A clear conclusion from the research so far is that the viewer cannot be treated as a passive receiver. Hidden meaning, ambiguity, delayed recognition, and visual surprise only function when the viewer actively completes the message. What matters, therefore, is not only what the design contains, but what kind of action it demands from the person looking at it.
This participation is not limited to physical interaction. It can be perceptual, when the viewer searches for structure or a second reading; cognitive, when meaning has to be interpreted; and emotional, when recognition produces curiosity, tension, or satisfaction. These are not secondary effects. They are part of the communicative mechanism.
This is an important shift in the project, because it moves the focus away from illusion as an end in itself. The stronger question is how design creates the conditions for participation without losing control of the message. From this point onward, the viewer’s role becomes central to the thesis, not as a general idea, but as a concrete design problem.
