Mind blown! Congratulations Akiyoshi Kitaoka and experimental psychology

Date
22 March 2013

Technically this isn’t art or design, it’s science, pure and simple; psychology to be precise. But we’re prepared to bend the rules a little here, because the one thing you can’t deny is that these mind-blowing visual illusions are insanely creative. Produced by Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a psychology professor at the Ritsumaikan University in Kyoto, Japan, who specialises in visual perception, these experimental images are intended to reveal quirks in the mechanical and cognitive systems that contribute to our personal perceptions of the world. It’s mind-bending stuff, so take care, if you’re susceptible to dizziness then the following pictures might not be your thing.

Above

Akiyoshi’s Illusion Pages: Beating heart

Above

Akiyoshi’s Illusion Pages: Weaving

Above

Akiyoshi’s Illusion Pages: Snakes of two heads

Above

Akiyoshi’s Illusion Pages: Ninja escape (Fixate at the center and approach the image quickly)

Above

Akiyoshi’s Illusion Pages: Light of mint chocolate

Above

Akiyoshi’s Illusion Pages: Ascending and descending color escalaters

Above

Akiyoshi’s Illusion Pages: Chidori

Above

Akiyoshi’s Illusion Pages: Ben & Aki’s Christmas rings 2011

Share Article

Further Info

About the Author

James Cartwright

James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.