Visual Literacy: The Sum of It’s Parts

Visual literacy is traditionally defined as a field of study in academia, that relies on several areas of study. Psychology, anthropology, art history and criticism, philosophy, information design and graphic design. Even religious knowledge and political awareness is required, as references and undertones of each often are used by designers and artists to convey their messages.

Effective designers use all aspects of their culture (or their audience’s culture, or sub-culture) to cleverly and conceptually convey ideas.

For more on the definition of Visual Literacy, read: What is Visual Literacy?

Non-Verbal Communication Takes Many Forms

Visual Literacy also has practical applications in a variety of other fields of study. Spend some time viewing the The Periodic Table of Visualization Methods to see many examples of how information is communicated in non-verbal ways in a variety of industries and subject matter.

In Class

Browse the The Periodic Table of Visualization Methods discussed above. Think about an issue or and idea in your life that you do not presently understand – or cannot visualize – fully. (E.g. a sports drill, class schedule, a topic in another class, your bank account.)
• How could your life be made easier with the use of one of these examples?
• What requirements does the audience need to fully grasp what is being ‘said’?
• What requirements did the designer need to properly organize and communicate the idea?

Elements for Strong Visual Communication

In her book, Dondis provides basic grammar of visual communication. She defines a set of terms or elements used as tools to create non-verbal messages. Imagine these elements as equivalent the different aspects in the English language we have at our disposal to properly form sentences that represent what we want to say, and how we want to say it.

According to her book, these Elements are the raw materials of all levels of visual intelligence.

Dot

The minimal visual unit, or often the smallest unit that can be defined a composition or in space; a pointer or a finite marker of space.

Line

A linear, curved, or angular narrow band. It can be visible or implied, it can be border of a form, the edge of an object, or the axis many objects when aligned in particular ways.

Shape

The basic shapes, circle, square, triangle, and all their endless variations and combinations. These shapes can be two or three dimensional.

Direction

The thrust of movement or momentum created by incorporating graphic elements in a uniform – often parallel manner. Direction can also expressed as circular, diagonal and perpendicular.

Tone

The presence or absence of light, by which we see – or don’t see.

Color

The coordinate of tone with the added component of chroma, the most emotional and expressive visual element.

Texture

Expressed optically or tactile, the surface character of visual materials.

Scale or Proportion

The relative size and measurement of objects. This can also suggest depth – establishing a distance or nearness to objects.

Dimension and Motion

These aspects can be both implied and expressed. In flat design (2-D print design) these ideas are of course implied, but proper manipulation and rendering of artwork can achieve these elements, and they can have dramatic effects.

Class Exercise: You’ll be given three words to define visually. Create an 8” x 8” page in Adobe Illustrator for each word. Do not use words or photography for this exercise, focus on the elements outlined above.

Visual Literacy Training – Applying Concepts & Semantics

In addition to the visual elements of visual literacy discussed above, there is also the semantic and conceptual aspects.

Like learning any other language, increasing your visual literacy and awareness takes some practice, and continual development. As mentioned above, visual literacy involves aspects from many disciplines. Taking a mentally holistic approach to learning to be a better reader – and sender – of visual messages is important… it is paramount to be a successful and relevant graphic designer.

The following exercises and games are aimed a promoting viewers to be more visually astute, clever, witty, and ultimately, more in control and more efective of the vast amounts of graphic imagery and symbols graphic designers have at their disposal.

The Rebus

Rebus puzzles are often referred to as pictograms. Rebus puzzles are messages that use symbols purely for the phonetic sounds made when verbally spoken, regardless of their meaning, to represent new words or phrases. Many ancient writing systems used Rebus principle to represent abstract words.

An understanding of pictograms is an elemental aspect of graphic design. Many graphic designs rely heavily on them.

For more on rebuses, visit (and play): Uncle Rebus Daily Puzzle

Color

Colors elicit strong visual connotations, and their use in graphic design is one of the strongest tools for communicating. Though colors can have different meanings to different people, there are strong cultural associations to color, and graphic designers need to be aware of their meanings and nuances, and now how to use color for a desired affect.

Colors are linked also to nationality, ethnicity, and religion (red, white and blue = U.S.A; green – Ireland…) and responsible designers should be aware of these meanings.

Read: Colors of the Zodiac

Read: Cherokee color symbolism

Read: Color symbolism and psychology (Wikipedia)

Type

Using type to add tone, emotion, and meaning to written words is a fundamental skill of any graphic designer. All words, messages, and sentences that can be read can also be ‘heard’. Typography has the ability to present words visually in an equivalent manner as their oral delivery.

In addition, Typography can also illustrate concepts that are either defined directly by words or demonstrate or even perform the actions they represent.

Class Exercise: You’ll be given three words to define visually. Create an 8” x 8” page in Adobe Illustrator. Deploy any visuals you see fit: color, pictograms, and any graphic elements.

Photography

Photography and photo-realistic images – illustrations, engravings, silkscreens are all power tools to communicate concrete and abstract ideas.

Pictures are worth a thousand words: Play Google’s Image Labeler