Using Images

Rune Pettersson
 Using Images
The illustration on the cover is part of an image from my video
program “Life Patterns” presented at the first international ex-
hibition “The Video Show” in London, may 1975. My “multime-
dia project” was one of two invited contributions from Sweden.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this

work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee pro-
vided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or com-
mercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full
citation on the first page.

Institute for Infology

ISBN 978-91-85334-39-1
© Rune Pettersson
Sweden, Tullinge 2022

2
 Preface
Information design is a multi-dimensional, multi-disciplinary,
and worldwide consideration with influences from areas such as
communication disciplines, design disciplines, information dis-
ciplines, language disciplines, cognitive disciplines, art and aes-
thetic disciplines, business and law, as well as media production
technologies.
Traditionally the concept of “literacy” was restricted to the
ability to read, write and use arithmetic. The definition of tradi-
tional literacy has changed and been extended several times dur-
ing the last decades. Many have seen a need for a broader defini-
tion and proposed new categories of literacy. Traditional literacy
is not enough anymore. In a multicultural world with fast tech-
nological advances people in all societies need abilities and skills
to manage many kinds of systems for communication and infor-
mation provide in images, symbols, and texts. We all have to
learn to interpret visual messages accurately and to create such
messages. Interpretation and creation in visual literacy can be
said to parallel reading and writing in print literacy.
Since my retirement I have edited and revised sections of my
earlier books, conference papers and reports about information
design, message design, visual communication and visual liter-
acy. Parts of this book has previously been included in my book
Image Design. Previous editions of this book were published in
2019, 2020, and 2021.

Tullinge, Sweden
Rune Pettersson, Ph.D.
Retired Professor of Information Design

3
 Contents
Preface 3
Contents 4
Visual communication 8
Study of visual communication 8
Early studies 8
Areas and fields 8
Many technologies 9
Communication models 10
Some definitions 10
Functions of visuals 11
Still pictures 12
Moving pictures 34
Intended image functions 37
Information and instruction 41
Teaching and learning 45
Disinformation design 54
Image functions–conclusions 58
Visualisation 60
Effective visuals 60
Visualisation of data 62
A total teaching aid 72
Visual language 79
Old traditions 79
Historical view 79
The term 85
Cultural differences 86
Structure of visual language 87
Content 88
Execution 88
Context 88
Format 89
Perception 90
Qualities of visual language 90
Visual language exists 92
Visual language is holistic 93
Visual language must be learned 94

4
 Visual language may improve learning 95
Visual language is not universal 96
Visual language often needs verbal support 97
Objectified images 98
Combined verbal and visual language 99
Image design 102
Varying levels of meaning 102
Basic elements in image design 104
Dots 106
Lines 108
Areas 110
Volumes 110
Development of visual language abilities 111
Visual complexity 111
New literacies 112
Visual perception 115
Perception 115
Perception of visuals 117
Interpreting visuals 119
Ambiguity 119
Visual rhetoric 120
Visual semiotics 121
Understanding visuals 123
Memory for visuals 124
Providing simplicity 125
Readability of pictures 126
Readability of signs and symbols 133
Readability of maps 135
Readability of colour 136
Image associations 138
Associations from advertisements 138
Associations from photographs 139
Image association study 144
Kinship diagrams 148
Visual learning 151
Theories of learning 152
Visual spatial intelligence 153
Verbal and visual representations 153
Visual thinking 155
5
Visual literacy 158
Some early problems 159
An interdisciplinary concept 161
Visual literacy theory 176
Some early visual literacy theories 177
A new visual literacy theory 179
Research in visual literacy 182
Nonverbal communication 182
Three waves of research 182
Qualitative research 183
Research articles 184
Abilities 185
Composition and composing 185
Ability to construct meaning 186
Ability to read photographs 187
Competencies 188
Media culture 188
Reading pictures 191
The general population 192
Outcomes 194
An emerging shift 196
Critical visual literacy 197
Digital competence 198
Visual information literacy 199
Skills 200
A skill to be learned 200
Textbooks 205
Digital textbooks 206
Preschool 208
Elementary school 208
Visual awareness 209
Theory of mind 211
Middle school/Junior high school 213
High school 216
College and university 219
Library exhibitions 232
Developing communities 233
Many definition problems 234
Early days 234
IVLA 236

6
 There are many definitions 237
ID Library 256
References 257
Appendix: Main concepts 339

7
 Visual communication
At about 1960, educators realised the impact visual messages had
on communicating, learning, and thinking. In contrast to spoken
and written languages, pictures have no general and distinguish-
ing elements that are not bearers of data and information. Visual
languages attempt equivalence with reality. Visuals are iconic
and they often resemble the thing they represent.
This chapter includes the following main sections: Study of
visual communication, Functions of visuals, and Visualisation.

Study of visual communication

This main section includes the following sections: Early studies,
Areas and fields, Many technologies, Communication models,
and Some definitions.

Early studies
In his book Language of Vision György Kepes (1944) argued that
visual communication is international and universal. Visual
communication knows no limits of grammar, tongue, or vocabu-
lary. This book was used as a college textbook, and had thirteen
printings, in four languages.
In the book A Primer of Visual Literacy Donis Dondis (1973)
discussed the use of several pairs of oppositions as techniques for
visual communication. A few examples are: Balance–Instability,
Simplicity–Complexity, and Transparency–Opacity. These op-
positions present the graphic designer with effective means of
creating expressive visual communication.

Areas and fields

A field of knowledge, or a field of study, is the sum of knowledge
gained from relevant practice and theory. Ultimately, a field of
knowledge is defined at least in part by its research questions
(Rude, 2009). A limited part within any specific field of

8
knowledge is an area of knowledge, or an area of study (Petters-
son, 2021). Research questions tie together diverse areas.
Moriarty (1996) made an extensive mapping of the study of
visual communication. She developed a bibliography with 1,617
entries grouped in the following 30 main categories (in order of
precedence): 1) Memory, 2) Photography, 3) Mental imagery, 4)
Cognition and information processing, 5) Visual-verbal interac-
tion, 6) Advertising, 7) Television and video, 8) Art and fine art,
9) Perception, 10) Development and children, 11) Film and cin-
ema, 12) History, 13) Visual literacy; pictorial representation, 14)
Graphic design, 15) Aesthetics; creativity; gender studies and ste-
reotypes, 16) Signs and semiotics, 17) Codes, decoding and en-
coding, 18) Broadcast and television news; research and method-
ology, 19) Audience factors, 20) Sociology and anthropology, 21)
Rhetoric and persuasion, 22) Photojournalism, 23) Journalism
and news, 24) Information and content, 25) Cartoons; the lan-
guage metaphor (syntax, grammar, etc.).

Many technologies
We are surrounded by different sorts of visual technologies such
as digital graphics, drawings, paintings, photography, sculp-
tures, television, and video, where some writers believe that the
visual is the most fundamental of all our senses. Kress and van
Leeuwen (1996, 2006) identified Soviet Union as the first place
where the shift from the verbal to the visual form of communica-
tion was attempted in the 1920s, thus connecting what they
called as a “semiotic revolution” to the political revolt.
The study of visual communication has developed inde-
pendently within several fields of research. Thus, research on
combined verbal and visual communication has had no “natural
home.” Nowadays the study of visual communication is a multi-
disciplinary, multi-dimensional and worldwide consideration.
While pictures move easily between various media, their meaning
does not always follow the same path (Müller, Kappas and Olk,
2012, p. 322). “The more you know, the more you see,” a common
9
mantra introduced by Aldous Huxley, is a favourite expression
among visual communication researchers (Lester, 2012).

Communication models
Traditional communication models were directional and pro-
cess-oriented. However, Hall (1980) developed the encoding–
decoding model. This audience reception theory moved away
from the view that the media had the power to directly cause a
specific behaviour in individuals. The meaning of a message is
created within the relationship between the message and the
reader, and not by the inherent qualities of the specific commu-
nication of the message.
The sender is seen as an encoder, constructing “meaningful”
texts, such as a television program or a printed information ma-
terial. The receiver is a decoder, and is assumed to accept, nego-
tiate or oppose to the intended meaning in the received text. Hall
emphasized this paradigm shift to earlier traditions. Audience
reception theory, or reader-response theory, was widely used
during the 1980s and 1990s. It was concluded that one event, and
one message can each be encoded in several ways. It may be a
problematic process to understand even simple messages.
We can regard the sender as an “information provider.” In
each case the sender, or the designer, may have clear intentions
and objectives. However, it is always up to the individual “infor-
mation interpreter” to actively conceive or misconceive the infor-
mation content, to use or not use it, to use or misuse it. This view
is especially valid for information sets that people make available
to a totally unknown audience, e.g. on the Internet and the
WWW. It is not possible to know much about the people who
search for and may use the information.

Some definitions
Visual communication has been defined many times. For exam-
ple, Wileman (1980, p. 13) defined visual communication as “the
attempt by human beings to use pictorial and graphic symbols to
10
express ideas and to teach people in and out of the school set-
ting.” And Seels (1994, p. 108) defined visual communication as
“using visual symbols to express ideas and convey meaning.”
Kelly, Josephson, and Smith (2020) defined visual commu-
nication in the following way (p. xviii): “We define visual com-
munication so broadly as to include all mass media representa-
tions that are visual in nature. This definition is therefore dis-
tinct from the plastic arts and performing arts in that they them-
selves are not reproducible en masse and cannot be distributed
via mass media channels.”

Functions of visuals
We live in a complex and visually oriented information age. Sci-
ence and technology education rely on the use of pictures to pre-
sent technical information. Teaching resources contain a wealth
of pictorial representations, ranging from photographs and real-
istic drawings to graphs and abstract diagrams.
Pictures have many different functions. Generally speaking
it is not possible to rank the different types of visuals. Often the
type of visual that should be used must be determined in each
individual case with a view to various demands on the picture
and the prevailing budget framework. From a theoretical point of
view, a visual can possess many different effects and functions,
or combinations of effects and functions. Thus, a distinction can
be made between pictures and symbols.
We now live in the most visual era of human history (Rob-
erts, 2021). In our increasingly digital world, “viewing visuals” is
not enough in learning environments. Ervine (2016) remarked
that “creating visuals” is becoming an integral part of meaning-
making.
This main section includes the following sections: Still pic-
tures, Moving pictures, Intended image functions, Information
and instruction, Teaching and learning, Disinformation design,
and Image functions–conclusions.

11
Still pictures
In western civilizations, a symbol is often something that “repre-
sents” something (Lee, 1959). We “apply” words to things or
names to persons. These “signs” stand for the things to which
they have been applied. However, Agrawal, Deshpanday, and
Sinha (1987) pointed out that in the context of the ancient Indian
civilization the symbol is not a representation. A symbol is a con-
cretization of reality having intrinsic power of its own. It is a part
within the whole belief system, and a link between the past, the
present, and the future. Signposts, traffic signs, and labels are ex-
amples of symbols. They are unambiguous by convention. We
agree and decide on their meaning.
All pictures are representations of reality. The “reality” of a
printed page or in a computer screen does not exist in real life,
other than on the page and the screen. As is the case for other
kinds of representations, pictures are always open to different in-
terpretations by different people at different times. Some pic-
tures are open to many interpretations, others to only a few.
Cochran (1987) distinguished between actual events and objects,
iconic re-presentations, and arbitrary representations. Examples
of iconic representations are film and TV-images, still photo-
graphic pictures, and realistic artwork. Symbols, signs, computer
graphics, and words are all examples of arbitrary representa-
tions. Here no cues from actuality are left.
Levin, Anglin and Carney (1987) established five functions
for visuals. Decorative visuals serve an ornamental purpose, and
do not support the text in a meaningful way. Representational
visuals show aspects of the literal meanings and provide con-
creteness to abstract concepts. Organizational visuals categorize
information in text, such as a table with data. Interpretational
visuals contain elements of both representational and organiza-
tional functions, and assists a reader’s comprehension. An exam-
ple is a map with arrows showing transports. Transformational
visuals derive from mnemonics and they attempt to recode in-
formation into memorable forms.
12
 Magner et al. (2014) found that “decorative illustrations”
distract students with lower prior knowledge from learning in
computer-based learning environments. However, students with
higher prior knowledge benefit from such illustrations. Thus,
meaningful and purposefully implemented decorative elements
may support learning if learner characteristics and learning ob-
jectives are taken into consideration.
We know that visuals are perceived much more rapidly and
readily than text (Fleming and Levie, 1978, 1993; Sinatra, 1986).
Lester (1995, p. 73) noted that: “Visual messages are a powerful
form of communication because they stimulate both intellectual
and emotional responses–they make us think as well as feel.”
Many authors have suggested various roles, functions, objectives
and purposes for the use of illustrations–often without a great
deal of evidence to support their suggestions. Here are many ex-
amples:

Visuals may have many functions.

Functions, objectives Author/s

Activate knowledge. Clark and Lyons 2011
Add aesthetic appeal. Behnke 2021; Clark and Lyons 2011
Add concreteness to Levin, Anglin, and Carney 1987
prose.
Add decoration. Fredette 1994
Add humour. Clark and Lyons 2011
Add something not dis- Bishop and Hickman 1992; Fang, 1996;
cussed in the text. Nikolajeva and Scott 2000
Adopt a new attitude. Heinich, Molenda, and Russel 1982, 1999
Adorn something. Selander 1988
Advance organizing of Bernard, Petersen, and Ally 1981
text comprehension.

13
Aid credibility. Fleming and Levie 1978
Algorithmic. Duchastel and Waller 1979
Analyze content. Brumberger 2011; Burns 2006
Anchor in memory. Moriarty 1991
Appeal to the eye. Duchastel 1983; Levin 1981
Arrest us with impact. Curtiss 1999
Argument. Mral and Olinder 2011
Arouse curiosity. Romare 1989
Arouse emotions. Romare 1989
Assist comprehension. Levin, Anglin and Carney 1987
Assist concept develop- Fredette 1994
ment.
Associate a product Moriarty 1991
with symbols and life-
styles.
Attract attention. Duchastel 1978; Duchastel and Waller
1979; Eilam 2013; Evans, Watson and
Willows 1987; Heinich, Molenda, and
Russel 1982, 1999; Holliday 1980; Keller
and Burkman 1993; Levie and Lentz
1982; Levin, Anglin and Carney 1987;
Lester 1995; Peters 1978; Pettersson
1993; Wileman 1993
Be aesthetic. Behnke 2021; Kędra 2016b
Be decorative. Clark and Lyons 2011; Lenzner, Schnotz,
and Müller 2012; Levin 1981; Mayer
2009; Magner et al. 2014; Pettersson,
1989, 1993;
Pozzer and Roth 2003
Be effective. Keller and Burkman 1993

14
Be expressive. Kędra 2016b
Be illustrative. Kędra 2016b
Be impressive. Kędra 2016b
Be informative. Grootens-Wiegers et al. 2015; Kędra
2016b, Lenzner, Schnotz, and Müller
2012; Levin 1981, Schnotz and Kulhavy
1994
Be instructional. Schnotz and Kulhavy 1994;
Be interpretive. Clark and Lyons 2011
Be mnemonic. Clark and Lyons 2011
Be organizational. Clark and Lyons 2011; Levin 1981
Be relational. Clark and Lyons 2011
Be representational. Clark and Lyons 2011; Levin 1981
Be transformational. Clark and Lyons 2011; Levin 1981
Beautify something. Selander 1988
Break up blocks of text. Duchastel 1978
Bring inaccessible Dwyer 1978
events in classroom.
Bring inaccessible ma- Dwyer 1978
terials in classroom.
Bring inaccessible Dwyer 1978
phase changes in class-
room.
Bring inaccessible pro- Moriarty 1991
cesses to audience.
Bring inaccessible pro- Dwyer 1978
cesses in classroom.

15
Bring inaccessible situ- Dwyer 1978
ations in space in class-
room.
Bring inaccessible situ- Dwyer 1978
ations in time in class-
room.
Build mental models. Clark and Lyons 2011
Build new experience. Fredette 1994
Build prior knowledge. Clark and Lyons 2011
Carry the proof of a Griffin 1994
presentation.
Catch the reader’s eye Trotzig 1993
Change attitude. Lester 1995
Clarify communication. Dwyer 1978
Clarify opinions. Fredette 1994
Clarify text content. Levin, Anglin and Carney 1987; Peeck
1993; Ramadas 2009; Wileman 1993
Communicate a mes- Curtiss 1999; Wileman 1993
sage in an efficient way.
Communicate a mes- Curtiss 1999; Flory 1978
sage visually.
Compare. Fredette 1994
Compare one image Hunter, Crismore, and Pearson, 1987
content with another.
Complement text. Eilam 2013
Comprehend content. Burns 2006; Lord 1985; Ramadas 2009
Compensate poor read- Duchastel 1978
ers.

