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133 
 

CHAPTER  

10 

VISUAL POLLUTION IN THE NIGERIAN ENVIRONMENT: 

SOURCES AND PREVENTION 
 

Godwin O. Uka and Ikechukwu Anyaele 

Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 

 

 

Abstract 

Visual communication design plays a fundamental role in all aspects of education and 

information dissemination. Designing the city environment involves the process and the product 

of constructing, building and other physical structures. Visual pollution is a serious issue in our 

environment just like other aspects and can be prevented through the proper application of 

architectural graphics design resources. This study is a designer's didactic perception towards 

effective advertising employing graphics signs and symbols in preventing and reducing visual 

pollution in the environment. This research paper, therefore, addresses the sources and 

prevention of visual pollution in our environment. Sign and architectural Graphics are a new 

axiological (their value and their perception on the people), on the one hand, and one of their 

most obvious effects is sources, and prevention of visual pollution, which already starts to be in 

the attention of those who can counter it, on the other hand. This research on sign and 

architectural graphics, if properly implemented for advertising purposes can help reduce and 

prevent visual pollution. Visual pollution on humans can be manifested in two forms which are 

direct, the effects being psychological and physiological; - indirect, the effects being various, 

from road accidents caused by distraction. 

 

Introduction 

Visual pollution is a major problem in our environment, just like other types of pollution 

in Nigeria. Visual pollution is an aesthetic issue and refers to the impacts of pollution that impair 

one's ability to enjoy a vista or view. Visual pollution disturbs the visual areas of people by 

creating harmful changes in the natural environment. Billboards, other visual communication 

media, open storage of trash, antennas, electric wires, buildings, and automobiles are often 

considered visual pollution.  Visual pollution can be caused by crowding of an area. This is in 

effect the whole of irregular formations, which are mostly found in nature. The resultant effects 

of exposure to visual pollution include: distraction, eye fatigue, decreases in opinion diversity, 

and loss of identity. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_identity


 Visual pollution in Nigerian Environment: Sources and Prevention 

134 

 

Currently, the conviction of every visual artist and designer, professional or not, is that 

signs and architectural graphics undoubtedly play a fundamental role in all areas of pollution 

prevention and control. The value appears as well as the relationship between subject and object, 

in which through polarity or polarization and of hierarchy, people express their differentiated 

appreciation for certain things or their qualities, for certain persons or human acts, for certain 

works created under their ability to satisfy some specific needs, aspirations or interests. 

This study is an artistic/designer didactic perception towards effective advertising employing 

rich graphics signs and symbols in preventing and reducing visual pollution in the environment. 

Architecture is both the process and the product of planning, designing, and constructing 

buildings and other physical structures. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, 

are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art. Historical civilizations are often 

identified with their surviving architectural achievements. 

 

 
Plate 1: Wires and Building View, Image credit Uka 2022 

 

Wires should be stretched by following a well-planned design so that these do not cause 

any problems to view things from a distance. 

 

"Architecture" can mean A general term to describe buildings and other physical 

structures. The art and science of designing buildings and (some) none building structures in 

addition it includes the style of design and method of construction of buildings and other 

physical structures. It is also the knowledge of art, science & technology and humanity. The 

practice of the architect, where architecture means offering or rendering professional services in 

connection with the design and construction of buildings, or built environments, is the design 

activity of the architect, from the macro-level (urban design, landscape architecture) to the 

micro-level (construction details and furniture). Architecture has to do with planning and 

designing form, space and ambience to reflect functional, technical, social, environmental and 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planning
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_of_art
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonbuilding_structure
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architect
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_design
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landscape_architecture


Contemporary issues in the Visual Arts in Nigeria 

135 
 

aesthetic considerations. It requires the creative manipulation and coordination of materials and 

technology, and light and shadow. The environmental space and aesthetics of our environment 

have been badly handled and presented. Graphics designs on well are mostly used to (enhance) 

enliven large public spaces which otherwise would be very dull. Design can involve recognizable 

motifs appropriate or typical to the situation or may be completely abstract. 

