Introduction to Visual Literacy
How powerful are images? Ninety percent of the information you take in from the world around you is visual rather than textual. Images express information and emotion all at once. In fact, studies indicate humans process visual information sixty thousand times faster than text. You can see how images often speak to us in more influential ways than words, and why understanding the language of visual information is important.
“Visual images have the power to bring our senses together simultaneously and to impact our emotions.”
—Brian Kennedy, director of the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College
What Is Visual Literacy?
Visual literacy is the ability to understand and produce visual messages—to interpret images and graphic elements and use them to communicate more effectively. Today’s digital tools and advanced technology make it easier than ever to represent information and ideas visually (see the “time-lapse” panorama below). Such tools also make it possible to alter reality in potentially persuasive ways. What you see is not always what you get, so developing a keen sense for visual manipulation can help you distinguish fact from fiction and reality from fantasy.
Your Turn
- What do you notice about the photo above? How would you describe it to a friend? What conclusions can you make from viewing the photograph? Discuss your answers with a classmate.
- Compared to reading and writing, how much of your education has been devoted to visual literacy? Why do you think this is so? Write a paragraph that shares your answers to these questions.
- Have you ever seen a photograph or image that was clearly distorted? What was the subject of the photograph? How could you tell it was distorted? Discuss your answer with a classmate.