Sichtobjekt

Sichtobjekt is a German term that denotes the object of visual perception—the thing that is seen by an observer. It contrasts with the act of seeing or the observer itself, focusing on what is visually presented.

Etymology: Sicht (sight, vision) + Objekt (object). The term is used in everyday language as well as in scholarly contexts to refer to objects that are visible in a given scene or frame. It is not tied to a single discipline and can be used broadly, including art, design, photography, and visual sciences.

In philosophy and perception, Sichtobjekt is used to discuss how objects appear to the senses and how visual information is constituted in perception. It emphasizes the object as it presents itself to the eye, potentially influenced by lighting, perspective, distance, and attention. The term is generally descriptive rather than technical.

Examples: A painting on a wall is a Sichtobjekt for viewers in a gallery; a street lamp visible at night is another Sichtobjekt from a certain vantage point. In design and media, the term may be used to distinguish visible elements from hidden ones, such as interface components that are currently visible to the user versus those that are obscured or not rendered.