16
Conceptual under- Susiyawati and Treagust 2021
standing.
Concretise Trahorsch and Bláha 2020
Construct meaning. Burns 2006; Felten 2008
Constructional. Duchastel and Waller 1979
Contrast. Fredette 1994
Contrast one image Hunter, Crismore, and Pearson, 1987
content with another.
Contribute to curiosity. Keller and Burkman 1993
Contribute to the text’s Fang 1996
coherence in story-
books.
Convey ideas. Lester 1995; Abilock 2008
Convey information to Dondis 1973; Pettersson 1989
the reader or viewer.
Convey knowledge. Romare 1989
Convince someone Lester 1995
using information.
Convince someone Lester 1995
using persuasion.
Correct misconceptions. Fredette 1994
Create believability Moriarty 1991
through realism.
Create interest. Duchastel 1978; Duchastel and Waller
1979; Holliday 1980; Levie and Lentz
1982; Levin, Anglin and Carney 1987;
Pettersson 1993
Create social contact. Peters 1978; Van Aswegen and Steyn
1987; both cited in Gaede 1998

17
Data-display Duchastel and Waller 1979
Deceive learners. Dwyer 1972
Decode content. Burns 2006
Decorate something. Anglin and Carney 1987; Clark and Lyons
2011; Dondis 1973; Eilam 2013; Fredette
1994; Levin 1981; Levin, Anglin and Car-
ney 1987; Magner et al. 2014; Mayer
2009; Romare 1991; Selander 1988
Decrease decay. Peeck 1993
Decrease interference. Peeck 1993
Define characters. Fang 1996
Demonstrate product Moriarty 1991
features.
Deepen understanding. Eilam 2013
Depict an object in a re- Clark and Lyons 2011
alistic fashion.
Depict elements of the Levin, Anglin, and Carney 1987
instructional content.
Depict reality. Pettersson 1989
Depict settings. Moriarty 1991
Depict situations. Moriarty 1991
Descriptive function Duchastel and Waller 1979; Rose, 2008
Designate spatial orien- Pettersson 1989
tation.
Develop appreciation. Heinich, Molenda, and Russel 1982;
Heinich, et al. 1999
Develop characters. Fang 1996
Develop the plot. Fang 1996

18
Discriminate among Heinich, Molenda, and Russel 1982;
facts. Heinich, et al. 1999
Display information. Fredette 1994
Draw attention. Eilam 2013
Dupe a public with false Lester 1995
information.
Dupe a public with mis- Lester 1995; de Lange 2014; de Lange
leading information. 2015
Dupe a public with Lester 1995
propaganda.
Educational. Behnke 2021
Elaborate the text. Hunter, Crismore, and Pearson 1987
Embellish the text. Hunter, Crismore, and Pearson 1987
Emphasize aural in- Dwyer 1978
struction.
Emphasize printed in- Dwyer 1978
struction.
Enable a holistic spatial Eilam 2013
view.
Encourage clarification Fredette 1994
of opinions.
Encourage expression Fredette 1994
of opinions.
Enhance enjoyment. Levie and Lentz 1982
Enhance reality of a ma- Smith and Smith 1966
terial for the reader.
Enrich reading. Dale 1969
Establish a mood. Moriarty 1991

19
Establish a personality Moriarty 1991
of a product.
Establish the setting in Fang 1996
storybooks.
Evaluate learning. Fredette 1994
Evoke aesthetic appreci- Peters 1978
ation.
Evoke poetic function. Peters 1978
Exemplify something. Pettersson 1989
Experience the visual Flory 1978
world.
Explain difficult phe- Elkins 2010; Levin 1981; Levin, Anglin,
nomena. and Carney 1987; Winn 1993
Explain things. Pettersson 1989
Express attitudes Peters 1978
Express expressive Peters 1978
function.
Express feelings. Peters 1978
Express intentions. Brumberger 2011
Express mood. Fredette 1994
Express opinions. Dondis 1973
Express tone. Brumberger 2011
Expressiveness. Duchastel and Waller 1979
Extend curiosity. Peeck 1987
Extend the plot. Fang 1996
Facilitate cognitive pro- Levin, Anglin, and Carney 1987
cesses.

20
Facilitate discrimina- Dwyer 1978
tion of relevant cues.
Facilitate identification Dwyer 1978
of relevant cues.
Facilitate learner acqui- Dwyer 1978
sition of information.
Facilitate learning from Duchastel 1983; Levie and Lentz 1982;
a text by enhancing Levin, Anglin, and Carney 1987; Levin
comprehension. and Lesgold 1978; Peeck 1993
Facilitate learning from Duchastel 1983; Levie and Lentz 1982;
a text by enhancing Levin, Anglin, and Carney 1987; Levin
memory. and Lesgold 1978; Peeck 1993
Facilitate reading. Duchastel 1978
Facilitate retention Dwyer 1978; Winn 1993
Facilitate understand- Pettersson 1989
ing.
Flatter the audience. Zakia 1985
Focus attention. Clark and Lyons 2011; Peeck 1993
Focus on a particular Wileman 1993
aspect.
Foster aesthetic appre- Fang 1996
ciation.
Foster generalizations. Dwyer 1978
Functional Duchastel and Waller 1979
Gain or get attention. Duchastel 1978; Duchastel and Waller
1979; Evans, Watson and Willows 1987;
Gagné 1977; Holliday 1980; Keller and
Burkman 1993; Lentz 1982; Lester 1995;
Levin, Anglin, and Carney 1987; Moriarty
1991; Pettersson 1993; Wileman 1993

21
Give descriptions. Zimmer and Zimmer 1978
Give information. Zimmer and Zimmer 1978
Give relief. Pozzer and Roth 2003
Glorify a group. Dondis 1973
Glorify an individual. Dondis 1973
Guide learners to make Dwyer 1978; Santas and Eaker 2009
conclusions.
Guide learners to think Dwyer 1978; Santas and Eaker 2009
carefully.
Help learners remem- Levie and Lentz 1982
ber what they read.
Help learners under- Levie and Lentz 1982
stand what they read.
Help people remember. Wileman 1993
Hold attention. Levin, Anglin, and Carney 1987
Hypnotise readers. Romare 1991
Identify something. Dondis 1973; Dwyer 1972; Heinich,
Molenda, and Russel 1982; Heinich, et al.
1999
Illustrate. Eilam 2013
Illustrate a principle. Clark and Lyons 2011
Illustrate a theory. Clark and Lyons 2011
Illustrate appearance. Pettersson 1989
Illustrate concepts. Susiyawati and Treagust 2021
Illustrate cause-and-ef- Clark and Lyons 2011
fect relationships.
Illustrate key points. Massoumian 1989

22
Illustrate oral commu- Dwyer 1978.
nication.
Illustrate printed com- Dwyer 1978.
munication.
Illustrate relationships. Massoumian 1989
Illustrate selected main Fredette 1994
points.
Illustrate something. Kędra 2016b
Impact emotions. Vernon 1953; Poole 2004
Increase learner con- Dwyer 1978
centration.
Increase learner curios- Dwyer 1978
ity.
Increase learner inter- Dwyer 1978
est.
Increase learner moti- Dwyer 1978
vation.
Increase learning reten- Wileman 1993
tion.
Increase motivation. Peeck 1993
Increase reliability of Dwyer 1978
communication.
Induce perspective into Peeck and Goud 1985
a text.
Influence viewers. Lester 1995; Romare 1991
Influence learners’ atti- Moreno and Mayer, 2007; Plass et al.,
tudes. 2014.)
Influence learners’ cog- Moreno and Mayer, 2007; Plass et al.,
nition. 2014.)

23
Influence learners’ emo- Moreno and Mayer, 2007; Plass et al.,
tions. 2014.)
Inform readers. Curtiss 1999; Kędra 2016b, Romare 1991,
Schnotz and Kulhavy 1994
Inform, as a main infor- Fredette 1994
mation source.
Instruct. Behnke 2021; Levie and Lentz 1982; Pet-
tersson 1989, Schnotz and Kulhavy 1994;
Integrate facts, judge- Dwyer 1978
ments, and skills.
Interpret content. Susiyawati and Treagust 2021
Interpret difficult phe- Elkins 2010; Levin 1981; Levin, Anglin,
nomena. and Carney 1987; Winn 1993
Introduce new infor- Dwyer 1978; Griffin 1994
mation.
Isolate specific instruc- Dwyer 1978
tional characteristics.
Label facts. Levie and Lentz 1982
Learn. Dwyer 1978; Elkins 2010;
Heinich, Molenda, and Russel 1982;
Heinich, et al. 1999; Susiyawati and Trea-
gust 2021
Link information of a Griffin 1994
presentation.
Logico-mathematical. Duchastel and Waller 1979
Maintain attention. Peters 1978
Maintain interest. Moriarty 1991
Maintain learner atten- Keller and Burkman 1993
tion.

24
Maintain the continuity Griffin 1994
of a presentation.
Make it easier for poor Duchastel 1978
readers to comprehend
things they read in a
text.
Make it easier for poor Duchastel 1978
readers to learn things
they read in a text.
Make it easier for poor Duchastel 1978
readers to recall things
they read in a text.
Make learning more Dwyer 1978
complete.
Make learning more Dwyer 1978
precise.
Make material aestheti- Pozzer and Roth 2003
cally pleasing.
Make material attrac- Male 2007; Rubens 2000
tive.
Make material interest- Male 2007; Rubens 2000
ing.
Make pages more ap- Duchastel 1978
pealing
Make reading more Duchastel 1978; Travers and
concrete. Alvarado 1970
Make reading more en- Duchastel and Waller 1979
joyable.
Memorialize an individ- Dondis 1973
ual or a group.

25
Memorize facts. Heinich, Molenda, and Russel, 1982;
Heinich et al. 1999
Minimize cognitive Clark and Lyons 2011
load.
Modify behaviour. Lester 1995
Motivate a person to Duchastel 1978, 1983
browse through a text.
Motivate a person to Duchastel 1978, 1983
pick up a text.
Motivate a person to Duchastel 1978, 1983; Male 2007;
read a text. Rubens 2000
Motivate students. Behnke 2021; Evans, Watson and Willows
1987; Fredette 1994; Heinich, Molenda,
and Russel, 1982; Heinich et al. 1999;
Winn 1993
Motivate the reader. Fang 1996
Name content. Brumberger 2011
Organize information. Clark and Lyons 2011; Dwyer 1978; Levin
1981; Levin, Anglin and Carney 1987; Tra-
horsch and Bláha 2020
Organize spatial rela- Clark and Lyons 2011; Levin 1981; Levin,
tionships. Anglin and Carney 1987
Organize temporal rela- Clark and Lyons 2011; Levin 1981; Levin,
tionships. Anglin and Carney 1987
Overcome distance. Dwyer 1978; Moriarty 1991
Overcome time. Dwyer 1978; Moriarty 1991
Perceive objects. Elkins 2010
Perpetuate ideas that Lester 1995
words alone cannot.

26
Persuade ideas that Abilock 2008; Lester 1995
words alone cannot.
Persuade people to buy Lester 1995
a particular product.
Persuade people to Lester 1995
think in a specific way.
Persuade someone. Heinich, Molenda, and Russel, 1982;
Heinich et al. 1999; Lester 1995
Persuade the audience. O’Keefe 1990; Zakia 1985
Pleasure the eye. Curtiss 1999
Present a variety of Dwyer 1978
locations of parts.
Present a variety of rela- Dwyer 1978
tionships.
Present a variety of van- Dwyer 1978
tage points.
Present abstract materi- Levin, Anglin and Carney 1987
als.
Present complex mate- Massoumian 1989
rials.
Present difficult materi- Levin, Anglin and Carney 1987
als.
Present lists. Massoumian 1989
Present more infor- Wileman 1993
mation than text in a
given amount of space.
Present new infor- Dwyer 1978
mation.
Present outlines. Massoumian 1989
Preserve objects. Dondis 1973

27
Preserve people. Dondis 1973
Preserve places. Dondis 1973
Prevent misconcep- Fredette 1994
tions.
Promote children’s lan- Fang 1996
guage.
Promote children’s lit- Fang 1996
eracy.
Promote creativity. Fang 1996
Provide a different Fang 1996
viewpoint in story-
books.
Provide a framework Levin, Anglin and Carney 1987
for a text.
Provide additional clari- Peters 1978
fying information with
meta-linguistic function
Provide authority. Pettersson 1989
Provide background Fredette 1994
information.
Provide concreteness to Levin, Anglin and Carney 1987
abstract concepts.
Provide extra linguistic Levie and Lentz 1982
information.
Provide greater flexibil- Dwyer 1978
ity in the organization
of instruction.
Provide information. Pettersson 1989
Provide instructional Dwyer 1978
feedback.

28
Provide organization Levin, Anglin and Carney 1987
for a text.
Provide overview. Pettersson 1989
Provide retrieval cues Clark and Lyons 2011
for factual information,
a mnemonic function.
Provide variation. Pettersson 1989
Provide variety in the Dwyer 1978
organization of instruc-
tion.
Raise curiosity. Eilam 2013
Raise questions. Dwyer 1978
Receive a represented Peters 1978
message, conative func-
tion.
Recognize objects. Brumberger 2011
Recode information into Levin, Anglin and Carney 1987
memorable forms. The
visual is transforma-
tional.
Record objects. Dondis 1973
Record our place in his- Curtiss 1999
tory.
Record our time. Curtiss 1999
Record people. Dondis 1973
Record places. Dondis 1973
Reinforce aural instruc- Dwyer 1978
tion.
Reinforce memory. Gilbert 2005; Winn 1993

29
Reinforce oral commu- Dwyer 1978
nication.
Reinforce printed Dwyer 1978
communication.
Reinforce printed Dwyer 1978
instruction.
Reinforce the creative Moriarty 1991
concept.
Reinforce the text in Fang 1996
storybooks.
Reinforce the text. Hunter, Crismore, and Pearson 1987
Replicate objects. Dondis 1973
Replicate people. Dondis 1973
Replicate places. Dondis 1973
Represent instructional Clark and Lyons 2011; Levin 1981; Levin,
content. Anglin, and Carney 1987; Trahorsch and
Bláha 2020; Winn 1993
Represent reality and Abilock 2008
truth
Respond to needs. Dondis 1973
Scare the audience. Zakia 1985
Seduce the audience. Zakia 1985
Serve as advance organ- Wileman 1993
izers of information.
Serve as mental scaf- Fang 1996
folds.
Shame the audience. Zakia 1985
Sharpen powers of Dwyer 1978
observation.

30
Show aspects of the Levin, Anglin and Carney 1987
literal meanings.
Show causality. Eilam 2013
Show changes in objects Clark and Lyons 2011
over space.
Show changes in objects Clark and Lyons 2011; Eilam 2013
over time.
Show different parts. Susiyawati and Treagust 2021
Show magnitude rela- Pettersson 1989
tionships.
Show processes. Eilam 2013
Show proportions. Eilam 2013
Show qualitative rela- Clark and Lyons 2011
tionships among con-
tents.
Show quantitative rela- Clark and Lyons 2011
tionships among varia-
bles.
Show size. Eilam 2013
Show spatial relation- Zimmer and Zimmer 1978
ships.
Show steps in a process. Levin, Anglin, and Carney 1987; Eilam
2013
Show time relation- Eilam 2013; Pettersson 1989
ships.
Simplify complex Waller 2016; Wileman 1993
concepts.
Solve problems. Fredette 1994
Span linguistic barriers. Dwyer 1978

31
Stimulate discussion. Dwyer 1978
Stimulate incidental Fredette 1994
learning.
Stimulate interest. Keller and Burkman 1993
Stimulate perception. Chiaverina et al. 1997
Substitute words. Levie and Lentz 1982
Sum up information for Massoumian 1989
recall.
Sum up information for Massoumian 1989
retention.
Summarize important Hunter, Crismore, and Pearson 1987
parts of a text.
Summarize important Dwyer 1978
points in a lesson.
Supplement verbal in- Fredette 1994
formation through elab-
oration.
Support attention. Clark and Lyons 2011
Support motivation. Clark and Lyons 2011
Support processing of Peeck 1993
text.
Support statements Griffin 1994
made by linking visuals
in a presentation.
Support transfer of Clark and Lyons 2011
learning.
Sustain statements Griffin 1994
made by linking visuals
in a presentation.
Tease the audience. Zakia 1985

32
Thinking critically. McKenzie 2008
Transfer culture to im- Aronsson 1983
migrants.
Transform content. Levin 1981; Levin, Anglin, and Carney
1987; Trahorsch and Bláha 2020
Understand content. Brumberger 2011; Elkins 2010; Mathew-
son 1999; Susiyawati and Treagust 2021
Verify research. Fredette 1994
Visualize content. Romare 1991
Visualize instruction. Dwyer 1978
Wrap up information in Griffin 1994
a presentation.

