What fuels widespread consumer demand? Is it driven by environmental factors such as trends and new platforms, or by a subconscious and innate need for the end product?

We live in a world where technological advancements have drastically altered consumer expectations, but it would be risky to ignore how our natural expectations have informed the evolution of these technologies. The power and influence of visual content today offers a perfect example of how these forces work in tandem: as a result of modern platforms in combination with our own fundamental instincts, we are driven to communicate visually more than ever before.

Is the rise of today's visual communication era guided primarily by our surroundings and learned actions, or is it fueled by a set of inherent behaviors? In the chapters that follow, you'll learn about the historical, environmental, and inherent factors contributing to our visual communication–driven world.

In the pages that follow, we'll learn how the demand for visual content grew in tandem with the emergence of new technologies and new ways to connect. Then we'll explore how both our nurtured and natural inclinations have pushed us toward a visually inclined world.

Understanding how nature and nurture work together to engage viewers will not only prove why visual content is truly king when combined with an understanding of perceived quality in design, it will provide you with a universal set of motivators to apply to any audience.