Visual Literacy
Key Principles
1) The
ability to interpret, negotiate and make meaning from information presented in
the form of an image
This
process is done unconsciously and automatically we associate colour, shape,
symbols and signs with certain things enabling us to make links between what we
know and new imagery we see. This associated meaning of visuals can be
different depending on your social and cultural conditioning.
2) Pictures
can be read
We
learn to ‘read’ symbols before we learn language so it is much easier to
understand symbols. Also symbols are often universal so there is no language
barrier enabling us to engage with things wherever we are in the world and
without knowledge of foreign languages.
3) The
meaning of symbols results from their existence in particular contexts and are
a combination of universal and cultural symbols
One
symbol can have many reference points which means it can have multiple
meanings. By introducing a comparitor this adds more context allowing you to be
more certain of the meaning. You begin to associate the symbol with what it is
around which clarifies the meaning. Interpretation of a symbol is ingrained within us even if it is wrong until realigned e.g. a cross is not the sign of
Christianity a fish is. Variations of a symbol can mean many different things e.g.
a cross is add but also a flag.
4) Language
only exists if there is agreement amongst a group of people that one thing will
stand for another
This
means that we can also reference things that we have not had first-hand
experience from.
5) Being
visually literate requires an awareness of the relationship between visual
syntax and visual literacy
6)
The
syntax of an image is the pictorial
structure and visual organisation of elements. These are the building blocks of
an image that tell us how to ‘read the image. Elements include: colour, framing,
scale, framing etc.
7)
The
semantics of an image is the way in
which an image fits into a cultural process of communication, including the
relationship between form and meaning and the way meaning is created through:
cultural references, religious and political beliefs etc.
8) Semiotics
Semiotics
is the study of signs and sign processes (semiosis) e.g. metaphor, symbolism,
indication etc. Semiotics is closely related to the field of linguistics which
studies the structure and meaning of language. Semiotics also studies non-linguistic
sign systems, visual literacy and visual language.
Apple Logo Example
The
symbol (logo) - the Apple logo is a symbol of an Apple
The
sign (identity) - the Apple logo is a
sign for Apple products
The
signifier (brand) – the Apple logo signifies quality, innovation, creativity,
design, lifestyle
A
Visual Synecdoche is when a part is used to represent a whole or vice versa.
The main subject is substituted for something that it is fundamentally linked
with. The substitution only works if what the synecdoche represents is
universally recognised.
A
Visual Metonym is a symbolic image used to make reference to something with
more literal meaning. Through association the viewer makes a connection between
the image and intended subject. Unlike a visual synecdoche the two images are
closely related but not intrinsically linked.
A
Visual Metaphor is used to transfer the meaning from one image to another.
Although the images may have no close relationship, a metaphor conveys an
impression about something relatively unfamiliar comparing or associating it
with something familiar.
‘Work
the metaphor. Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than
what is apparent. Work on what it stands for’ Incomplete Manifesto for Growth
– Bruce Mau
