COP Lecture Series: Visual Literacy - The Language of Design

Visual Literacy - The Language of Design:

The premis of this lecture was to understand the meanings of visual communication and visual literacy, and how these are used in design.


Aimed at answering the question - why is this not just an apple?

As a young graphic designer, it is a part of my job to communicate - we need to be able to communicate ideas and concepts effectively to various audiences in a range of different concepts. So visual communication and visual literacy are important aspects of this.

(1). Visual communication is defined as 'the process of sending and receiving messages using type and image'.
This is based on a shared understanding of signs, symbols, gestures as well as objects, which can be affected by audience, context, media and method of distribution.

(2). Visual literacy is defined as 'the ability to construct meaning from visual type and image', created through interpreting images of the past, present and other cultures to produce images that effectively communicate a message to an audience.

Principle one:

• Visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate and make meaning from information that is presented in the form of an image.

This can be used as a global system for communication as a result of social and cultural conditioning. For instance, a toilet sign can be correctly read even if it is in another language purely based on universal signs, symbols and representation. This includes certain colours, forms and the context in which the signs are in which we have learnt through social and cultural conditioning when growing up, therefore creating a universal language to enable designers to work creatively.

Principle two:

• Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be read.

For example, instructional pictures using sign, symbol and representation to create this universal language for communication.

Principle three:

• Visual communication is made up of symbols whose meaning results from their existence in particular contexts. The conventions of visual communication is a combination of universal and cultural symbols.

Take the + sign for instance. This has various different associations, such as add, plus, first aid, healthcare, etc. However, when introducing a comparative the meanings of such symbols change (+ x - +) - we now know these symbols specifically refer to mathematics.

Other examples include changing the colour and form of the symbols. A green cross would now represent first aid and a red cross would represent the Red Cross Charity. However, we stretch the form of the cross using these colours and they become flags of countries such as England and Denmark.

Visual literacy is not static, it continues to develop!

Principle four:

• The basic premise of visual literacy is that for any language to exist, an agreement must be created amongst a group of people that one thing will stand for another.

This then leads on to the idea of visual semantics and principle five, being:

• Being visually literate requires an awareness of the relationship between what is called visual syntax and visual semantics.

Visual syntax refers to the pictorial structure and visual organisation of elements, which represents the basic building blocks of an image that can affect the way in which we read it. These elements include, framing, format, colour, weight, composition, manipulation, etc. (principle six).

For example, an egg could represent various things such as Easter, new life, growth, food, etc but frame it in a different way by adding an egg-cup and we now recognise it specifically as a boiled egg.
We create these representations through emotional and physiological responses, and this shows how presentation and layout are important aspects of design.

Visual semantics refers to the way an image fits into a cultural process of communication. This includes the relationship between meaning and form, and the way meaning is created. Elements of visual semantics includes, cultural references, social ideas, religious beliefs, recognised symbols, etc. (principle seven).

Principle eight:

• Semiotics is the study of signs and sign processes, also known as semiosis. Indication, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification and communication are also parts of this.

Semiotics is closely related to the field of linguistics which studies the structure and meaning of language, and also studies non-linguistic sign systems, visual language and visual literacy. Elements of this include, symbol, sign, signifier, metaphor, metonym and synecdoche.

For example, Apple (brand).

It's symbol would be the logo - it symbolises an apple, 

the sign would also be it's identity, as it is a sign for apple products, 

and it's signifier would be the brand itself, as it signifies innovation, creativity, design and lifestyle.

Other associations when put into context: So why is this more than just an apple?

Visual synecdoche:

This term is applied when a part of something is used to represent the whole or visa versa.
The main subject is substituted for something that is inherently connected to it, however this only works if what the synecdoche represents is universally recognised. In this case, it would be the Statue of Liberty.

Visual metonym:

A symbolic image that is used to make reference to something with a more literal meaning. For example, a yellow taxi or cab. Through association, the viewer makes a connection between the image and intended subject, however unlike a visual synecdoche, the two images show a close relationship but are not intrinsically linked.


Visual metaphor:

This is used to transfer the meaning of one image to another. These images may have no close relationship but conveys an impression about something unfamiliar comparing it with something that is familiar, for example, the big apple.
Such associations with the word 'apple' include those along the lines of health and well-being which were used in a New York ad campaign to attract people to the American city claiming that it is good for their mental and physical well-being, a fresh new city, hence being known as 'The Big Apple'.

Principle nine:

• "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.

So why is this not just an apple? It is a picture of an apple.