The above list includes references to 86 different documents

(such as chapters in books, and research articles) written by 117
different authors. The list contains 352 opinions about image
functions. The authors used more than one hundred different ex-
planatory verbs to express these opinions. In accordance with re-
searchers in the areas of information design, instructional mes-
sage design, visual communication, and visual literacy the most
common opinions on functions of visuals concern attention: at-
tract, gain, get, hold and maintain attention.
Other common explanatory verbs are: facilitate, provide,
persuade, create (an interest in), illustrate, clarify, motivate,
present, and reinforce information (to someone). Most of these
purposes can be looked upon as clearly cognitive or pedagogical,
in contrast to pictures used for advertising, decoration, enter-
tainment, or marketing.
In addition to purely realistic visuals, there are also visuals
that can be described as “metaphoric.” They exemplify and depict
some linguistic metaphor. Visuals of this kind are not symbolic
in any semiotic (Jacobson, 1976) or art science sense (Berefelt,
1976). Metaphoric pictures are particularly abstract and they are
33
intellectually demanding. Pictures often have important social
functions in the home, at school, in organizations, and in society.
In certain instances, the actual picture creation is more im-
portant than the visual results. Some pictures may not have any
or only a limited function once created. Modern cameras that au-
tomatically set the exposure, focus the lens, and advance the film
have made it possible for almost anyone to take pictures. More
than 90% of all Swedish families own at least one camera. Fur-
thermore, nowadays most mobile phones have built in cameras.
Many people make a movie or take still photographs at some time
during any year. Many millions of amateur photographs are the
result. The advent of lightweight, and easily portable VCR equip-
ment has opened up new horizons for non-professional creators
of moving pictures.

Moving pictures
Moving pictures can be affective and provide readers with enter-
tainment and reinforce an experience both positively and nega-
tively.
Animation
Animations include different methods to make still pictures ap-
pear as moving images. According to Münzer (2015) animations
have a “compensatory effect” compared with static pictures.
Lowe (1999) found that animations may facilitate for the user
when he or she are constructing mental models. Milheim (1993)
suggested that it is better to develop simple animations rather
than complicated ones.
Animations that allow alternative perspectives, close-ups,
control of speed, focusing on specific parts, replaying and zoom-
ing are more likely to facilitate perception and comprehension.
According to Weiss, Knowlton, and Morrison (2002) the purpose
of an animation must to a large extent influence its design.
Leshin, Pollock, and Reigeluth (1992) noted the attention-
getting capability of several visual devices. They mentioned zoom

34
lens movement to emphasize important details. Other devices
are split screens, shading and contrast, voice-over narration,
text, and graphics.
Animations are sometimes used as learning tools. Park
(1998) found that animations will attract and direct learner at-
tention. Learning from dynamic visual representations improved
when learners were able to control the pacing of the presentation
(Betrancourt 2005; Hasler, Kersten, and Sweller 2007). Then,
new information could be integrated into existing knowledge
structures at a rate that reflects the capabilities and needs of the
learner.
According to Tversky, Morrison, and Betrancourt (2002)
some animations are advantageous in some learning situations,
but not in others. And Lowe (1999) showed that, in some situa-
tions, animation can even be disadvantageous. This may result in
a cognitive overload, i.e. put a too big mental effort on the re-
ceiver.
It is, however, still unclear how and when animations should
be used for the best effects. According to Rieber (1994) animation
is most commonly used for cosmetic purposes, with the intent of
impressing rather than teaching.
Motion graphics are animations or digital segments which
create the illusion of motion. This is usually combined with audio
for use in multimedia projects, and often displayed via electronic
media. Any kind of abstract animation can be called motion
graphics. According to Hegarty (2014) a motion graphic is a com-
bination of static images that changes its structure or properties
over time, and which triggers the perception of a continuous
change by viewers.
Information that is transferred to infographic videos often
provide more content than a regular infographic (Delil, 2017).
These provide a faster understanding of the environment we are
living in, or the information we read.

35
Movies, television, and video
Moving pictures can trigger associations and influence emotions
and attitudes, especially in movies and TV (Zakia, 1985). In ad-
vertising and television, pictures may carry subliminal messages.
Ads for liquor or cigarettes, for example, sometimes use sexual
symbols (Zakia, 1985). The contents of movies and television
programmes are presented in a preordained fashion, decided by
the producer. This fashion tends to encourage passivity in the
viewers and to perform at a low cognitive level.
The main field that provides a visual language and the most
prominent devices for visual storytelling is cinematography
(Brown, 2016). Cinematography is the science or art of motion-
picture photography and filming either electronically by means
of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive
material such as film stock. Cinematographers use a lens to focus
reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred
to some image sensor or light-sensitive material inside a movie
camera.
Rowntree (1990) identified motion as a valuable character-
istic of video. The author suggested the following video applica-
tions in which movement is an important attribute:
• To demonstrate the operation of tools or equipment.
• To demonstrate skills that learners are expected to emulate.
• To conduct experiments in which the processes must be ob-
served.
• To present a dramatic or musical performance in which it is
necessary for learners to see as well as hear the performers.
• To analyse change over time using animations, slow motion,
or time lapse photography.
• To reveal the spatial, three-dimensional qualities of an object
or structure.
• To transport learners into situations that could not otherwise
be experienced

36
• To present primary source material for analysis, such as ar-
chival film of historical events or videotapes of naturally oc-
curring situations.
Interactive video programmes and multimedia presentations
make it possible to combine sound and moving pictures in vari-
ous ways. Thus, these media can arouse considerable activity, en-
joyment and commitment in the user. Because an interactive
video programme and a multimedia presentation can stimulate
the user to perform at a higher cognitive level, it has the potential
to function well, both as a conveyor of information and as a
teaching aid. Interactivity can help overcome the difficulties of
perception and comprehension (Tversky, Morrison, and Be-
trancourt, 2002).
Contemporary communicative practices are screen-based,
and they rely heavily on visual elements. The new digital media
offer new semiotic resources as well as new ways of using these
resources (Ranker, 2008).

Intended image functions

In an attempt to study the intended functions or purposes of vis-
uals, two inquiry studies were performed with students and
teachers in Sweden. A total of 449 subjects took part in these
studies and mentioned a total of 827 image functions.

Presumed intentions
From 1986–1991, 180 students at Stockholm University were
asked to evaluate the senders’ presumed intention or intentions
for visuals used in printed media (Pettersson, 1993). The 238 vis-
uals collected for analysis and discussion in class were mainly
published in newspapers, magazines, and brochures.
It was obvious that students saw visuals as performing a
great number of different functions. Students mentioned no less
than 63 different presumed functions. In many instances (51%),
subjects felt that the sender’s intention was to induce receivers to
take a stand for some person or some issue. This obviously
37
applied to visuals in advertising but also concerned visuals in ed-
itorial text to some extent. In this category, the top-ranking func-
tions were: sell products, sell a life style, sell services, convey or
create associations, and convince viewers about something.
In some instances (30%), subjects felt that the senders were
attempting to convey objective information about something. In
these cases, the four top-ranking functions were: convey factual
information, illustrate factual circumstances, document and in-
structing. In a few instances, (11%), subjects felt that the sender’s
intention was to induce receivers to take an active stand against
some person or some issue, and in a few instances, subjects felt
that senders were attempting to provide entertainment (5%), or
that visuals were used as adornment or decoration (3%). The five
functions: arouse interest, create needs, document, sell, and sup-
ply information were not mentioned at all in the literature that is
reviewed above.
Why use visuals in information materials?
In a fifth inquiry (1998) Information Design students at Mälar-
dalen University in Eskilstuna were asked to provide one to five
examples of the purposes for using visuals in information mate-
rials in printed media. 46 subjects answered the inquiry with a
total of 179 purposes (83 different). Some of the purposes are
fairly common, while other purposes are very specific. Several
purposes are the same. Some purposes are synonyms or closely
related to each other.
Among the students’ opinions about the purposes with visu-
als in information materials we find most of the purposes men-
tioned in the literature quoted above, but also other, “new” pur-
poses. After grouping and ranking it is clear that the most out-
standing purposes are to visualize (33), clarify (28), inform (22),
attract attention (20), facilitate reading (19), explain (17), and
convey information (9).

38
Why use visuals in teaching?
In 1990 I asked students as well as teachers about their opinions
about why visuals are used in teaching.
Teacher purposes
In one assignment 40 teachers at junior high schools in Sweden
revealed their purposes for why they used pictures in their own
classrooms in 1990. These teachers provided 84 different pur-
poses. To a large extent we find these “teacher purposes” also in
the material provided by the students. The teachers only men-
tioned cognitive and pedagogical purposes. The most common
purposes were to explain (20), show (19), and present (8). Sev-
eral additional purposes were also mentioned. Some of these
were not mentioned in the literature reviewed above: context (1),
deepening (2), describe (1), describe circumstances (1), elucidate
the evolution (1), give a background (1), give a break (1), give a
perspective (2), inspire to writing stories (1), minimise abstrac-
tions (1), and one picture says more than a thousand words (4).
From 1990–1991, I asked 82 of my students at Stockholm
University to give examples of their teacher’s “presumed pur-
poses” for using visuals of different kinds in their teaching. The
periods to be considered were their time at senior high school,
and the previous semester at the university. The students had
studied at several different schools, studied different subject
matters, and they had been taught by different teachers. From
the students who took the same course during the previous se-
mester one student was randomly selected to represent each
group.
82 subjects answered the inquiry with a total of 391 pre-
sumed purposes (147 different). Some subjects provided one or
two purposes. Other subjects provided more examples. Some of
the purposes are fairly common, while other purposes are very
specific. Several purposes are similar; some are synonyms or
closely related to each other. Among the students’ opinions about
the teachers’ presumed purposes with visuals we found some of

39
the purposes mentioned in the literature quoted above, but also
other purposes.
After grouping and ranking it is clear that the most outstand-
ing purposes are to show (77), and to explain (44). Other com-
mon purposes are to visualize (25), illustrate (24), clarify (23),
inform (21), summarize (21), convey (17), learn and remember
(17), mediate (17), elucidate (16), present (15), and give percep-
tions (13). Less common purposes are instructing (11), describe
(10), entertain (10), complete (9), facilitate reading (9), inspire
(8), make concrete (8), document (6), exemplify (5), compare
(5), and “other” (10). The functions complete, describe, docu-
ment, elucidate, inspire, and mediate were not mentioned in the
literature reviewed above.
An international study
In one international study, Pettersson et al. (1992) focused the
interest on the teachers (the senders) and their actual use of me-
dia and pictures in their teaching of geography in secondary
schools in five countries: Australia, Greece, Japan, Sweden, and
the USA. Teachers were asked to answer questionnaires. One of
the questions was: “What is the purpose of using pictures in the
teaching of geography?” 101 teachers provided 110 purposes for
using pictures in the teaching of geography. There were no less
than 66 different purposes.
Results from this study confirmed the above studies. Visuals
are used for many different and individual purposes. The most
commonly cited purposes were: for factual realization to get re-
alistic understanding and knowledge (13), to attract interest of
subjects (9), and to make images of the area (9). This study
showed clearly different teaching “styles” in different cultures.
There also seem to be different “fashions” in teaching practice
that differ from culture to culture and can change over time
within different cultures. Fashion in the use of educational media
is partly related to the technology that is available in that specific
culture at that time.

40
Information and instruction
There is often a clear difference between the intended and the
perceived message (Pettersson, 1985). One way to decrease this
gap is to supply all pictures with explaining and interesting cap-
tions, supporting the intended interpretations (Melin and Pet-
tersson, 1991). When too many pictures of different types are
used in one single message, some of the pictures may be ignored.
There will also be less space for the text.
Visuals cost money, often quite a lot of money. But in many
situations a “good” picture need not cost more than a “bad” pic-
ture! Spending a lot of time on the visualisation process and on
sketches (usually a less expensive process than the cost of origi-
nals, “masters,” and printing runs) may therefore be worthwhile.
It may be concluded that one important function of visuals may
be to aid credibility to the sender or the source. Thus, designers
of information and instructional messages should design and se-
lect visuals with great care.
Archival pictures
Unfortunately, often archival pictures are used in a way not at all
intended. Sometimes the same pictures appear in several differ-
ent contexts, which may confuse the readers. Some illustrations
in contemporary textbooks appear to serve no useful purpose at
all. Some picture editors admit that some of the pictures they put
into textbooks are only there to “stimulate” the reader, to have “a
life of their own,” or merely to provide a “breathing space” within
the text. Such uses seem very dubious. In fact, some publishers
admit that the two main reasons to use pictures in their books
are to attract buyers, and to be able to increase the prices of the
books.
Editing
In information design, it must be possible to understand the
message and to be able to believe that the information is correct.
A message with high credibility has a good structure, convincing
arguments, proper references, and relevant examples. It is a
41
major advantage if text and pictures have good legibility as well
as good readability. In my view, a picture used in information
materials should depict reality in a manner appropriate to the
content and be as relevant and credible as possible. However,
many pictures in textbooks and newspapers have been edited in
order to change their importance and impact. Pictures can easily
be enlarged or reduced in size, which will influence readability.
It is often very easy to crop the original picture. However,
cropping is not merely an aid to art or to journalism; it may also
be a tool for unscrupulous editors. Many photographs lend them-
selves to manipulation of the representation. They are suscepti-
ble to different crops to support different meanings and various
ideas. It is also possible to expand the original picture. Parts of
the picture can be deleted, added, altered, moved or changed in
shape. A colour can be changed, removed or added. This practice
of editing is often unlawful.
Interviews with editors, art directors, and designers from
major Swedish publishing houses showed that they, in the selec-
tion of visuals for reference books and textbooks, often ask them-
selves questions such as the following (Pettersson 1989, p. 145):
1) Does the picture depict the right thing? 2) Is the presentation
of the subject satisfactory? 3) Is the picture technically accepta-
ble? 4) Is the picture aesthetically satisfactory? 5) Is the picture
“flexible,” i.e., will it work with different formats? 6) Will the pic-
ture fit into a given area? 7) Will the picture fit in with the other
pictures on the same page?
In practice, many editors, art directors, and designers find
that procurement time, availability, and image clarity are the
three most important considerations in making their subjective
choices among possible visuals.
Evans, Watson and Willows (1987) interviewed editors, art
directors, and designers from nine major Canadian publishing
houses. They concluded (p. 90):

42
 Our interviews confirm Dwyer’s (1972) summary that the se-
lection and inclusion of illustrations in textbooks appear to
be based on “subjective feelings of the designer about what
is best, the accessibility of raw information, the availability
of materials, the cost, the attractiveness of the finished prod-
uct, and the availability of a ready market” (p. 16).
Marsh (1983, p. 101) provided the following eight guidelines for
selecting a visual channel for a message: 1) When messages are
complex. 2) When refer ability is important. 3) When messages
are long. 4) When environment is noisy. 5) When arrangement is
complicated. 6) When precise spatial discrimination is im-
portant. 7) When simultaneous presentation is desired. 8) When
more dimensions is required. (Visual dimensions include: two
spatial coordinates, intensity, wavelength time, depth, colour,
and motion.) When the content in textbooks are organised and
visualised in an aesthetic, clear, and coherent way this may affect
the educational effectiveness (Peeck, 1993).
Increased learning
Preference for a particular visual format does not necessarily re-
sult in increased learning. Yet, in the absence of more substantial
data, information based on student preference has a meaningful
role to play in affecting learning from information materials and
instructional texts. All other things being equal, we should pro-
vide formats that are preferred by the viewer, thus making the
text more attractive, and hopefully more motivating. Thus, selec-
tion of artistic style for visual materials should not be an arbitrary
decision, but always a conscious one.
Although full-colour photographs increase the costs of trade
books Ramsey (1989) suggested that publishers should increase
the number of such books available for primary audiences. To-
day, however, there are only few informational books for children
which meat these criteria. It is actually quite common that vari-
ous kinds of abstract illustrations are used in textbooks.

43
Intended functions
Winn (1993) concluded that pictures play many roles in instruc-
tion. It is necessary to know the intended function before a pic-
ture is designed. Cognitive and decorative functions should never
be confused or mixed (Pettersson, 1989, 1993). At some point,
illustrations move from being engaging motivators to engaging
distracters (Evans, Watson and Willows, 1987). When too many
pictures are used, readers may ignore many of them. Several
studies have revealed that learners frequently ignore images in
learning media (Behnke, 2016a; Schmidt-Weigand, Kohnert, and
Glowalla, 2010; Schnotz et al., 2014a). Learners often focus on
text and observe images rather superficially. Massoumian (1989,
p. 19) noted, “Haphazard use of visuals may lead to minimal or
no instructional gain and gradual loss of effectiveness as an in-
structional tool.”

