Editing Visual thinking (section)

==Art and design education==
[[File:VISUAL THINKING manifesto a Torino.jpg|thumb|''VISUAL THINKING'': poster in [[Turin]]]]
Concepts related to visual thinking have played an important role in art and design education over the past several decades, but this has not always been the case.<ref>[http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/standards/pdf/art&design.pdf Wisconsin’s Model Academic Standards for Art and Design Education]</ref> In Ancient Greece, Plato tended to place an emphasis on music to aid cognition in the education of heroes because of its mathematical tendencies and "harmonies of the cosmos". On the other hand, visual images, paintings in particular, caused the reliances on "illusionary images"<ref name="Arnheim 1969">{{cite book|last=Arnheim|first=Rudolf|title=Visual Thinking|year=1969|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0520018716|url=https://archive.org/details/visualthinking00arnh}}</ref> However, in the Western world, children begin primary school with abstract thought and shapes, but as we grow older, according to [[Rudolf Arnheim]], "arts are reduced to a desirable supplement"<ref name="Arnheim 1969"/> The general world trend in the late twentieth century caused an emphases towards scientific, mathematical, and quantitative approach to education, and art education is often refuted because it is based on perception. It is qualitative and subjective which makes it difficult to measure and evaluate.

However, fundamentals in visual thinking lay the ground work for many design disciplines such as art and architecture. Two of the most influential aspects of visual composition in these disciplines are patterns and color. Patterns are not only prevalent in many different aspects of everyday life, but it is also telling about our interpretation of the world. In addition, there are now studied approaches to how color should be used in design where "the functional aesthetics of colour can be reduced to a small number of guidelines and lists the main properties needed to make design decisions leading to visual clarity".<ref name= Ware>{{cite book|last=Ware|first=Colin|title=Visual thinking for design|year=2008|publisher=Morgan Kaufmann|location=Burlington, Mass.|isbn=978-0123708960|edition=[Repr.].|url=https://archive.org/details/visualthinkingfo00coli}}</ref>

At the same time, techniques in art and design can open up pathways to stimulate the thought process and problem solving. Sketches offer an unrestrained way to get thoughts down on paper through the "abstract representations of ideas and idea structures".<ref name= Ware/>  In this way, sketching not only helps to generate ideas, but also to reflect and edit them as well.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Tovey, M.|first1=Porter, S.|last2=Newman, R.|date=March 2003|title=Sketching, concept development and automotive design|journal=Design Studies|volume=24 |issue=2|pages=135–153|doi=10.1016/S0142-694X(02)00035-2|hdl=2436/37253|hdl-access=free}}</ref> It is also an effective means of communication, especially for architects and engineers, for translating ideas from designer to client. Despite all the advantages of integrating art and visuals into education, it is a difficult skill to master. Those who can are well versed in visual analysis. It takes a lot of practice to have sketches evolve from "meaningless scribbles" to a complex "thinking tool".<ref name= Ware/>