The image and the technological affect: What do graphic design students and professionals understand about technology’s impact on their use of images?

The photographic image has always been a technical object, but rapid and ongoing technological change has seen transformation in the nature of the image as a digital object. What is the impact on the apprehension of digital images as elements of communication in online environments? A study was conducted where participants were asked about their viewing experience comparing images viewed in The Australian Geographic printed magazine and The Australian Geographic magazine website. This article offers an insight into what graphic design students from three Australian universities and Australian graphic design professionals understand about the impact of technology on their use of images. The theme of this article comes from a wider study examining image usage and viewing practices comparing print and digital mediums. This article focuses on participants’ online viewing experience. A variety of data gathering methods were used such as focus group discussions intended to elicit personal experiences; interviews; interaction with visual texts; and documentary analysis of those texts. Participants’ comments from interview and visual interaction phases of the research are here contextualized within a topical literature review.