Political communication
During World War II, the poster became an essential medium for
propaganda. In all countries involved in this conflict posters
played a major role in the struggle for public support of the war
effort. Seidman (2008a) made an extensive study of the political
poster as a medium of information and propaganda. He traced
the impact that banners, billboards, broadsides as well as posters
had around the world over the last two centuries. The examples
range from American presidential campaigns of the early nine-
teenth century to contemporary political campaigns in Asia, Eu-
rope, and Latin America.
During political election campaigns visuals have long had an
important role to mobilize voters, and to promote policies (Shill,
2012; Seidman 2010). During recent election campaigns Face-
book has become a fundamental platform for promoting policies.
In one study Famulari (in press) examined the strategic use
of visuals that the British political parties posted on Facebook
during the campaign for the 2019 UK general election. Famulari
examined verbal and non-verbal resources in the visuals with

44
respect to the following strategies: Attacking opponents, Broad-
casting policy, Image management, and Mobilization.
The study includes all the images that the parties posted on
Facebook from October 30, 2019 to December 11, 2019. Overall,
468 images were included in the study (Conservative Party 196
images, Labour Party 119 images, Liberal Democrats Party 153
images).
Results showed that “Attacking opponents” was the most
common strategy, for non-verbal as well as verbal resources. Fur-
thermore, attacks against opponents got a higher number of
“likes” and “shares.” A substantial portion of text in the images
concerned policies. The Labour Party posted images that got the
highest number of audience reactions.

Teaching and learning

Images and pictures are often used in teaching and learning, as
well as in information materials. It is obvious that visuals may
have, and often have many different functions. As noted above
the most common opinions presented by researchers in the areas
of instructional message design, visual literacy, and visual com-
munication on functions of visuals concern attention. Several re-
searchers mentioned explanatory verbs like attract, gain, get,
hold and maintain (attention). Other common explanatory verbs
are: facilitate, persuade, provide, create (an interest in), illust-
rate, clarify, motivate, present information (to someone), and re-
inforce. This “researcher list” differs from the opinions provided
by the teachers and the students. Butcher (2014) noted that, in
general, pictures are very fruitful for learning and are even as im-
portant as texts.
Major visual types
Guo, Wright, and McTigue (2018) made a content analysis of all
visuals in seven contemporary third- and fifth-grade science and
social studies textbooks in the USA. They coded a total of 3,844
visuals into the following nine major visual types: photographs

45
(62.36%), general images (16.29%), maps (5.28%), diagrams
(4.5%), flow diagrams (4.5%), tables (3.88%), graphs (1.85%),
time lines (.75%), and comic strips (.60%). The nine major visual
types had the following 54 subtypes:

Comic strips produced to provide instructions, produced to

provide entertainment or examples.
Diagrams. Bird’s-eye view diagrams, cross-section diagrams,
cutaway diagram, cutaway cluster diagrams, illustrated equation
diagrams, scale diagrams, scale conventional units, and simple
diagrams.
Flow diagrams with cyclical sequences, flow diagram with
forked sequences, linear sequence diagrams, tree diagrams, and
web diagrams.
General images. Bird’s-eye views, cartoon illustrations, car-
toon/thought-bubble text boxes, characters (foreign language),
computer-enhanced photographs, fine art visuals, image clus-
ters, logos, magnified images, photographs of illustrations, radar
images, realistic illustrations, scientific models, screenshot im-
ages, stop motion images, and X-ray images.
Graphs. Bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts, pyramid charts, and
Venn diagrams.
Maps. Cartoon maps, cluster maps, context maps, flow maps,
grid map, landmark maps, region maps, simple maps, street
maps, and topographic map.
Photographs. Simple photographs, and cluster photographs.
Tables. Column tables, pictorial tables, row and column tables,
and row tables.
Time lines. Multiple time lines, and simple time lines.

So-called instructive illustrations demonstrate items of a subject

(i.e., how things look like) and its structure. When instructive il-
lustrations become cognitively interesting, they are thought to
trigger motivational processes (Stiller et al., 2020).

46
 In some textbooks, the purpose of many pictures seems to be
purely decorative, or entertaining, and not at all cognitive. If a
textbook has many decorative and entertaining pictures, it may
well contribute to image overload, and pictures being skipped.
Vogel, Dickson, and Lehman (1986) showed that it is unde-
niable that visual presentation support is persuasive. Presenta-
tions using visual aids were 43% more persuasive than unaided
presentations. At the same time, research in the area of reading
indicates that the type of visuals that are used is an important
variable in reading comprehension.
Cognitive purposes
Most of the purposes can be looked upon as clearly pedagogical
or cognitive, in contrast to pictures used for advertising, decora-
tion, entertainment, or marketing. According to students, com-
mon purposes of pictures in the school environment were to:
clarify, convey, describe, elucidate, entertain, explain, give per-
ceptions, illustrate, inform, instruct, mediate, present, show,
summarize, and visualize. The teachers noted: attract interest,
explain, factual realization, make images, present, and show
(something).
Getting attention
Evans, Watson and Willows (1987) noted that the attention-get-
ting and motivational aspects of illustrations in textbooks
seemed to predominate among the teachers in Canada. This was
however, not the case among the teachers in the sample from
Sweden. The Canadian teachers made very few direct references
to illustrations in the classroom, and they provided little guid-
ance in the educational functions that illustrations are thought to
serve. Gustafsson (1980a, 1980b) found that this also was the
case in Sweden. Trotzig (1993) pointed out that illustrations in
textbooks are extremely important means of communication.
The pictures are often what first catch the reader’s eye and the
last things he forgets from his schooldays.

47
 In an extensive paper Sims-Knight (1992) reviewed 88
sources on the use of pictures in textbooks. She found that visuals
could be effective in their educational function, even if they are
unappealing or dull, as long as there is appropriate subject mat-
ter content.
Effect on learning
We know that pictures can have a positive, a neutral, but also a
negative effect on learning (Eilam 2013; Evans, Watson and Wil-
lows 1987; Furnham and Williams, 1987; Gunter, 1980; Levie
and Lentz, 1982; Levin, Anglin and Carney 1987; Massoumian,
1989; Pettersson, 1989, 1993; Rieber, 1994; Scheiter et al., 2018;
Seufert, 2019; Sims-Knight, 1992; Stiller et al., 2020; Sung-Hee
and Boling, 2010; Winn, 1993).
Memory
Learners are most able to build connections between verbal and
visual representations when text and illustrations are actively
held in memory at the same time. This can happen when text and
illustrations are presented in close connection, for example on
the same page in a book, or when learners have sufficient experi-
ence to generate their own mental images when they read the
text. Therefore, pictures should be put as close to the relevant
text as possible
No instructional functions
In some textbooks, the purpose of many pictures seems to be
purely decorative or entertaining and not at all cognitive. If a
textbook has many decorative and entertaining pictures, this
may contribute to “image overload,” and cognitive pictures being
skipped. This may be one reason for textbook pictures not being
used effectively. In such cases, pictures may actually decrease the
quality of the textbook, and only increase its price. It is possible
that certain types of illustrations, incorporated to “stimulate” the
reader’s imagination and interest, could instead have a heavily

48
governing effect that stifles the imagination and diverts interest
from the information the author wishes to convey.
Critical awareness of visual representations, which if not ap-
propriately designed and implemented will create student diffi-
culties and misconceptions (Eilam, 2013).
Illustrations without instructional function
Levin and Mayer (1993), Mayer (1993), and Woodward (1993) all
noted that although approximately one-third to one-half of the
space in science textbooks is devoted to illustrations, most text-
book illustrations do not appear to serve any important instruc-
tional function. Mayer (2009, 236–237) analysed textbooks for
sixth grade science and found that an
“overwhelming majority of illustrations served no important
instructional purpose: 23 percent were decorational and 62
percent were representational.”
In contrast to the positive effects of using illustrations, when they
show only additional irrelevant details, they are assumed to dis-
tract from learning; they fail to support cognitive processes or
even hinder them (Schneider et al. 2016).
Decorative or instructional pictures?
Decorative pictures are often considered as a means to motivate
readers by making documents more attractive and interesting
(Male 2007; Rubens 2000), and by stimulating aesthetic visual
perception (Chiaverina et al. 1997). According to Pozzer and Roth
(2003) decorative pictures are intended to give relief to the learn-
ing situation and to make the material aesthetically pleasing.
In order to investigate the effects of decorative pictures in
learning as compared to instructional pictures Lenzner, Schnotz,
and Müller (2012) made three experiments, with a total of 281
students from 7th and 8th grade in Germany. Their mean age was
13,2 years.
In the first experiment, with 30 students, eye-tracking meth-
odology indicated that decorative pictures receive only a bit of
49
initial attention. This is a part of the learner’s initial orientation.
Afterwards, decorative pictures were largely ignored. Thus, dec-
orative pictures have only a minor distracting effect, if any.
The second experiment, with 57 students, showed that de-
spite the small amount of attention decorative pictures received,
they may have a positive effect on learners’ affective and motiva-
tional state. Decorative pictures may induce better alertness,
calmness and mood with learners.
In the third experiment a total of 194 students were ran-
domly assigned to one of four experimental conditions. In the
first condition 50 students studied text with decorative pictures.
In the second 50 students studied text with instructional pic-
tures. In the third condition 45 students studied text with deco-
rative and instructional pictures. In the fourth condition 49 stu-
dents studied text without any pictures. The combined results in-
dicated that decorative pictures did not intensify students’ situa-
tional interest. However, decorative pictures reduced perceived
difficulty of the learning materials.
Altogether decorative pictures were neither beneficial nor
harmful for learning. However, decorative pictures moderated
the beneficial effect of instructional pictures. This effect was es-
pecially pronounced when learners had lower prior knowledge.
In this study the authors did not mention that decorative pic-
tures increase the prices for already expensive textbooks.

Unconscious messages
In addition to intended purposes, pictures can communicate un-
conscious messages, values, and standpoints. The sex typing of
the modern society is often reflected in mass media as well as in
textbooks. Neither women nor disabled people are seen here very
often, they are hidden. Benckert and Staberg (1988) concluded
that text as well as pictures in a subtle way conveys the message
that girls are not fit for studying scientific and technical subjects.
One explanation to the skew distribution between sexes in text-
books could be that the textbooks actually reflect today’s real

50
society in a better way than they reflect the curriculum objectives
of an equal society.
Poor illustrations
Hannus (1996) used eye-movement equipment and studied how
pupils picked up information while learning from textbooks. He
concluded that the learning effects of textbook illustrations are
slight because not enough attention is paid to the illustrations in
the books. Thus, the learning functions of illustrations were less
than expected.
Integrating verbal and visual information is a complex task.
In an experimental study Coleman, McTigue, and Dantzler
(2018) found that visual diagrams in two science texts, for
fourth-grade students in USA, provided minimal or no added
value for reading comprehension.
Insufficient knowledge
It seems that students as well as teachers lack sufficient
knowledge about visual communication. I agree with Larsson
(1991) who wrote (p. 105, in translation): “... it is important that
all persons involved increase their knowledge of pictures and the
function of pictures in textbooks: teachers, pupils, publishers,
authors, designers, artists.” Gayer (1992) stated that different
types of visuals might be of great use in education. She certified
that it is a serious deficiency that many teachers have insufficient
knowledge of how visuals function.
Low “pictorial capability”
Experiments with pupils in junior schools (Eklund, 1990), in in-
termediate schools and in junior high schools (Backman, Berg,
and Sigurdson 1988) showed that pupils in Sweden had a very
low “pictorial capability.” At all levels, pupils have large difficul-
ties in interpreting, as well as in expressing picture content. Low
“pictorial capability” is largely true also for the teachers, who very
often lack both education and training in visual language and in
visual communication. This is quite remarkable since the

51
curricula in Sweden both assume and require all teachers to be
responsible for teaching about visuals as a means of communica-
tion.
Pictures are often ignored
Regardless of the intended functions pictures are not always used
in an active way at school (Pettersson, 1990). In some textbooks
the purpose of many pictures seems to be purely decorative, or
entertaining, and not at all cognitive (Guo, Landau Wright, and
McTigue, 2018).
When a textbook has many decorative and entertaining pic-
tures, it may cause image overload, and pictures being skipped.
We know that students, as well as teachers, often ignore illustra-
tions in textbooks (Behnke, 2015, 2016a; Guo, Landau Wright,
and McTigue, 2018; Lindström, 1990; Schmidt-Weigand, Koh-
nert, and Glowalla, 2010; Schnotz et al., 2014b). Many students
do not attend to the visuals unless they are instructed to do so
(Pettersson, 1990; Reinking, 1986).
Every published picture has been selected, not only once but
usually several times, by artists, art directors, designers, editors,
and photographers (Pettersson, 1989, p. 260). It is hard for art
directors and editors to find the pictures they really need. Some-
times they have to take what they can get. These pictures may
often be ignored by students as well as teachers.
According to Matusitz (2005) American students may be
characterized as (p. 101): “passive consumers in the classroom,”
not employing critical analysis of visual communication.
Didactic designs
According to Bodén and Stenliden (2019) there needs to be a
close didactic alignment and deeper knowledge of how visual in-
terfaces attract students’ attention and how students’ visual lit-
eracy emerges in that relationship. If students are to create
meaning through visual interpretations then teachers need to
create didactic designs that support development of visual liter-
acy abilities of the students. This includes augmented knowledge
52
of what attracts students’ attention and how to take advantage of
it in the process of their becoming visually literate. Interacting
with visual technology likely demands new forms of literacy as
various dimensions of complexity emerge in such learning activ-
ities. The growing use of computer-based graphs could change
the way students learn to read graphs. Visual properties and their
visual language renegotiate how reading and learning can be
viewed.
Usability qualities
Behnke (2021a) evaluated challenges and opportunities of the
conception and utilization of visuals in current German geogra-
phy textbooks from multidisciplinary theoretical perspectives.
Together with her findings from work in the fields of educational
psychology, geography education, and media studies she dis-
cussed the designer’s point of view with insights from the fields
of information design, instructional design, user experience de-
sign, and visual communications.
Based on this theoretical approach Behnke (2021a) dis-
cusses usability aspects of visual design features in geographical
learning media, relations between instructional design strate-
gies, motivational aspects of knowledge construction, subject di-
dactics, visual attention, visual literacy skills, and visual search
strategies, through today’s multimodal geography textbooks.
Behnke (2021a) suggests six usability qualities of visual de-
sign elements in textbooks that may affect both learning motiva-
tion, and construction of knowledge. These six usability qualities
are:
• Aesthetics (visual appealing).
• Comprehensibility (image content connects to the topic).
• Helpfulness (support with completing tasks and content com-
prehension).
• Interest (relevant content, new perspectives)
• Orientation (quick and easy).

53
• Usefulness (relevant information complementing text infor-
mation).
Behnke (2021a) embeds the evolved usability qualities of “well-
designed” textbooks into existing theoretical models from the
fields of educational psychology, geography education, media
studies, and visual communications.
Provide teacher’s guides
As seen from the opinions presented by the teachers, visuals that
are used in teaching may have many different purposes. This
raises quite high demands upon teachers as well as pupils and
students and strengthens any requirements for education and
training in visual communications. The reader should always be
encouraged to find out what the senders’ intentions are. Why is
the picture there? What is the function of the picture? What is
the main message? Which are the secondary meanings? Which
associations does the picture raise?
It is not enough to select good visuals and make sure that all
the pictures have relevant captions. To really help the readers to
improve their use of visuals in textbooks, AV-material, and other
teaching aids, we should give the teachers careful guidance, for
instance in a teacher’s guide. The guide should: 1) Show the pur-
pose of each individual picture. 2) Tell what each picture shows.
3) Give different examples of how every picture can be used in
the education, what is important to discuss, which tasks can be
assigned in connection with the picture, and so on. 4) If needed
provide complementary facts. For instance, explain how the pic-
ture has been produced. 5) Account for name of photographer,
artist or another picture creator.

Disinformation design
The main goal in information design is clarity of communica-
tion, even if we also expect presentations to be aesthetically
pleasing, and in some cases also intellectually rewarding. Here,
all messages must be accurately designed, produced and
54
distributed, and later correctly interpreted and understood by
most of the members of the intended audience.
The main goal in visual deceptive camouflage is conceal-
ment of identity. In numerous organisms, camouflage is key to
survival (Nokelainen et al., 2019). Animals, as well as military
equipment, may be unnoticed by blending in with the back-
ground or by disruption of outlines. Then they may be almost im-
possible to discover. Deceptive camouflage is used by animals
and also by the military. We may see visual deceptive camou-
flage as a special kind of information design. It is disinformation
design.
Crypsis
The objective with camouflage by crypsis is to become invisible
by blending in with the background or by disruption of outlines.
Organisms avoid detection or recognition by resembling the gen-
eral background or specific objects within the habitat. Strongly
contrasting markings such as spots and stripes provide disrup-
tive patterns that will break up the outlines. All careless move-
ments are dangerously eye-catching, and sometimes deadly for
prey animals.
However, some predators, like adult leopards, have disrup-
tively spotted coats that provide camouflage by disrupting the
recognizable shapes and orientations of the animals. The leop-
ards increase their chances of survival because they get more op-
portunities for successful hunting. This is a predator adaptation
of visual camouflage preventing their prey from seeing them.

