On a computer screen or on paper, optical illusions can be enthralling. They are an interesting example of how the brain processes sensory data to create the impression of reality.
The lines that flex and buckle shapes that pop up colors that change – all of these are aspects of optical illusions. Human visual systems are constantly observing the light colors, distance, and dimensions.
An optical illusion occurs in the event that an image confuses eyes and brain. In a fraction of a second hundreds of images are transmitted to the brain via the visual system. The brain organizes this data through defining boundaries, analyzing contrast areas, sorting colours and even guessing based upon prior experiences of what it is expected to observe.
Sometimes it gets things wrong. There is nothing wrong with your eyes or the brain. It’s simply a dispute about what you’re looking at. Other senses may also experience similar illusions. For example, if you have a bug crawling up your arm, it could appear to be going down.
There are three types of optical illusions: literal psychological and physiological. The physiological illusions are pictures that appear as if they are moving however, they’re actually still images. They are caused by the brain stimulating its senses in order to distinguish motion from the still image. This type of illusion can be as simple as the Ponzo Illusion, where two lines appear to be different lengths.
Optic illusions are utilized in museums, psychology classes and even by your hippie pal with posters hung on his walls. However, you probably didn’t think they could be employed in advertisements. They can be extremely effective in grabbing people’s attention, creating a feeling of movement, or in certain cases wrinkled eyelids.
Jane Pain, a popular company in lingerie, just launched an optical illusions campaign featuring the bums and busts of their products. If you take a closer look but you’ll find that the parts of your body not dressed are actually elbows, and knees.
A Kit Kat truck is another cool optical illusion used in commercials. It creates the illusion like the driver is in a hammock, instead of being driven. This illusion is an excellent way to attract attention and encourages them to stop for an break by consuming the Kit Kat. This advertisement uses perceptual priming, and it is set to establish a positive image with the brand.
MC Escher’s Penrose triangle and endless staircase are well-known examples optical illusions. However, optical illusions have been a vital strand of art from the Renaissance, when artists used linear perspective and the camera obscura to create incredible trompe l’oeil illusions of space and depth.
Most often, it is geometric in nature. the op art style is non-representational. It makes use of lines, shapes and blocks of color to give the impression of moving, images hidden from view or swells or warping. Its popularity began in the 1960s thanks to the work of Victor Vasarely and the 1965 exhibition The Responsive Eye, which gave the movement increased exposure to the public.
Joseph Albers, influenced by the Op Art movement explored how colors interact and influenced one another. His Homage to the Square series of paintings employs colored squares layered on top of one another to study how different colors influence our perception of shape and depth.
The most recent optical illusion making the around is one that’s musical. The illusion involves a set of identical musical notes. When they are played back on a piano they create the illusion of lyrics to a song even though there’s no lyrics!
These clever illusions reveal how your brain utilizes information from your senses build a mental picture of your surroundings. Whether this happens naturally or through a deliberate process the brain is incredibly strong.
Artists like Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely experimented with illusionary effect in their work. Soto went even further, creating immersive installations that blurred the line between artwork and viewer and invited viewers to engage with his work.