Imageability


Imageability is a measure of how easily a physical object, word or environment will evoke a clear mental image in the mind of any person observing it.

History and components

first introduced the term, "imageability" in his 1968 book, The Image of the City. In it, Lynch argues cities contain a key set of physical elements that people use to understand the environment, orient themselves inside of it and assign it meaning.
Lynch argues the five key elements that impact the imageability of a city are Paths, Edges, Districts, Nodes, and Landmarks.
In 1914, half a century before The Image of the City was published, Paul Stern discussed a concept similar to imageability in the context of art. Stern, in Susan Langer's Reflections on Art, names the attribute that describes how vividly and intensely an artistic object could be experienced apparency.