55
These two drawings illustrate how a predator like a leopard
(Pantera pardus) is able to hide well in the vegetation.

This is an example of military camouflage. Two differently

painted small models of tanks were photographed in similar po-
sitions in an early woodland model at FOA, the Swedish Na-
tional Defence Research Institute.
The objective in military camouflage is to hide positions,
troops, vehicles, and weapons from the eye of the enemy. Cam-
ouflage has become a major factor in war. As a result of consid-
erable research military camouflage on land, at sea, and in the air
developed rapidly in the 20th century. Military equipment may
be almost impossible to discover by the human eye and also by
optical sensors.
There are seven main groups of military camouflage by cryp-
sis: 1) Painted camouflage, 2) Personal camouflage, 3) Disguising
camouflage, 4) Decoy camouflage, 5) Counter illumination cam-
ouflage, 6) Colour change camouflage, and 7) High technology
camouflage. According to Newark (2007) the birth of modern

56
military camouflage was a direct consequence of the invention of
the aeroplane. Aircraft were initially used in the First World War
for aerial reconnaissance. Their task was to spot enemy artillery,
troops, and vehicles. Their own artillery could then direct their
fire at these targets. All sides formed “camouflage units.” Mem-
bers of staff painted bold disruptive patterns on aircraft, guns,
and tanks. In France several Cubist artists were working as “cam-
oufleurs” at the front.
During the Second World War people painted disruptive
patterns on all kinds of military equipment such as aircraft, artil-
lery, military bases, tanks, vehicles, warships, and weapons. All
nations used official instructions for camouflaging. For example,
the official German Luftwaffe manuals included visual diagrams
with exact instructions on how to paint camouflage patterns as
well as aircraft lettering, symbols and walkway boundaries (Mer-
rick, 1973).
Mimesis
The objective with camouflage by mimesis is to become totally
ignored and unnoticed. A marine isopod, a small crustacean, has
got three kinds of males. The large alpha males guard their harem
of females. However, beta males look like females, and small
gamma males look like juveniles. Since beta males and gamma
males are unnoticed they can enter the harem without any prob-
lems and mate with some of the females.
Camouflage allows soldiers, weapons, and otherwise visible
military vehicles to remain unnoticed. Merchant ships equipped
with heavy arms, and tanks dressed up as ordinary trucks are ex-
amples of military camouflage by mimesis.
During the First World War the British navy used “Q-ships.”
These vessels were used as decoys and could meet a surfaced sub-
marine on fairly equal terms. When attacked, the Q-ship would
allow the U-boat to come as close as possible before dropping the
disguise, raising the White Ensign (a requirement of interna-
tional law), and opening fire (McMullen, 2001).

57
Dazzle
The objective with camouflage by dazzle is to confuse the oppo-
nents. Some animals are clearly seen but they move around in
conspicuous patterns, and confuses their predators. In this way
several birds trick predators away from their nests. The bold pat-
tern on a zebra may momentarily confuse predators, especially
when many animals are close together and moving rapidly over
the savannah on a hot day.
During the First World War and the Second World War daz-
zle camouflage was used to make tanks and ships seem smaller
and/or faster, to encourage misidentification by the enemy and
to make the ships harder to hit. Dazzle designs applied to ships
resembled floating Cubist paintings (Newark, 2007).
Cultural camouflage
Several times after the Second World War anti-war protesters
have used military combat clothing to express their resistance to
the use of arms and weapons in conflicts and war.
Disruptive camouflage materials have been used as the main
resources to express ideas of modern aesthetics, art and design.
Architects, fashion designers, graffiti artists, graphic designers,
interior designers, painters, sculptors, toy designers, and also
other groups have been inspired by patterns used in camouflage.
Camouflage gave the American artist Andy Warhol (1928–
1987) the opportunity to work with both abstract patterns and
recognizable images, rich in associations. His camouflage paint-
ings reflect bright synthetic and inorganic colours. Warhol pro-
duced many camouflage panels, in various scales and in a wide
range of colours. The silk screen process allowed for quick and
easy mass-production.

Image functions–conclusions
As seen from the sections above visuals may have many functions
in communication. More than one hundred different explanatory
verbs are used to express these opinions. In accordance with

58
researchers in the areas of instructional message design, visual
literacy, and visual communication the most common opinions
on functions of visuals in printed media concern attention. Re-
searchers have mentioned the words attract, gain, get, hold and
maintain attention. Other common explanatory verbs are: facil-
itate, provide, persuade, create (an interest in), illustrate, clar-
ify, motivate, present, and reinforce information (to someone).

attract, gain, get, hold and maintain attention

The inquiries with students and teachers also showed that there
may be many purposes for the use of visuals in printed media.
Most of the purposes can be looked upon as clearly pedagogical
or cognitive, in contrast to pictures used for entertainment, dec-
oration, advertising or marketing. The most common purposes
of pictures in the school environment were to: show, explain, vis-
ualize, illustrate, clarify, inform, summarize, convey, mediate,
elucidate, present, and give (perceptions), instruct, describe,
and entertain.

show, explain, visualize, illustrate, clarify, inform

There seem to be different “fashions” in teaching practice that

differ from culture to culture and can change over time within
different cultures. Fashion in the use of educational media is
partly related to the technology that is available in that specific
culture at that time.
The most common purposes of pictures in information de-
sign are to visualize, clarify, inform, attract attention, facilitate
reading, explain, and convey information (in this order).

visualize, clarify, inform, attract attention

59
The type of visual to be used in the production of materials for
information and learning must often be determined in each case
with a view to specific demands on the visual, and also to the pre-
vailing budget framework.

Visualisation
Since the Neolithic period (approximately 10,000–2,000 BC)
people have communicated not only through gestures and
sounds, but also by means of visual language (de Jong, 2010, p.
7). Any technique for creating animations, diagrams, and images
to communicate a message can be labelled visualisation (or vis-
ualization). Since the invention of central perspective in the Re-
naissance period the invention of computer graphics may be the
most important development in visualisation. Visualisation is al-
ways a composite task, never a single act on its own, and requires
the collaboration of several different parties.
This main section includes the following sections: Effective
visuals, Visualisation of data, and A total teaching aid.

Effective visuals
Perception is always organized. We perceptually construct
events, groupings, objects, people, relationships, and also words.
We see dots, lines, areas, light, and dark in an organized way. One
of the simplest perceptual organizations is that of “figure and
background.” We select elements in a visual as the figure. The
remaining elements constitute the background. Our ability to
distinguish the boundaries of an image is usually very high.
“Good figures,” i.e. in the sense of regularity, simplicity, and sta-
bility, are closed and exhibit a continuous contour.
A given contour can belong only to one of the two areas it
encloses and shapes. The contour shapes will be perceived as a
figure. Necker’s cube can be seen in either of two configurations.
All reversible figures lack sufficient cues as to which side of a con-
tour is figure, and which is the background. This is often used by

60
artists to create illusions. Many have seen a reversible figure that
is perceived as a vase, or as two heads facing each other.
Highly developed perceptual abilities are needed to detect
the bounds of a single image within a complex structure. Small
children may find it difficult to switch attention from small parts
to the whole and back again. When lines in a picture overlap or
compete, emerging figures have good continuation. The most
symmetrical and simple figures constructed will be perceived.
Tufte (1997, p. 64) discussed magic, the production of enter-
taining illusions. He noted that magic is to engage in disinfor-
mation design. So, here inventory of conjuring methods provides
evidence about what not to do in information design. When vis-
uals are produced for informative purposes, it is always a good
idea to start by trying to visualise the information to be conveyed.
Visualising a message means that you attempt to materialize it in
an effective synthesis of words and pictures.
Dondis (1973) discussed the anatomy of a visual message.
We express and receive visual messages on three levels: 1) Rep-
resentationally, 2) Symbolically, and 3) Abstractly. Representa-
tional forms of illustrations are actual photographs of things. In
symbolical forms pictures show one thing and connote another.
In abstract forms illustrations provide minimal visual infor-
mation on the phenomenon illustrated.
Visuals that are attractive and that people like also have
greater impact on the intended readers. To increase interest in a
material it might be a good idea to use a blend of several kinds of
visual types such as diagrams, drawings, photos etc. Generally
speaking it is not possible to rank the different types of visuals.
Often the type of visual that should be used must be determined
in each individual case with a view to various demands on the
picture and the prevailing budget framework. It is often easier to
control the production of a drawing than the production of a pho-
tograph. So, a drawing may be the only realistic alternative in
many instances. However, since pictures illustrated in more ab-
stract styles, such as cartoon and expressionistic, might generate
61
more imagination such pictures might be used as stimuli for cre-
ative writing assignments.
In conclusion effective visuals for information and learning
should create an experience for the reader. The reader must: 1)
See, or rather “discover” the picture. 2) Pay attention to the pic-
ture. 3) Read the picture in an active, and selective way. 4) Pro-
cess the information mentally.

Effective visuals for information should create an

experience for the reader.

Visualisation of data
Analysis and presentation of data is an indispensable part of all
applied research and problem solving in industry, and also in
many branches of science. One of the most fundamental ap-
proaches to analysis and presentation of data is visualisation of
abstract data. Usually the goal of visualisation is to present ab-
stract data in clear images in order to improve understanding of
the content.
Study of visualisation
Already in 1765, the British scientist Joseph Priestley designed
his diagram A Chart of Biography with timelines for important
individuals. In 1786, the Scottish engineer and political econo-
mist William Playfair developed the line graph and the bar
chart, followed by the pie chart (1801) and the circle graph
(1801) to represent economic data.
Modern study of visualisation originated in computer
graphics, and has further evolved from studies in business
presentations, computer science, human-computer interaction,
interface design, psychology, and visual design. However, at the
beginning the lack of computer power limited the usefulness of
visualisation. Now practical applications effectively analyse and
present data in ways that facilitate human cognition and interac-
tion. Now analysts can detect, see, and study expected patterns
62
and also discover the unexpected from conflicting, dynamic, in-
complete, and massive loads of data. Previously this was often
impossible. Visualisation involves research in computer
graphics, high performance computing, and image processing.
According to Moreno et al. (2001) visualisation is a non-ver-
bal mode of representing content knowledge. A visualisation may
include animations, drawings, graphics, illustrations, maps, pho-
tos, simulations, and video.
Most visualisations originating from quantitative data in-
clude axes or scales, coordinate systems, or glyphs that use spe-
cific data values as an input (Schroeder and Martin, 2005;
Tversky, 2011). The appearance of a glyph corresponds to data as
a result of the principled mapping of data variables to visual fea-
tures such as colour, position, shape, and size (Heer, Bostock,
and Ogievetsky 2010, p. 67).
During the last decades, there has been a rapid and ever-ex-
panding development of applications for visualisation in many
different areas. Lengler and Eppler (2007) used the periodic ta-
ble of chemical elements as a visual metaphor to classify 100 dif-
ferent methods of visualisation. In their “periodic table of visual-
isation methods for management” these methods are categorized
into six groups: 1) Data visualisation. 2) Information visualisa-
tion. 3) Concept visualisation. 4) Metaphor visualisation. 5)
Strategy visualisation. 6) Compound visualisation.
In the illustration of the system each group has the same
background colour. The numbers of the methods show the in-
creasing complexity between and within groups. All branches of
modern visualisation can contribute to information design with
methods and results.
Few (2004) noted that most visualisations are difficult to in-
terpret. They are filled with irrelevant details. Sometimes they
are even misleading. According to de Lange (2015, p. 532) mis-
leading denotes an attempt from an advertiser to mislead a con-
sumer through ambiguity, withholding or exaggerating

63
information, whilst deception is the process of intentionally lying
to consumers through misrepresentation.
Brigham (2016) argued that poorly designed visuals can cre-
ate more confusion than clarity. Problems may be related to clut-
ter, colour, decoration, disorganised information, lack of narra-
tive, and typefaces. And according to Lonsdale and Lonsdale
(2019) data visualisation fails to communicate information
clearly and efficiently more often than not.
However, Brigham (2016) also argued that data visualisation
and infographics are powerful tools to communicate infor-
mation. The benefits are many.
In an era in which more and more data are produced and
circulated through online networks, and digital tools make visu-
alisation production increasingly accessible, it is important to
study the conditions under which such visual texts are generated,
disseminated and thought to benefit processes of sense-making,
learning, and engaging (Kennedy and Engebretsen, 2020, p. 22).
Bio-visualisation
During the Renaissance professor Andreas Vesalius revolution-
ized the study of biology and the practice of medicine. His illus-
trated textbook De humani corporis fabrica, first published in
1543, represented top-level research in the field of anatomy. At
that time, no distinction was made between art and science. Ve-
salius’ careful verbal and visual descriptions combine the un-
known with the well-known. This is still characteristic for bio vis-
ualisation.
Bio-visualisation is visualisation of biological systems. Mod-
ern techniques and tools offer effective means for analysing data
from complicated biological processes and systems, healthcare,
and medicine. Bioinformatics use visualisation engines for inter-
preting lab data and also for training purposes. Visual analytics
combine the strength of automatic methods with the expert
knowledge of the analysts.

64
Data visualisation
Today data visualisation is a modern branch of descriptive statis-
tics and visualisation of numeric values for comparison, not for
individual amounts. It involves the creation and study of visual
representation of data. In accordance with Friedman (2008) the
main goal of data visualisation is its ability to visualize data, com-
municate content clearly and effectively. Data visualisation is
closely related to information graphics, information visualisa-
tion, scientific visualisation, and statistical graphics.
At best, visual representations of statistics and other, often
quantitative data can convey complex facts and patterns quickly
and effectively. At worst, they can appear confusing or manipu-
lative (Kennedy and Engebretsen, 2020, p. 22). Data visualisa-
tions (also called dataviz or DV) are understood as graphical rep-
resentations of data which are primarily, but not solely, numeric.
Data visualisations are abstractions and reductions of the world.
As such, they are the result of human choices, social conventions,
and technological processes and affordances, relating to generat-
ing, filtering, analysing, selecting, visualizing, and presenting
data. Data visualisations are created to facilitate understanding.
There are several examples of early examples of visualisation
of data. Our attention is constantly being pulled in different di-
rections. When done correctly visualisation of large amounts of
data will capture our attention. Garwood et al. (2018) showed the
importance of having clear, concise and communicative graphics
providing evidence of relationships within the data. Here, man-
agers answered questions more correctly in less time. They could
make better decisions in shorter time.
See my book Graphic design for presentation of information
graphics or infographics.
Cholera outbreak in 1855
An early example of data visualisation is the dot map used by the
English physician John Snow in 1855 to visualise the cholera out-
break in Broad Street, London. With his statistics Snow could

65
demonstrate the connection between the bad quality of polluted
water from the Thames and the high number of cholera cases.
The Crimean War
The British nurse and statistician Florence Nightingale tended
to wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. She developed and
made extensive use of polar area diagrams, a special form of pie
chart, in her reports 1858 on medical care. Civil servants and
Members of Parliament were unlikely to understand traditional
statistical reports.