 

Concepts used 

This study will only focus on three values, which are directly related to sign and 

architectural graphics as it affects the environment, and have an impact on this activity, namely: 

economic, ethical and aesthetic values which, depending on the way they are perceived, lead to 

visual pollution. Classification of values can be economic values, legal values, and political 

values, ethical values, historical values, aesthetic values, religious values. The first four values 

are determined by the constituent and regulating functions of the social life. The other three are 

determined by the frame in which the social reality exists and evolves. 

The aesthetic values relate to the aesthetic pleasure by the existence of an object that has 

a value, beauty is the central aesthetic value, to which all the other ones report. By their 

specifics, the aesthetic values are significantly related to sensitiveness. The aesthetic values can 

be intuited, felt, experienced, represented and imagined. And then we might ask ourselves: where 

is the beauty in all the Pollution, which is a consequence of oversized and unjustified 

consumption? The forms of pollution are air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, radioactive 

contamination, and noise (sound) pollution, thermal and visual pollution. It is noticed the 

possibility to group them into three basic categories: chemical, sound and visual. 

It is important to mention that all living organisms (plants, insects, birds, animals, and 

humans) are affected by visual pollution. It is also important to note that anything that affects 

other creatures listed above, actually distorts the functioning of the ecosystems and hence of the 

human. If the bright light prevents insects to move, they can no longer be food for birds, the 

latter ones receive and transmit their influences in their turn, and the weaknesses chain continues. 

Visual pollution on humans can be manifested in two forms which have been already recognized: 

- direct, the effects being psychological and physiological;- Indirect, the effects being various, 

from road accidents caused by distraction to the economic decline of a community. Dumitrescu 

A. and Manolache D., define visual pollution as the presence, in the visual field, of some human-

made implants, which are in disharmony with the landscape and which promote excessive, 

depressed or subversive messages, (www.imst.pub.ro/TCM/Dumi/ Visual_Pollution.pdf). 

This is strongly felt in the large urban areas where the aggressive outdoor advertising 

(posters, billboards, pictures, neon and so on.), became more than just unbearable. Experts 

consider that Graffiti, for example, has a strong negative influence, which may cause depression 

and acts of vandalism. The economic value is generally understood as the awareness of the 

usefulness of the goods compared to others, which satisfies a certain need. The needs are 

physical and mental, so there is the need to distinguish between two kinds of values: spiritual 

values and material values. The economic values are material. The value theory is more likely a 

theory of cost since it addresses a crucial moment of the value, which means the cost, the labour 

required to produce the goods and the limited usefulness. Economic values are constituents of 

social reality; they represent only a part of the social values that span multiple levels with 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics


 Visual pollution in Nigerian Environment: Sources and Prevention 

136 

 

different functions in social life. Ethical values relate to our desires which can be numerous, so 

we always require the same question: Which is the best goal? For some people it is happiness for 

others wealth, virtue, and others. The psychological theory states that an ethical value has a 

mental basis; it is a product of the self will, of the will to upgrade one’s personality. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plate 2: Image credit Uka 2019, Wires along the Lagos Highway 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plate 3: Torn billboard in front of Godfrey Okoye University. Image credit Uka 2021 

 

Billboards should be allowed to hang at the roadside for a specific period & after that 

time these should be removed to avoid the unwanted burden of billboards. 

 



Contemporary issues in the Visual Arts in Nigeria 

137 
 

 
 

Plate 5: Outdoor Ad billboard on a building. Source: www.google.com 

 

The visual pollution sources are: 

Billboards, open storage of trash space debris, telephone towns, electric wires. This can 

be seen as an actual form of pollution in the environment that makes people feel insecure and 

uncomfortable. Administrative negligence – the local public administration loses control over 

what is built or assembled in public spaces, it does not know what and where is displayed and 

does not solve the problem of buildings in ruins no matter who the owner is Logic, architecture, 

cleanliness, space harmony must be kept in the urban jungle, but they are all suffering because of 

the business interests and the obtaining of the profit.  It is a well-known skyscraper building type, 

with 19 floors or more, a ground floor and four underground Levels, in cities like Lagos in 

Nigeria.  

