Granularity

Granularity
Granularity defines, most literally as it applies to design, a quality of image. Basically it is the “extent to which a larger entity is subdivided.” 1 Meaning how large each portion of an image is, in comparison to the overall size of the image. This defines how much definition the image has, as a result of the ratio of pixel size to number of pixels in the image. High granularity, therefore, refers to when the pixel size is relatively large in comparison to the overall size of the image. For example, imagine a light-bright. If each peg is small, you can fit many different colours onto the screen, allowing for more variation and small details in the final image. Now, if each peg was 5 times larger, but the screen on which you place the pegs is the same size, there is far less room for those variations in colour, and therefore less detail. Granularity tends to be referred as either fine or course, based off how large the pixels are in comparison to the overall size of the image. This also refers to the visual look of an image that has a high granularity.

References: 1 “Glossary” __IBM pSeries 690 Documentation__. 2 “Granularity” __Wikipedia__. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 18 August 2007.