Napoleon’s disastrous Russian campaign

After his retirement, the French civil engineer Charles-Joseph
Minard was a pioneer in diagram design. He designed more than
fifty graphic tables and thematic maps with statistical infor-
mation. In 1861, he designed a unique flow map showing six
types of facts about Napoleon’s disastrous Russian campaign
1812–1813.
Periodic table of visualisation methods
In their “periodic table of visualisation methods for manage-
ment” (Lengler and Eppler, 2007) data visualisation includes
standard quantitative formats such as area charts, pie charts, and
line graphs. They are mainly used for getting an overview of data.
And Lonsdale and Lonsdale (2019b) see data visualisation as a
branch of infographics, which in turn is a branch of the field of
Information Design.
Educational visualisation
Many kinds of visualisations are used in educational visualisa-
tion. It may be topics that are difficult to see because artefacts are
far too small or far too large to be studied. It may also be pro-
cesses that are far too slow or far too rapid to be studied.
Iohannes Amos Comenius formulated a general theory of
education. He was the first person to really show to a broader
audience how visuals and words could interplay in an active way.
In his illustrated textbook, Orbis Sensualium Pictus (The Visible
66
World in Pictures) 1658, he presented information on the world
and on mankind in closely related pictures and words. This book
was widely used in both Europe and the USA for some 200 years.
In teaching environments visualisation serve two primary
functions: 1) to promote learning and understanding, and 2) to
aid in analysis and problem solving (Vavra et al., 2011). Educa-
tional visualisation may probably be used in almost all estab-
lished disciplines.
Geo-visualisation
In traditionally printed maps the graphical representations are
linked to the basic geographical information. The English engi-
neering draughtsman Harry Beck designed the radically simpli-
fied topological map of the Underground tube system in London
(1931). The map was immediately very popular, and it has several
followers in other cities.
Geo-visualisation is short for Geographic visualisation. It
allows for the creation of interactive maps with techniques and
tools used for analysis of different “layers” of the map. Geo-
visalisation communicates geospatial data and information in
ways that humans can understand and use to make decisions. It
is possible to zoom in and out, and to change the visual appear-
ance of a map, usually on a computer display.
Information visualisation
Information visualisation, or visual data analysis, usually con-
cerns the use of computers to explore large amounts of abstract
numerical and/or non-numerical data. It is a critical component
in data mining, digital libraries, drug discovery, financial data
analysis, manufacturing production control, market studies, so-
cial relationships, and scientific research (Bederson and Shnei-
derman, 2003).
In information visualisation the focus is on the process of
producing views and creating valuable interaction techniques for
a given class of data, such as multi-dimensional data, and social
networks (Keim et al., 2008). Information visualisation has
67
developed methods for the visualisation of abstract data where
no explicit spatial references are given. Typical examples include
business data, demographics data, network graphs and scientific
data from e.g., molecular biology.
The primary goal of visualisation is to discover insights
through the analysis, exploration, and communication of infor-
mation in an acceptable form (Khan and Khan, 2011). Shiravi,
Shiravi, and Ghorbani (2012) defined information visualisation
as an aid to users in analyzing, exploring, and understanding of
data through continuous, iterative visual exploration.
Modern information visualisation originated in computer
graphics and user interface design. According to Thomas and
Cook (2005) visual representations and interaction techniques
take advantage of the human eye’s broad bandwidth pathway
into the mind to allow users to see, explore, and understand large
amounts of information at once. Information visualisation fo-
cuses on the creation of approaches for conveying abstract infor-
mation in intuitive ways. In their “periodic table of visualisation
methods for management” Lengler and Eppler (2007) defined
information visualisation as “the use of interactive visual repre-
sentations of data to amplify cognition.”
Knowledge visualisation
Today knowledge visualisation is a popular research area, often
defined as using visual representations to transfer knowledge. In
accordance with Burkhard (2005, p. 23): “Knowledge visualiza-
tion examines the use of visual representations to improve the
transfer and creation of knowledge between at least two persons.
Knowledge visualisation thus designates all graphic means that
can be used to develop or convey insights, experiences, methods,
or skills.” However, in my mind we can only transfer data and
information between people, not knowledge.
In the last twenty years, management of cultural heritages
has become one of the key policies of the European Community
(Handzic, 2021). Heritages are often seen as cultural capitals and

68
important drivers for tourism. The challenge for management of
cultural heritages is to strike the balance between generating rev-
enue through tourism and preserving and promoting cultural,
educational, and historical values of heritage assets. Any deci-
sions regarding management of cultural heritages depend highly
on the collection and utilization of a wide variety of data related
to these assets.
According to Della Spina (2016), all decisions concerning the
development, enhancement, transformation, and upgrading of
historical heritages are characterized by multi-dimensional pro-
files of the objectives. This is often conflicting and influenced by
each other. These are complex decision problems.
In the specific context of Stećci, Handzic (2021) explores the
role of knowledge visualisation in facilitating decision-making in
management of cultural heritages. Stećci is the name for monu-
mental medieval tombstones distributed in 28 distinctive ceme-
teries located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, central and southern
Croatia, western Montenegro, and western Serbia. These sites
with tombstones are inscribed on the UNESCO world heritage
list.
These tombstones are mostly carved from limestone. They
feature a wide range of decorative motifs and inscriptions that
represent iconographic continuities within medieval Europe as
well as locally distinctive traditions. Grounded in the distant
reading paradigm, Handzic (2021) introduces six kinds of anal-
yses of visualisations of data.
• Architectural visualisations of data refer to the established
typology of stećci forms. It helps to identify the dominant
and/or rare forms.
• Epigraphical visualisations of data are based on text analysis
of 330 engraved inscriptions on stećci stones. Major word
clusters indicate biographical, heroic, and religious themes
regarding the dead.

69
• Iconographical visualisations of data reveal standard deco-
ration typology. This shows the most frequent decorative mo-
tives, as well as those that are rare or unique.
• Impact visualisations of data reveal how stećci motives have
influenced and inspired modern art, and thus provide help in
their promotion nowadays.
• Spatial visualisations of data provide exact location on the
map, as well as other spatial features.
• Temporal visualisations of data place heritage assets into
their historical context, and indicates construction, timing
and usage duration.
These case findings have several implications. For practice, the
visualisation approach have advantages in terms of being readily
useful and easy to read and understand. For research, the visual-
isation approach reinforce earlier empirical and theoretical evi-
dence, and supports knowledge-based decision making.
Product visualisation
In the past technical drawings were made by hand. Now design-
ers and engineers use advanced computer software, computer
graphics, and systems for computer-aided design. They can
demonstrate, document, and manipulate technical drawings and
3D models of future products. Software for product visualisation
often provides high levels of photorealism. Thus, products can be
viewed before they are manufactured.
Scientific visualisation
In scientific visualisation, the data entities to be visualized are
typically 3D geometries with explicit references to time and space
(Keim et al., 2008).
Today scientific visualisation is concerned with the analysis
and interactive display of data. Examples are the practice of pro-
ducing graphic visualisations of two- and three-dimensional phe-
nomena in architecture, biology, chemistry, engineering, medi-
cine, meteorology, and other sciences. The purpose is to illustrate

70
scientific data and enable scientists to explain, illustrate, and un-
derstand their data. The emphasis is on realistic renderings of
illumination sources, surfaces, and volumes. Rendering is the
process of generating an image from a model, by means of advan-
ced computer software. Modern scientific visualisation origi-
nated in computer graphics and in user interface design.
According to Kennedy and Engebretsen (2020, p. 22) scien-
tific visualisation is a concept mostly used in highly specialized,
expert-to-expert contexts, for example within biology and medi-
cine.
Visual analytics
Visual analytics combines automated analysis techniques with
interactive visualisations for an effective understanding, reason-
ing and decision making on the basis of very large and complex
data sets (Keim et al., 2008). Combining data analysis, human
factors and visualisation visual analytics can rather be seen as an
integral approach to decision-making. It is more than infor-
mation visualisation.
Stenliden (2014) regarded a specific visual analytics applica-
tion as a visual medium offering interactive diagrams and
graphs. When data change, these diagrams and graphs change
immediately, and they move when displayed on an interactive
digital screen.
Tools for visual analytics support student learning (Stenli-
den, 2015). These tools trigger actions in which data types, stu-
dents, task, and visualisation interact to support learning. How-
ever, the interactions are not always straight forward. Some fea-
tures can be rather confusing.
Volume visualisation
Initially volume visualisation was used in medical imaging. It al-
lows viewing an object without mathematically representing the
other surface. Now volume visualisation is an essential technique
in many sciences and are used to portray biological structures,
clouds, flow of water, and molecule structures.
71
 In one study Papageorgiou and Valanides (2011) asked 99
prospective pre-primary and primary school teachers to visualize
the surface of liquids in a half-filled container held in different
directions. All subjects were students at the University of Cyprus.
The results clearly showed that every day experiences and images
of tilted bottles and glasses containing liquids were not always
correctly visualized or correctly represented by the subjects.
Only a small number of these prospective teachers had de-
veloped the idea of the invariantly planar surface of the liquid in-
side a half-filled container. The results of this study confirmed
results from previous research indicating that adults face diffi-
culties concerning the horizontality of a liquid surface in a tilted
container. Papageorgiou and Valanides concluded that most of
these prospective teachers were not able to internally visualise
images from frequent everyday experiences and encode them
correctly. They were not at all visually literate persons.

A total teaching aid

I had the privilege to be responsible for the work with the first
optical video disc that was produced in Sweden. Among other
things we visualized all the words from one page in an encyclo-
paedia, and produced entries ranging from short texts to motion
pictures with moving pictures and sounds. When we entered one
of the possible keywords on a computer, the information came
up very quickly on the TV screen. The system was completed in
1981. It worked very well and gave a clear view of future oppor-
tunities to produce interesting e-books, encyclopaedias, teaching
aids, and more.
New opportunities
In the 1980s I worked with the three concepts total encyclopae-
dia, local teaching aid, and total teaching aid. It was easy to pre-
dict that the rapid developments of compact optical discs and the
future Internet would open totally new opportunities for

72
producers of teaching aids, for students, for teachers, and for the
general public.

This equipment played sequences in the first optical video disc

produced in Sweden. We visualized all reference words from
one page of a reference book. All texts, pictures, film clips, and
all audio recordings were stored on the optical video disc. The
project was completed in 1981. All of this is now standard on the
Internet.
It would be possible to create new kinds of encyclopaedias
and teaching aids, encompassing archive facilities, numerical in-
formation, pictures, sound, text, video, and opportunities for

73
various kinds of information processing (Pettersson, 1988). In-
dividual teachers, and local organisations, could store their own
materials in their local teaching aids.
Today a total encyclopaedia, and a total teaching aid are
multimedia databases offering the user complete freedom in
moving back and forth between all kinds of audio, verbal, numer-
ical, and visual information. This enables people with all kinds of
modalities, i.e., verbal, visual, kinaesthetic, or mixed modalities,
to actively seek and find information that is actively transformed
into experience and knowledge.
It is interesting to see that most of these thoughts have been
implemented in many places around the world during the last
decades. Now many organisations offer various kinds of e-books,
multimedia databases, and sometimes also online assistance.
Many selections
In supplying answers to assignments or writing reports, students
will have easy access to the necessary background information.
They will also be able to retrieve suitable examples, “quotes”
from the individual databases, and incorporate them into their
own presentations. Numerical information in tables can be pro-
cessed and presented as bar charts, curves, or pie charts provid-
ing a better overview. A teaching aid could also contain different
kinds of computer-based educational games and the like.
Every published photograph has been involved in a selection
process, not just once but repeatedly. First of all, the picture cre-
ator (photographer or artist) makes an extremely narrow selec-
tion from all the pictures that could be created on any given oc-
casion. The picture editor then selects from numerous alterna-
tives in a collection or archive. As far as drawn illustrations are
concerned, a number of alternative sketches often serve as the
basis for discussions on the appearance of the final originals. So,
a picture only depicts a selected slice of reality, one person, one
object or one event, for example, always surrounded by un-

74
depicted things and circumstances occurring before and after
each selected picture.
Most graphic products can only display a rather limited
number of pictures depicting a situation. However, an optical
and electronic system is capable of storing an extremely large
number of pictures, which need not be cropped as severely as
“print published” pictures. So, the user has a greater opportunity
to utilize picture information as a “resource,” “information
bank,” and retrieve information that is relevant and of interest
on any given occasion.
Multiple options
For economic reasons, a book cannot usually contain multiple
versions of a picture cropped in different ways. The sender’s per-
ception of what is important is the deciding factor in the choice
of the picture selected for publication. With use of a “total teach-
ing aid” the user of the system, the learner, can decide what is
important to her or to him.

Databases offer new options for handling pictures. Now pic-

tures get new dimensions and several new opportunities.

75
 Images that are stored in a “total teaching aid” are much
“larger” than the image displayed on the screen. At the begin-
ning, only the central part is displayed. The entire picture can be
viewed by scrolling the screen image up, down or to any side.
Horizontal and vertical rulers with cursors outline the position of
each displayed image window. Here, electronic media are com-
pletely superior to all traditional media.
The stored image can be scaled and shrunk to a fraction of
its normal size so the entire image fits on the terminal screen. We
can zoom in on any detail displayed on the screen by enlarging
that part of the image, thereby changing the scale. The result is
like viewing part of the picture through a magnifying glass. If suf-
ficient computer and storage capacity is available, step-less en-
largement or fixed, multiple degrees of magnification could be
allowed. Image magnification or shrinkage does not change im-
age contents but it can have a major impact on image perception.
Possibilities for enlargement are available in several com-
puter systems, with better and better performances. Modern,
computer-based systems for processing graphical images offer
wide-ranging opportunities for simple editing and manipulation
of image contents. In addition to changing scale the user can
change projection, crop or expand, reduce, delete, modify, move,
turn, supplement, isolate or combine various image elements.
Pictures can be stored as object-oriented descriptions, in bit-
mapped form or as a combination of it. Image processing with
computers offers incredible opportunities. However, copyright
laws and ethical rules make free use of these opportunities im-
possible. Manipulation or counterfeiting of image contents is
condemned. In commercial situations, the contents of a picture
may not be changed without the expressed consent of the pic-
ture's copyright holder.
What happened before and after the displayed picture? Pic-
ture sequences depicting various events can be stored instead of
individual pictures. Animation, with the option of freezing each
component image, could be used. By the use of advanced compu-
76
terized image-compression it is also being possible to show live
sequences. Among traditional media this technique is used with
great success in comic strips. Comics are usually examples of
presentations where text and pictures are highly integrated. By
depicting what happens to a scene over time comics can help chil-
dren understand concepts (Hughes, 1998). Producers of teaching
aids and producers of encyclopaedias may learn a lot from the
creation of comic strips.
Experiences from the use of overhead transparencies may be
used to guide production of several overlays. Pointing at different
image elements opens one or more windows to other databases
with information on picture contents. This information may
comprise explanatory text or additional pictures.
Pointing at a word in the text opens new windows containing
even more detailed information etc. Sound can be used in some
contexts. For example, in an “electronic dictionary” spoken
words are displayed on the screen. Thus, learning is enhanced.
Music and sound effects can also be used.
Use of the windowing technique and electronic “clippings”
makes it easy to combine images and text or parts of texts in the
creation of new documents. The displayed picture is a basic pic-
ture. It can be stored with several different overlays containing
supplementary information in the form of various symbols, such
as terms in different languages. This gives us an opportunity to
adapt and structure information by rising above the picture
plane. The user can also descend below the picture plane.
Focus on the learner
Based on cognitive theories for learning, focusing on the learner
and the learning problem rather than on the technology as such
we saw the computer as an aid for learning. In the PRINCESS-
Project, at the University of Stockholm (Kollerbaur, 1983), we
concluded that: 1) The learner should be active and creative. 2)
The interactive system should be used to solve problems and im-
prove learning. 3) Programs should provide access to the special

77
qualities of the computer as a means for handling and presenting
information. 4) The system should only be used when existing
methods and other aids are insufficient. 5) Users (teachers and
students) should be able to influence the systems, which conse-
quently have to be flexible. 6) The systems should be easy to learn
and use.
A “total encyclopaedia” and a “total teaching aid” employ
some of the best qualities of the existing media. Further-more,
new qualities are added. We can attain an expanded time dimen-
sion by “before-now-after” picture storage. We can expand to a
movement dimension by the use of animation. Not cropping too
severely and retaining elements around the main subject attain a
context dimension. A picture manipulation dimension occurs
when we enlarge, shrink, change projection, crop or expand, de-
lete, change, move, turn, supplement, isolate or combine differ-
ent image elements in new ways. Departure from the picture
plane and utilization of overlays provide us with a supplementa-
tion dimension. We can attain a depth-enhancement dimension
by employing windows opening on other databases.

78
 Visual language
A general principle of human communication is that the likeli-
hood of successful communication increases when a concrete ref-
erence is present. In the absence of the actual thing, the next best
reference is a visual representation of that thing. An image or a
picture is sometimes a more pertinent reference for meaning
than the spoken or written word.
Visual languages attempt equivalence with reality. Visuals
are iconic and normally resemble the thing they represent. It may
take only a few seconds to recognize the content in an image.
Meaning is apparent on a basic level, but the visual language
must be learned for true comprehension. We can look at, and
study visual languages from different perspectives, such as de-
sign, qualities, structure, and traditions.
This chapter includes the following main sections: Old tra-
ditions, Structure of visual language, Qualities of visual lan-
guage, Image design, and New literacies.

Old traditions
The concept of reading signs and symbols is prehistoric. There
are many aspects of visual communication and visual literacy,
and there are many aspects of the use of images for various pur-
poses. This main section includes the following sections: Histor-
ical view, The term, and Cultural differences.