Development Building and other changes in the environment are determined by the 

location of all kinds of items (terraces, public transport stations, garbage cans, huge panels so 

powerfully illuminated that they can blind drivers at night, stalls, tents, booths installed for 

commercial purposes, different network cables, and so on..) on the public spaces. - excessive 

advertising - suffocating because not even the green areas (trees, land, parks, and so on...) are not 

spared in the desire to ensure good visibility. The existence of giant billboards, and outdoor 

display in general, which is present from the means of transportation to garbage bins is also 

suffocating. 

Many observers point out that advertising is both a mirror and also a shaper of public 

opinion, social manners and standards. They state that by the absolute value of exposure, 

advertising sets a social agenda on what is expected, what is fashionable and what is of good 

taste for a considerable number of people. This influence is manifested especially in young 

people, poorly educated and impressed people. But an image is not a universal language, even if 

there is an illusion that it forwards meaning because of its analogue capabilities. There is this 

confusion between perception and interpretation - vandalism – from the Graffiti mentioned 

above to offensive messages, obscenities, and street markings of different groups, all made 

without the owner's consent. 

 



 Visual pollution in Nigerian Environment: Sources and Prevention 

138 

 

The failure to comply, as the studies in this area emphasize studies, determines the feedback 

from participants in the process of communication, such as the increased blood pressure and 

heart rate; confusion; the trying to regain territory or the acceptance of an intruder; the lowering 

performance; the increased verbal aggressiveness; the diminishing of the sense of cohesion 

within the group. 

 

Improper use of space and lack of control over what is built 

Space and lack of control over what is built and assembled in public places contribute to 

the problem of the visual clutter in the environment, in a way can be attributed to poor planning 

in building and architectural construction for example high rise building, the transport systems 

can bring adverse changes to the visual and physical characteristics of a new city layout, which 

may reduce the readability of visuals.  

Graffiti are writing or drawings that have been scribed, scratched, or painted, typically, 

illicitly, on wall buildings or other surfaces, often with public view. Graffiti ranges from simple 

written words to elaborate wall painting and have existed since ancient time, example dates back 

to ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Roman Empire. Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that 

explores art, beauty, and taste, with the creation of beauty. In its more technical epistemological 

perspective, it is defined as the study of subjective and sensor-emotional values, sometimes 

called the judgment of sentiment and taste. Aesthetics studies how artist imagines, create and 

perform works of art, how people use, enjoy and criticizes art and what happens in their minds 

when they look at a painting, listen to music and read poetry and understand what they see and 

hear. 

In recent times people have been criticizing the way and manner billboards and artistic 

visuals sprang up in big cities in Nigeria. It is therefore pertinent to introduce new technologies, 

fragmentation and incentive method of advertising methods to improve, to reduce the cluster of 

visuals in the environment. Graffiti adds to visual clutter as it disturbs the view. Highway 

Beautification Variations in the built environment are determined by the location of street 

furniture such as public transport stations, garbage cans, large panels and stalls. The insensitivity 

of local administration is another cause of visual pollution. For example, poorly planned 

buildings and transportation systems create visual pollution. High-rise buildings, if not planned 

properly or sufficiently, can bring adverse changes to the visual and physical characteristics of a 

city, which may reduce said city's readability. 

 

Visual pollution prevention  

1.  Billboards should be allowed to hang at the roadside for a specific period & after that 

time these should be removed to avoid the unwanted burden of billboards.  

2. Wires should be stretched by following a well-planned design so that these do not cause 

any problems to view things from a distance.  

3. Protect and enhance the urban and architectural qualities of individual buildings, groups, 

sectors and districts in the heritage building which should not be placed any external 

visual propaganda, except those expressly permitted by the regulations.  

4. Protect the environmental qualities of residential areas and only permits the use of notices 

in areas specifically marked for trade and in portions of buildings for such use. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Built_environment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_furniture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_furniture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Readability


Contemporary issues in the Visual Arts in Nigeria 

139 
 

5. Protect all the elements of urban furniture, which should not hang banners or notices. 

6. Protect trees and natural resource elements of the city, which should not hang banners or 

notices. 

7. Protect the air space, aesthetics and urban landscape and refrain from placing structures 

and billboards on the roofs of buildings or attached to walls.   

8. Do not divert the attention of drivers and confuse elements and advertising attached to 

road signs. 

