots to form an individual pixel. This is true in the case of most analog color CRT devices, which use several differently colored dots to display what the eye, at a normal viewing distance, perceives as a single, uniformly colored pixel.
Because physical pixels cover a fixed area on the display surface, there are practical limits to how close together two adjacent pixels can be. Asking a piece of display hardware to provide too high a resolution--too many pixels on a given display surface--will create blurring and other deterioration of image quality if adjacent pixels overlap or collide.
Logical Pixels In contrast to physical pixels, logical pixels are like mathematical points: they specify a location, but are assumed to occupy no area. Thus, the mapping between logical pixel values in the bitmap data and physical pixels on the screen must take into account the actual size and arrangement of the physical pixels. A dense and brightly colored bitmap, for example, may lose its vibrancy when displayed on too large a monitor, because the pixels must be spread out to cover the surface.
Figure 2-1 illustrates the difference between physical and logical pixels.
Figure 2-1: Physical and logical pixels
Verdana Pro, Not just another pretty face
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Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams
In the more than 40 years that he spent working at Braun, Dieter Rams established himself as one of the most influential designers of the twentieth century.
His elegantly clear visual language not only defined product design for decades, but also our fundamental understanding of what design is and what it can and should do.
Dieter Rams created ten rules of design more than twenty years ago.
Sometimes referred to as "the ten commandments," they are just as relevant today.
The book is the ultimate collection of images of all of Rams's products as well as selected sketches and models - from Braun stereo systems and electric shavers to the chairs and shelving systems that he created for Vitsce and sdr+.
In addition to the complete visual presentation of his designs, the book contains new texts by international design experts that explain how the work was created, describe its timeless quality, and put it into current context.
In this way, the work of Dieter Rams is given a contemporary reevaluation that is especially useful in light of the rediscovery of functionalism and rationalism in today's design.
Less and More shows us the possibilities that design opens for both the manufacturer and the consumer as a means of making our lives better through attractive, functional solutions that also save resources.(http://www.dexigner.com)
January 21,2010
His elegantly clear visual language not only defined product design for decades, but also our fundamental understanding of what design is and what it can and should do.
Dieter Rams created ten rules of design more than twenty years ago.
Sometimes referred to as "the ten commandments," they are just as relevant today.
The book is the ultimate collection of images of all of Rams's products as well as selected sketches and models - from Braun stereo systems and electric shavers to the chairs and shelving systems that he created for Vitsce and sdr+.
In addition to the complete visual presentation of his designs, the book contains new texts by international design experts that explain how the work was created, describe its timeless quality, and put it into current context.
In this way, the work of Dieter Rams is given a contemporary reevaluation that is especially useful in light of the rediscovery of functionalism and rationalism in today's design.
Less and More shows us the possibilities that design opens for both the manufacturer and the consumer as a means of making our lives better through attractive, functional solutions that also save resources.(http://www.dexigner.com)
January 21,2010
David Hillman in Print Opens at James Hockey & Foyer Galleries
)Running from January 18 - March 13, this exhibition celebrates the career of David Hillman, described by the curators as "one of Britain's foremost editorial designers."
From his work as art director of the iconic Nova magazine during its most successful period at the end of the Sixties, and as the person responsible for the ground-breaking re-design of The Guardian newspaper in the Eighties, Hillman has repeatedly pushed the boundaries of publishing design.
Yet the exhibition is also filled with work for a variety of clients that reveals the wide breadth of his 50 year career: logotypes and corporate identities, products, books, stamps and more.
Hillman's established reputation was consolidated during nearly 30 years as a partner at Pentagram, and reflected by 16 D&AD Yellow Pencils and 2 Black Pencils.
He now runs his own design company, Studio David Hillman, formed in 2006.
This exhibition engages with key moments from David Hillman's career and considers how these projects have influenced the shape and trajectory of design today.
It also explores the concept of editorial design and art direction and discusses the processes involved in these often overlooked disciplines.(http://www.dexigner.com)
From his work as art director of the iconic Nova magazine during its most successful period at the end of the Sixties, and as the person responsible for the ground-breaking re-design of The Guardian newspaper in the Eighties, Hillman has repeatedly pushed the boundaries of publishing design.
Yet the exhibition is also filled with work for a variety of clients that reveals the wide breadth of his 50 year career: logotypes and corporate identities, products, books, stamps and more.
Hillman's established reputation was consolidated during nearly 30 years as a partner at Pentagram, and reflected by 16 D&AD Yellow Pencils and 2 Black Pencils.
He now runs his own design company, Studio David Hillman, formed in 2006.
This exhibition engages with key moments from David Hillman's career and considers how these projects have influenced the shape and trajectory of design today.
It also explores the concept of editorial design and art direction and discusses the processes involved in these often overlooked disciplines.(http://www.dexigner.com)
Katsura: Picturing Modernism in Japanese
Architecture Photographer Ishimoto Yasuhiro is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential figures in the development of postwar Japanese photography.
Among his most celebrated bodies of work are the photographs he took during 1953-54 of the legendary 17th century Imperial villa of Katsura, in Kyoto, which infuse the images of the iconic structure with a modernist Bauhaus esthetic.
Beginning June 30, 2010, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will exhibit 70 of these photographs - presenting the images, for the first time, un-cropped and as Ishimoto had originally intended for them to be seen.
For the last 50 years these photographs have been known only from the landmark 1960 book Katsura: Creation and Tradition in Japanese Architecture, by architect Tange Kenzo with an introduction by Walter Gropius.
For that publication, Tange rigorously cropped and sequenced the photographs to promote his agenda in a debate that consumed post-occupation Japan's cultural elite in the mid-1950s: that of the vital relevance and existence of tradition in their efforts to define modernity.
Against this backdrop, the show will explore the nuanced and complex relationship between architecture and photography, and the profound impact these photographs had on the public's interpretation of Japanese tradition in modern architecture.(http://www.dexigner.com)
upcoming event
June 30 - September 12, 2010 | United States
more info
www.mfah.org