Historical view
Since the beginning of mankind, we have used body languages
and different kinds of signs for communication. The use of visual
information pre-dates the development of all alphabets, and all
communication systems that are based on words (Grabe, 2020).
The human brain has developed for a very long time to process
visual information very efficiently and fast (Barry, 2005). In
comparison processing of verbal/written information is very
slow. Visual information effectively evokes emotional responses
79
that guide human behaviour toward the message prior to a con-
scious processing of written content.
Body paintings
Most likely humans have “always” used visual messages to com-
municate. Body paintings, scarification and tattoos still occur in
traditional tribal cultures all over the world. Throughout the
ages, people have often adorned themselves with various visual
decorations. Obviously, most pictures on human bodies have not
been preserved. However, there are actually some archaeological
materials showing that humans have created dots, lines and ab-
stract geometric designs some thousand years ago.
In September 1991 a well-preserved natural mummy was
found in the Ötz valley on the border between Austria and Italy
in the Alps. The Iceman Ötzi had lived about 5,200 years ago. So
far this is the oldest natural human mummy in Europe. Ötzi has
57 carbon tattoos consisting of parallel and vertical lines on his
back, a small cross behind one knee, and dots and lines around
both ankles. These signs may have shown his tribal affiliation or
his social position (Palmer, Bahn, and Tyldeslv, 2006, 32f). The
tattoos may also have been related to pain relief treatments.
Cave paintings
Prehistoric Man created murals and rock inscriptions with myth-
ological meanings. The recordable history of visual communica-
tion goes back all the way to engraved pieces of ochre, with ab-
stract geometric designs. Such items were created somewhere
between 100,000 and 70,000 years ago in the Blombos Cave on
the Southern Cape coastline in South Africa (Henshilwood, d'Er-
rico, and Watts, 2009). These designs may be regarded as the
oldest known human “artwork.”
Prehistoric rock art is art produced on rock surfaces by early
non-literate individuals. Rock art is found in Europe and in many
other parts of the world. Rock art includes images that are
carved, engraved, or painted on the walls of rock shelters, on the
walls in caves, and on open-air rocks. In some parts of the world
80
images were also painted or engraved on bone, eggshell, ivory,
leather, portable pieces of rock and on wood. Human and animal
figures were also modelled and sculptured from bone, clay, ivory,
and stone.
The best-known examples of prehistoric rock art in Europe
are the Palaeolithic cave paintings of Altamira, Lascaux, and
other sites in southern France and northern Spain. The images
have been widely reproduced and are now familiar to the general
public. Common motifs are buffalo, deer, horses, reindeer and
other animals.
The prehistoric cave paintings illustrated early man’s obser-
vations of the world (Heller and Chwast, 2008). Traditionally, all
cave painting has been attributed to modern humans. However,
according to Hoffmann et al. (2018), new uranium-thorium da-
ting results on carbonate crusts overlying paintings in three caves
in Spain show that cave art in Iberia is older than 64,000 years.
Thus, this cave art predates the arrival of modern humans in Eu-
rope by at least 20,000 years, which implies Neanderthal author-
ship of these paintings.
It is possible that rock art was meant to increase the hunting
success and the fertility in the tribe. Rock images lack visual
codes for perspective and they have no horizon. Sometimes the
actual rock or the walls in a cave constitute a perspective. The
prehistoric artists used black, brown, red and yellow pigments
from dirt and soil, from ashes, calcium oxide and charcoal. They
used animal fat, blood and urine as adhesive for the paints.
Rock engravings
In everyday life, people probably made drawings on the ground
to show the location of game. Simplified images ultimately
evolved into characters, letters, and numerals. Pictures helped
Man communicate long before we had written languages for our
messages. Today, our children draw and paint long before they
learn to read and write.

81
This picture shows some 2,600 years old rock engravings in the
province of Bohuslän in Sweden. Rock engravings were usually
painted in red.
Many terms are used for discussions about prehistoric rock
art in the published literature, such as: petroglyphs, rock carv-
ings, rock drawings, rock engravings, rock images, rock inscrip-
tions, rock paintings, rock pictures, rock records and rock sculp-
tures. Rock carvings and pictographs are still being found in new
areas around the world. Archaeologists studying these artworks
often believe that they likely often had some kind of magical-re-
ligious significance.
Fee and Fee (2012b) argued that “visual archaeology” is a
method to understand the past through the analysis and inter-
pretations of visual images. They see visual images as cultural ar-
tefacts (p. 36): “Working with images rather than pottery, skele-
tal remains, or architectural features requires only a slight ex-
pansion on one's understanding of what constitutes an artefact.
And, it is the concept of artefact that makes the process archaeo-
logical.”

82
Greek and Roman orators
Educational and instructional use of images has a long history.
The description of visual communication goes back 2,500 years.
Greek and Roman orators aided their learning and recall of
speeches by linking them to visual images: Every paragraph was
tied to the image of a statue in a garden or to rooms of a familiar
house (method of loci). In anatomy and medicine, Aristotle em-
ployed anatomical illustrations. Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato
used visual images to teach a variety of subjects such as geometry
and mathematics.
Aristotle understood that certain elements of visual gram-
mar are necessary to visual appeal and composition (Leahy,
1991). Arnheim (1969a, 1969b; 1986) and Dondis (1973) dis-
cussed aspects of visual grammar as vital factors for effective vis-
ual appeal and composition.

Pictures and words

During the Middle Ages, illustrations were utilized to accompany
different texts. Medieval cathedrals had great magnificence and
splendor. They have been called “theological encyclopedias,” be-
cause they presented church teachings in pictorial form for the
many people who could not read. Already at the beginning of the
7th century pope Gregorius the Great (about 540–604) had
stated: “What writing is to the reader, pictures are to those who
cannot read.” Pictures are used in churches so that those who
cannot read at least can look at the walls and understand what
they cannot read in the books (Piltz, 2007, p. 128; Sandquist
Öberg, 2007, p.171).
In many medieval churches, pictures cover the interior walls,
partitions and also ceilings. These pictures may be large and
magnificent paintings in al fresco as in the large Basilica of San
Francesco d'Assisi in Italy. We can see churches with their walls
and vaults and their sermons as a medium to convey biblical
messages from a sender to a number of receivers. The most

83
famous and prominent of all late medieval church decorators and
painters in Sweden was Albertus Pictor (c 1440–1509).
The Gutenberg Bible (1452–1454) made pictures and words
irretrievably separated from each other for hundreds of years.
Development of the offset and other printing methods during the
1900s laid the foundation for a real change. The previous tech-
nical barriers were eliminated with the help of computer-aided
production of graphical products. In today’s visual world, visual
thinking skills transcend many of the traditional barriers be-
tween disciplines.
The dominance of the written word established during the
Enlightenment ruled for centuries. It was first challenged by the
invention of photography in the 19th century. Twenty-first cen-
tury research is literally turning verbal dominance upside down
by documenting the power of visual cognition in driving the pro-
cesses human beings have long used to understand the world
they evolved in, including the mediated world they have created
(Grabe, 2020, p. 63).
Williams (2014, p. 29) noted that it is very difficult to make
someone really look at art. Students spend hours reading cultural
theory or philosophy to explain an artwork, but they won’t spend
a minute just looking at it. Like most people they have no training
in reading visual information, but we can all read words.
The French inventor Nicéphore Niépce (1765–1833) made
the first photograph in 1825. The English photographer Ea-
dweard Muybridge (1830–1904) made the first projected film,
after 1877 and before 1880. About 1925 the Scottish engineer and
inventor John Logie Baird (1888–1946) produced some of the
first successful television images.
From the beginning of the 20th century a movement for a
more equal distribution of power between images and words had
started to emerge. Advertising/visual propaganda established it-
self as a medium of paramount importance.
McMaster (2015, p. 5) noted: “Our world is increasingly im-
age based and penetrates almost all aspects of contemporary life;
84
brought to us by a myriad of media and technological devices
which are not bound by the constraints of physical space and do
not meld easily within the ideals of traditional literacy para-
digms.” Now people “drown” in a flood of general “pictorial
noise,” a kind of mental pollution of our environment. Visual rep-
resentations are present in many manifestations of modern soci-
eties to such an extent that Zagkotas, Fykaris, and Nikolaou
(2017) characterized the modern civilization as “Civilization of
the Images.” Images play a dominant role in our daily activities,
especially in the lives of young people.
Further see my book Predecessors and Pioneers.

The term
The Irish Bishop and philosopher George Berkeley (1685 – 1753)
was probably first to publish the term “Visual language.” In 1709,
he had published An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision.
Here he discussed the limitations of human vision. The objects
of sight are not material objects, but only light and colour. The
distance that separates a perceiver from a perceived object is in-
visible. For Berkeley space was an expectation that tactile and
visual sensations will follow one another in regular sequences
that we come to expect through habit.
In 1733 Berkeley published his book The Theory of Vision,
or Visual Language, shewing the immediate presence and prov-
idence of a Deity, vindicated and explained. According to Berke-
ley visual consciousness is a system of signs symbolizing an ac-
tual, or a possible, set of tactual experiences. Bishop Berkeley
contrasted visual language with spoken and written languages
(Mitchell, 1986). In his view visual language was more universal
in nature than verbal languages.
However, the term “Visual Language” was not widely used
until the book The Myth of Metaphor, by C. M. Turbayne was
published in 1962 (Fransecky and Debes, 1972).

85
Cultural differences
Visual languages differ just as spoken and written languages do.
The codes in visual language differ in various cultures as well as
in many sub-cultures. Like spoken and written languages visual
languages have “grammars.” In verbal languages, syntax is the
study of the rules for combining words into grammatical phrases,
clauses, sentences and paragraphs. In visual languages syntax
depends upon the spatial arrangements of the visual elements on
a page (Horn, 1998, p. 75). Our ideas about good arrangements
depend on how our perceptual system works. Our ideas about
good arrangements depend on how our perceptual system works.
Many ideas are best expressed by visual language, and others can
only be expressed by visual language (Horn, 1999, p. 28).
Moore and Dwyer (1994) remarked that visuals might be the
main source for communication, and for information in many
cases today. Griffin et al. (1996) found that “cultural differences”
was the predominant variable when they measured understand-
ding of symbols. An international symbol system based on intui-
tive interpretation of symbol meanings may not be possible until
the world shares a common culture. Visuals are cultural products
shared by individuals (Griffin, Pettersson, and Johnson 1995;
Moriarty and Rohe, 1992). As such they are understood within
individual people’s frames of references (Kovalik, 2005; Singer,
2010). It is always important to select pictures with great care.
To a limited extent, some factors involved in the grammar
and syntax of visual languages are known. Most of this linguistic
work still remains to be done. One obvious problem is the lack of
simple and general systems for classifying visual messages.

86
Structure of visual language
Spoken and written languages, like text and music, are linear. We
must listen to, or read a written language in a particular se-
quence. However, visual language is two-, three-, or four-dimen-
sional and can be “read” by letting the eye scan a picture or sculp-
ture in many different ways. Time is an important dimension, not
only in film and TV, but also in still pictures. Structure variables
in visual language are related to Content, Execution, Context, and
Format. They will all influence each other, and they will also in-
fluence our perception.

This three-dimensional model illustrated my ideas about cate-

gories of variables in visual language. A version of the model
was on the cover of my book Visual Information, published in
July 1993. In my view variables in visual language are still re-
lated to 1) Content, 2) Execution, 3) Context, and 4) Format.
These four categories will all influence each other, and also our
5) Perception.
The structure of visual language is formed by different image
variables that jointly influence our interpretation of images. Im-
age variables can be subdivided into four main categories. All
variables in visual language will influence our perception.
This main section includes the following sections: Content,
Execution, Context, Format, and Perception.
87
Content
Variables related to image content are amount of detail, degree
of realism, objects, time, place, space, and events such as action,
humour, drama, violence, etc., time displacement, parallel ac-
tion, metaphoric descriptions (symbolic actions), the relevance
and credibility of the contents, comparisons and statistics, mo-
tion, sounds such as speech, music, sound effects, and emotions.
Some of these variables apply to moving pictures in films or TV.
Some apply to stills in printed media like books and newspapers.
Others apply to both stills and moving pictures. The contents of
pictures can evoke highly positive or highly negative responses in
viewers, especially in children. Visual language can affect our at-
titudes and emotions more easily than speech and text.

Execution
Variables related to an image’s graphic execution, form, or art
style might consist of image factors and image components. They
are composed of non-significant image elements, such as dots,
lines, and areas in different combinations. Examples of image
factors and image components are image type, i.e., whether im-
ages are drawings, paintings, photos, computer-generated visu-
als, etc., brightness, light, shape (external shape, external con-
tour), size (image, subject, depth), colour (hue, value, satura-
tion), contrast, emphasis, composition (organization, centres of
interest, balance), perspective (depth, depth-of-field, image an-
gle, image height), technical quality, symbols, signs and code sig-
nals in the image, pace, speed change (slow, fast), editing, zooms
in and out, panning, visual complexity, and visual effects.

Context
A picture has both an internal and an external context. I regard
factors inside the medium as internal context or inner context. In
books internal context is the interplay between text and illustra-
tions, the interplay between illustrations and layout. Movies and
TV programs have sound with speech, music, and sound effects
88
plus visual and audio metaphors. Some computer programs con-
tain advanced animations with interaction between text, images,
and even sound. I regard the entire communications situation,
i.e., senders and their intentions for the picture and receivers and
their circumstances (e.g., time available), as external context.

Format
The choice of format is of major importance to our perception of
image contents. Our perception of a picture (such as a photo-
graph) changes when we view it as a print on paper, a transpar-
ency projected on a white screen, an image in a computer screen,
etc. If you watch a film on TV, cable TV, or VCR at home alone,
your perception of the film is very different from your response
when you watch the same film on a wide screen with hi-fi sound
in a cinema full of people. In analogical technical systems, letters
and numerals are represented by defined “type” (a, b, c,). Pic-
tures consist of lines and halftone dots. In digital systems, image
elements are mathematically defined either as intersections of
coordinates and vectors providing direction or as “pixels,” i.e.,
small rectangular image components.
As an example of the interplay between different variables,
let us consider an ordinary deck of cards. It consists in fact of 52
(or 54) different visuals. Regardless of the suit, cards with small
values, such as one to six, are usually “very easy to read.” It only
takes one or a few glances for a card player to know which one of
the 52 cards he or she has been dealt. Cards with values from
seven to 13 contain more information and can be classified as
“easy to read.” However, pictures of jacks, queens, and kings are
sometimes harder to read and distinguish from one another, de-
pending on their design and execution complexity. Cards of the
same numeric value, e.g., four, differ in their execution with re-
spect to the symbols for the four suits. They differ in content. Dif-
ferent decks of cards can differ in design and execution. Thus,
e.g., the king of spades looks different in different decks, but the
king always represents the same content. A card seen together
89
with other cards is seen in different contexts. The value of one
card (or of any other visual) is different, then, for the player (or
for the user) in different contexts.

Perception
The concept perception is a collective designation for many com-
plex processes in which an organism obtains data about the out-
side world. Perception is always organized. The contemporary
view of perception maintains that perceptual theory requires an
understanding of our environment as well as of the perceiver
(Kubovy, Epstein, and Gepshtein, 2013).
Further see the next chapter ”Visual perception” and my
book Cognition.

Qualities of visual language

As in the case of verbal language, visual grammar, syntax, and
vocabulary have been ascribed also to visual language. So far,
some functions have been identified. Visual languages have ana-
logue coding employing combinations of basic graphic elements
(dots, lines, areas, and volumes). A given set of basic elements
can be combined to form completely different images. Like a
printed text, a mathematical equation, or a musical score, a vis-
ual image is its own language (Abilock, 2008).
Avgerinou and Pettersson (2011) discussed visual language
from a language quality perspective, and concluded: 1) Visual
language exists, 2) Visual language is holistic, 3) Visual language
must be learned, 4) Visual language may improve learning, 5)
Visual language is not universal, and 6) Visual language may
need verbal support.

90
 Visual Language, ViL, and its constituent parts.
We all need to be visually literate. Avgerinou and Pettersson
(2020, p. 443) concluded that for a visually literate student, vis-
ual literacy objectives may be:
• To be able to read visuals made for intentional communica-
tion;
• To be able to plan for visuals and their use in intentional com-
munication;
• To be able to create visuals for intentional communication;
and
• To be able to combine visuals with verbal information for in-
tentional communication.”
Being visually literate requires processing visual and verbal in-
formation together, then integrating them into a coherent whole
(Pettersson, 2007; Williams, 2019).
This main section includes the following sections: Visual
language exists, Visual language is holistic, Visual language
must be learned, Visual language may improve learning, Visual
language is not universal, Visual language often needs verbal

91
support, Objectified images, Combined verbal and visual lan-
guage, and Visual complexity.