9. Do not put many posters or paintings in a place together 

10. To monitor  and reduce drawings of graffiti and others in public places 

11. Protect all elements of urban furniture ( poles, tress)  

12.  Protect natural recourses elements of the city, which should not hang banners or notices 

 

Signs and architectural graphics should be properly used in the environment to educate and 

make people aware and invariable to help prevent visual pollution. Sign system or architectural 

graphics is very important and useful in the present changing world of things. It points the way 

or directs travellers quickly and clearly, thereby playing a crucial role in accelerating and making 

life what living. Colourful design elements are particularly useful in old and new buildings or 

projects where there is a rich mixture of shops and restaurants; airports hospitals and public 

places. 

Sign package and construction are not only determined by the graphics element of types 

and style but also by the environment in which the scheme has to appear and the function the 

signs are expected to play. The boundary between signs and architectural graphics (wall 

treatments, flags and banners for example) is often subtle, at times non-existence. Some wall 

graphics can serve the dual function of displaying information and providing a large area of 

colour. But architectural graphics as abstract wall designs are mostly used to (enhance) enliven 

large public spaces which otherwise would be very dull. Design can involve recognizable motifs 

appropriate or typical to the situation or may be completely abstract.  

      Signs in the built environment have always played an important role. It has always been 

used to identify, direct and inform views, and provide many other economic benefits. Signs are 

an essential part of the overall advertising and identity of a corporation, sign language helps 

create easily recognizable and distinctive public images necessary for the corporation or 

establishment. Interior signs and graphics decoration are used in such services-oriented 

establishments like Banks, supermarkets, Hotels, and Institutions. 

Sign language helps reduce the need for salespeople to direct customers to where they 

can find their needs when combined into a coordinated system. Signs can direct the flow of 

traffics and pedestrians. Signs are used in technical workshops and laboratories to indicate 

danger and safe operation. In institutions of learning directional signs are employed for easy 

identification and direction of visitors to their destinations without actually asking many 

questions. Sign systems communicate information to people quickly and at a relatively low cost. 

The economic benefit of signing in terms of time-saving alone can far outweigh the cost of 

providing the sign. Most especially signs can help reduce and prevent the effect of visual 

pollution in our environment. 

 



 Visual pollution in Nigerian Environment: Sources and Prevention 

140 

 

Art which is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, 

typically in a visual form such as graphics, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their 

beauty or emotional power should be respected not abused. Visual art is the creation of images 

that can be seen by the eyes. 

 

Conclusion 

This paper was concluded by one saying that “man and his environment are too close to 

be separated.” The value of diversity in terms of visual designs, therefore, is the exploration of 

these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each 

other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of 

diversity contained within the environment. This can be appreciated when architectural graphics 

are well employed in reducing and preventing visual pollution 

From this paper, it is to can easily be seen that man cannot do without a healthy 

environment And the importance of communication visual in the environment cannot be 

overstated considering its usefulness to human beings. Signs and architectural graphics should be 

properly used in the environment to educate and make people aware and invariable to help 

prevent visual pollution. Sign system or architectural graphics is very important and useful in the 

present changing world of things by playing a crucial role in accelerating and making life what 

living. It has been observed that the placement of some graphics visual in our urban cities, 

dumping of refuse and other things that cause visual pollution should be looked into by the 

authority and proffers a corrective measure towards its prevention and control. Also, the urgent 

need for proper maintenance of public and private buildings in our cities should be looked into 

and necessary action taken by the authority 

 

Recommendations 

Authorities concerned should properly educate individuals on the senesce of promotion 

and advertising visuals on our streets, especially the educative ones. To live good and pleasant 

life the built environment should attract important visual symbols and decorative elements 

relevant to our culture and civilization, such works should be approved before applying them to 

architectural buildings. 

The government should look into the area of administrative negligence and proper 

maintenance of public buildings and other faculties. Space harmony must be maintained by 

builders. Garbage can, a huge panel on the streets, and different network cables in the public 

space should be organized and adequately maintained. Excessive advertising should be 

controlled to have good visibility. Graffiti, offensive messages both visual media should be 

moderated and controlled. 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 



Contemporary issues in the Visual Arts in Nigeria 

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