The most common tools individuals use to articulate complex and abstract concepts are writing and spoken language, long privileged as primary forms of communication. However, our, explanations of these concepts may be more aptly communicated through visual means, such as drawings. Interpreting and analyzing abstract graphic representations is…

Some educators may view diagrams, pictures, and charts as nice add-on tools for students who are visual thinkers. But Steve Moline sees visual literacy as fundamental to learning and to what it means to be human. In Moline's view, we are all bilingual. Our second language, which we do not speak but which we read and write every day, is visual.…

An area of visual communication that might be classified as a "design failure" is the visual presentation of information about "prescription-only medicines" for patients. This information is provided on packaging, leaflets, brochures, labels and websites. The practical issue is that there are problems in convincing patients to…

Graphic design's messages can reach across streets and across the globe; they can bring together countries, communities and strangers for a common cause; they can also serve to divide otherwise amenable neighbors. Design students must fully understand this potential reach and thus the responsibility they have to create tolerant, informed messages.…

Considers the ways in which the artist of one biblical narrative, the Old English Caedmonian Genesis,'' successfully created a consecutive series of visual episodes which correspond to the narrative sequence of the poetic text. (Author)

This book provides a guide to visual instruction and assessment using the Unit Visual Framework (UVF). Combining pictures, color, and text for meaningful representation of the core concepts in a unit of study, UVFs result in a deepened understanding by all students, regardless of language level. The manual includes specific steps and suggestions…

Information graphics or diagrams are two-dimensional maps of relationships that present information. Creators and interpreters of diagrams need to know what makes some diagrams more effective in communicating information. This paper suggests a theoretical framework for diagram classification to make this possible. This framework consists of two…

This book presents over 400 illustrations of complex data that show how the dimensionality and density of portrayals can be enhanced. Practical advice on how to explain complex materials by visual means is given, and examples illustrate the fundamental principles of information display. Design strategies presented are exemplified in maps, the…

This paper proposes that three properties of graphic materials can be manipulated by instructional designers to model cognitive processes and thus help students learn. These properties are: the distance of elements in the graphic display from each other, the orientation of the elements to each other, and the sequence in which the elements are…

This paper discusses current changes in the teaching and learning of artistic rendering in light of technological advances that may cause teachers to rethink both what is taught, and the manner in which the results of the artistic process are valued and evaluated. The two methods of generating a photorealistic computer image are described,…

Evolving from concern for the increasing requirements for literacy, especially visual literacy, the purpose of this study was to determine the impact of color on learning. Sixty midwestern college students were assigned to groups where they read and studied a graphic presentation, and then were tested on their recall and retention. The following…

The focus of this study was to measure the communicative power of business symbols with a business audience. A panel of three people selected 15 appropriate business symbols which then appeared on a questionnaire which showed each symbol with a blank space for the respondent to provide a one word or short answer of the symbol's meaning.…

This paper documents and describes a new course in visual communications developed at the University of Oklahoma to serve a general college undergraduate audience. The course content which is summarized in three areas--graphics and media techniques, visual/verbal message design and delivery, and "pure visual" message design and delivery--is…

College students were surveyed to determine whether they comprehended, identified with, and were motivated by poster messages regarding safer sex, alcohol use, and stress management. Results are presented for males and females, response differences between men and women are discussed. Suggestions for improving effectiveness and eliminating design…