Visual language exists

Different languages differ in their ability to express concepts with
flexibility and precision. Chemistry and mathematics, for exam-
ple, employ non-ambiguous symbol and equation languages with
exact meanings. Normal prose is often open to multiple interpre-
tations. In other words, it is ambiguous. Pictures are often am-
biguous too. In contrast to spoken and written languages, pic-
tures have no general and distinguishing elements that are not
bearers of information. Visual languages attempt equivalence
with reality. Visuals are iconic and often resemble the thing they
represent.
The concept “visual literacy” is grounded on the assertion
that visual language or visual languages exist. This assertion has
been agreed upon by several researchers (Avgerinou, 2001a,
2001b, 2009; Avgerinou and Pettersson, 2011; Barry, 1994;
Barthes, 1977; Braden, 1994; Dondis, 1973; Dwyer, 1972; Moore
and Dwyer, 1994; Pettersson, 1989, 1993; Seels, 1994; Sewell,
1994).
In visual language, meaning is apparent on a basic level.
However, visual language is a complex code that must be learned
for true comprehension. Each receiver will place available infor-
mation in an expanded, a wider, “personal” context. Receivers
are apparently capable of sensing far more information than is
explicitly displayed in a given picture or text. Subjects often ex-
press opinions about circumfluous events in their own drawings.
They also tend to feel that their particular interpretations are the
correct ones.
According to Wigan (2009, p. 256) “Illustrators convey ideas
and messages and solve problems through distinct and personal
visual languages. The emotions, feelings and behaviour of the
viewer are manipulated through numerous creative possibilities

92
and the use of symbolism, exaggeration, visual metaphors, simi-
les and juxtapositions.”
For a visually literate student, visual literacy objectives may
be: 1) To be able to read visuals made for intentional communi-
cation. 2) To be able to plan visuals for intentional communica-
tion. 3) To be able to create visuals for intentional communica-
tion. 4) To be able to combine visuals and verbal information for
intentional communication.
The visual language of information design is rhetorically and
socially constructed. Like other forms of visual languages, it is
shaped by conventional codes that derive from aesthetic, cul-
tural, disciplinary, historical, and social conditions. Kostelnick
(2017) concluded that visual conventions pervade information
design, providing a reliable framework for designing, interpret-
ing, and analysing practical communications.

Visual language is holistic

Normal prose is often open to multiple interpretations. It is am-
biguous. In technical descriptions, the language of specialists
must be as unambiguous as possible. Only people with the ap-
propriate specialized knowledge may understand these lan-
guages. Chemistry, mathematics, and physics employ special
non-ambiguous symbol and equation languages. These special
languages can be used in all countries regardless of their verbal
languages.
Like normal prose also pictures are often ambiguous too.
Visual languages attempt equivalence with reality. Visuals are
iconic and they often resemble the thing they represent. Images
speak directly to us in the same way experience speaks to us, that
is, emotionally and holistically (Barry, 1998). In visual languages
content is more important than execution, context, and format
(Pettersson, 1989). Most people believe that pictures tell the
truth (Lefferts, 1982). However, few realize that what they think
they see in pictures depends on what they expect to see in them

93
(Berthoz, 2010), and are expected to learn from them (Singer,
2010).
Because children developmentally cannot or do not pay at-
tention to factual information in advertising – but rather to pe-
ripheral cues such as colour and imagery – they tend to process
advertising not through logical assessment, but through their
emotions (Barry, 1998). Persuasion tends to be accomplished in
both children and adolescents almost exclusively through im-
agery. In many cases visuals may be the main source for infor-
mation and communication today (Moore and Dwyer, 1994).
There is no unambiguous verbal or visual language. In a
closed, homogeneous cultural group, “ordinary” pictures and
texts probably give rise to similar interpretations and percep-
tions of a content, event, or message

Visual language must be learned

Visual literacy is a cognitive ability but also draws on the affective
domain. Visual literacy involves cognitive functions such as crit-
ical viewing and thinking, imaging, visualizing, inferring as well
as constructing meaning; but also communicating as well as
evoking feelings and attitudes (Avgerinou, 2001).
In the literature on visual literacy the three terms visual lit-
eracy abilities, visual literacy competencies, and visual literacy
skills have often been used more or less interchangeably. Avgeri-
nou and Pettersson (2011) used the following explanations. Vis-
ual literacy abilities include (a) to read/decode/interpret visual
statements, (b) to write/encode/create visual statements, and (c)
to think visually. We have to learn how to read visuals.
Visual literacy competencies include reading, planning and
creating visuals, and combining visuals and verbal information
for intentional communication. Visual literacy skills range from
the ability to distinguish light from dark to the ability to read and
express a sequence of body language arranged to express a per-
sonal emotion. Visual literacy skills are capable of development
and improvement, and they are learnable and teachable.
94
Visual language may improve learning
Visual messages are preferred over verbal messages when con-
tent is emotional, holistic, immediate, spatial and visual. When
illustrations provide text-redundant information, learning infor-
mation in the text that is also shown in pictures will be facilitated
(Levie and Lentz, 1982). All types of visuals are not equally effec-
tive. Line drawings are most effective in formats where the
learner’s study time is limited. More realistic versions of artwork,
however, may be more effective in formats where unlimited
study time is allowed (Dwyer, 1972; Fleming and Levie, 1978;
Soulier, 1988). The same visuals are not equally effective for re-
ceivers with different prior knowledge (Dwyer, 1972).
Too many details and too much complexity give rise to dis-
tracting interference and reduce the interest for the content and
the impact of the important part of the content of the visual (Pet-
tersson, 1993). Colour coding and cuing increase learning
(Dwyer, 1972, 1978; Hannafin and Peck, 1988).
Visual messages are superior to verbal messages when con-
tent is emotional, holistic, immediate, spatial and visual (Boeren,
1994; Brouwer, 1995; Hugo, 1996; Zimmermann and Perkin,
1982). Meaning is immediately apparent on a basic level, but the
visual language must be learned for true comprehension (Barry,
1998; Pettersson, 1993).
Learners are most able to build connections between verbal
and visual representations when text and illustrations are ac-
tively held in memory at the same time. This can happen when
text and illustrations are presented in close connection on the
same page in a book (contiguity principle), or when learners have
sufficient experience to generate their own mental images as they
read the text (Mayer, 2002; Mayer et al., 1995).
As previously noted it should, however, be remembered that
pictures might have a negative effect on learning. At some point
illustrations move from being engaging motivators to engaging
distracters (Evans, Watson, and Willows, 1987). When too many
pictures are used, readers may ignore many of them. This is the
95
opposite of attention. Massoumian (1989) noted, “haphazard use
of visuals may lead to minimal or no instructional gain and grad-
ual loss of effectiveness as an instructional tool” (p. 19). Cognitive
and decorative functions should never be confused or mixed
(Pettersson, 1989, 1993).

Visual language is not universal

Images and pictures are cultural products shared by individuals
(Moriarty and Rohe, 1992). As such, they are understood within
individual people’s frames of reference (Singer, 2010). Language
and cultural differences may impact the effectiveness of visuals
(Kovalik, 2005). However, we have to adopt and design verbal as
well as visual messages to suit the learning needs of each group
of receivers. If pictures are not adequately discussed and ex-
plained, they will probably not be properly understood (Zimmer-
mann and Perkin, 1982).
In global networking, the human-computer interface is the
crucial communication link between the author and the user. In
website design it is important to recognize cultural differences
and understand how the design of the computer interface can re-
flect the culture of a particular audience (Search, 2006).
Griffin et al. (1994) found that cultural differences was the
predominant variable when symbol understanding was measu-
red. An international symbol system based on intuitive interpre-
tation of symbol meanings may not be possible until the world
shares a common culture.
Visual language is not automatically easy to understand, and
it is not universal. Pictures are not self-explanatory. In fact, vis-
ual language often needs to have verbal support. Visual messages
as well as verbal messages must be adopted to suit each group of
receivers.
The receiver’s evaluation of the message will affect the re-
ceiver’s evaluation of the source (Bettinghaus and Cody, 1987;
Fleming and Levie, 1978). Photographs and bright warm colours
confer credibility to an organization (Kensicki, 2003). It is better
96
not to have any pictures than use pictures with poor quality (Pet-
tersson, 1989).

Visual language often needs verbal support

The main focus in visual literacy is “intentional communication,”
often in an instructional context. The pragmatic value of visual
literacy for education has been strongly manifested (Avgerinou,
2003). For many years, visual literacy has been systematically di-
rected towards education. Indeed, over the years, determined ef-
forts have been made so as to put visual literacy into practice de-
spite the undeniable difficulty that a missing comprehensive vis-
ual literacy definition and theory have created for educators.
Texts and pictures represent different languages that comple-
ment each other when they are used at the same time. Both text
and images can be designed, presented, perceived and also inter-
preted in different ways. Our possibilities for using typography
and layout, and for combining texts and pictures are virtually un-
limited. There are always several opportunities to convey a mes-
sage.
Most pictures are capable of several interpretations until an-
chored to one by a caption (Barthes, 1977). Pictures that will be
used for information purposes should always be supplied with
legends (Pettersson 1989, 1993; McDougall, 1990; Winn, 1993).
This is the only way to assure that information conveyed by these
pictures is clear and unambiguous.
Even simple pictures need plain legends for the contents and
presentation to be conveyable in verbal form. Legends should be
written with great care. They heavily influence our interpretation
of image content. To a large degree, readers see what they are
told to see in an image. To get maximum impact from a visual,
the writer or the presenter should introduce the visuals before
presenting it. We create a “pre-understanding” of how a picture
may be interpreted, based on the context in which the picture is
shown.

97
 The goals of any communication are to eliminate or mini-
mize the influence of interference and thus maximize effective
communication (Bertoline, Burton and Wiley, 1992). Presenta-
tion interference, such as inconsistent use of colours, graphics,
or typography, will reduce learning (Bradshaw, 1996, 2003). The
ability for visual communication is becoming more and more im-
portant as an increasing number of decisions in society are being
made on the basis of pictorial representations (Nielsen, 2004).

Objectified images
According to de Lange (2014) misleading “slimming adver-
tisements” are a prominent visual feature in South African
magazines for young women. These commercial messages are
particularly pervasive in magazines that focus on beauty, fit-
ness, and health. An analysis of official rulings with regard to
slimming advertisements (from June 2012 to June 2014) re-
vealed that the lack of substantiation was one of the main rea-
sons why the Advertising Standards Authority of South Af-
rica had issued adverse rulings against advertisers of slim-
ming products.
Then marketers and advertisers avoided obvious misleading
verbal claim-based messages in favour of a new design identity
with a competitive self-objectification. The new design identity
features the objectified as the primary graphic element. It makes
fewer verbal claims in the text that are contestable. According to
de Lange (2014): reading these objectified images through the
female gaze, as well as from a positivist paradigm, predicts two
contrasting and opposing outcomes.
An “objectified image” is the portrayal of a person where the
emphasis is not on the person’s own abilities, intelligence, or
opinions, but rather on depicting this person as a “sexual object”.
Objectified imagery in magazines may cause some young female
viewers to develop a negative body esteem, form a negative brand
association, and reject the message. Some of the viewers may
succumb to the visual call for competitive self-objectification,
98
and then adopt this as a new norm, and accept the marketing
message. Such objectified imagery, without any measurable tex-
tual claims, will allow marketers to circumvent the Advertising
Standards Authority of South Africa’s Code on Slimming. Ac-
cording to de Lange (2014) this may enable marketers and ad-
vertisers to use these images as misleading visceral graphic ele-
ments.
Some of these text-restricted advertisements feature an ob-
jectified model as the main graphic element in the advertisement
in order to make an exaggerated (and thus unsubstantiated) vis-
ual claim as regards the product’s efficacy (de Lange, 2014, p. 14).
The focus of these objectifying advertisements is on body toning,
competition, fitness, sculpting, and weight control, rather than a
call for losing weight.
The predisposition of objectifying the female figure leads to
a number of harmful outcomes, such as lower self-esteem, nega-
tive body esteem, self-objectification, and an associated drive for
thinness, which in turn may give rise to eating disorders (de
Lange, 2014, p. 15).
From March 2013 to March 2014 de Lange (2014, p. 17)
made a visual examination of seventeen popular South African
women’s magazines. During this time one magazine, the Fitness
magazine, included a total of 303 advertisements. The total
number of slimming advertisements was 205 (68%). The total
number of advertisements, other than slimming, was 98 (32%).
Only 6 advertisements (2%) were based on text.

Combined verbal and visual language

Texts and pictures represent completely different languages that
complement each other when they are used at the same time.
Both text and images can be designed, presented, perceived and
interpreted in many different ways. The possibilities for using ty-
pography and layout, and for combining texts and pictures are
virtually unlimited. The interplay between text, picture, and
graphic form needs to be studied thoroughly before optimal
99
combinations can be found. There are always several opportuni-
ties to convey any message.
Readers often react in a positive way to “graphically complex
texts.” Texts with good typography will often be noticed. Dissat-
isfaction with the execution of a message may actually cause dis-
satisfaction with the actual content of the message. It is more
likely that graphically complex texts will be read than “plain”
texts. It also takes less time to read a graphically complex text
than a “plain” text.
Pictures that will be used for information purposes should
always be supplied with captions. This is the only way to assure
that information conveyed by these pictures is clear and unam-
biguous. Even simple pictures need plain captions for the con-
tents and presentation to be conveyable in verbal form. Captions
should be written with great care. They heavily influence our in-
terpretation of image content. To a large degree, readers see what
they are told to see in an image. To get maximum impact from a
visual, the writer or the presenter should introduce the visuals
before presenting it. We create a “pre-understanding” of how a
picture may be interpreted, based on the context in which the
picture is shown (Pettersson, 1989).
However, despite all efforts during the past decades visual
literacy has not been able to attract enough interest from society
and enough interest from those who are responsible for the
school curricula around the world. An important reason for this
may be a general lack of focus. In my view, we need to consider
combined verbal and visual representations, not only text and
not only visuals when we study communication. This is where
message design, and its different sub-areas, may play an im-
portant role for visual literacists.
In his discussion on “Presentation media for product inter-
action” Westendorp (2002, p. 48) noted that instructive ele-
ments in or near a drawing have evolved rapidly into a special
“instructive language.” Instructive elements: “are purely sym-
bolic: there are no physical hands, reference letters, numbers and
100
lines, arrows, crosses, dotted lines, exclamation marks, circles,
zoom-lines or greyed-out or coloured areas on the products.”
Apart from arrows, lines and pointing hands most instructive el-
ements were introduced after World War II.
Some instructive elements are “statements” comparable
with individual words (Pettersson, 2000; Westendorp and Van
der Vaarde, 2001) or even sentences. A good symbol is designed
so it can be used in many different situations and in many con-
texts (Pettersson, 2000). A good symbol is simple, clear, has op-
timal size, good contrast in form, dimension, and colour. There
are, however, cultural as well as individual differences in inter-
preting the meanings of symbols.
Graphical symbols may be intended to convey generalities of
the same order of abstractness as verbal terms. In some cases, we
can see graphical symbols as visual terms. Graphical symbols
may be used to create an overview, identify information, illus-
trate position, illustrate size relationships, navigate in databases,
provide a holistic perspective, recognize information, and repre-
sent an organization, a service, or a product. Graphical symbols
may supply information and supply instructions.
According to Kress (1993, p. 174) “no sign is innocent,”
therefore not a single writing is expected to be free from ideolo-
gies. Poole (2004) noted how articles in the National Geographic
Magazine are constituted of three elements: 1) Plain text, 2) Pho-
tographs, and 3) Captions. The plain text deliver the substance,
the photographs provide an emotional impact, and the captions
connect the plain text and the photographs.

101
Image design
Image design is a term for the development and execution of vis-
ual messages. It is a powerful form of communication because
visual messages stimulate both emotional and intellectual re-
sponses–they make us feel as well as think. Image design can be
changed a great deal without any major change in the perception
of image content. Generally speaking it is not possible to rank the
different types of visuals. Often the type of visual that should be
used must be determined in each case with a view to demands on
the picture and the prevailing budget framework.
Using a large number of visual examples Malamed (2009)
offers designers six principles for creating graphics and visual
language that people may actually understand. These principles
are called: 1) Organize for perception. 2) Direct the eyes. 3) Re-
duce realism. 4) Make the abstract concrete. 5) Clarify complex-
ity. 6) Charge it up.
This main section includes the following sections: Varying
levels of meaning, Basic elements in image design, Dots, Lines,
Areas, Volumes, Development of visual language abilities, and
Visual complexity.

Varying levels of meaning

Like written and spoken languages, visual language has varying
levels of meaning. In a picture, the basic elements form shapes
that form visual syntagms, or sub-meanings. These components
interact to form complete meanings in still pictures and in mov-
ing pictures
The basic elements are sometimes meaningful, sometimes
not. The number of ways in which the smallest image compo-
nents can be inter-combined is unlimited, and the importance of
certain combinations varies from one picture creator to another.
However, Cossette (1982) claimed that it is possible to build an
iconic “alphabet.” He identified six families of basic graphic sign
elements, which he called graphemes, e.g., “visual phonemes.”
Each of these graphemic elements is part of one of six continuum
102
families: 1) Colour, 2) Form, 3) Grain, 4) Orientation, 5) Tallness,
and value. (As early as 1967 Bertin had discussed the same vari-
ables.) Each grapheme signifies nothing in itself. A spot is noth-
ing but a spot. Together with other graphemes the spot may be
contextually enriched to a unit of iconic significance, an iconeme.
In a photograph of a man, one iconeme can be an arm, a leg, the
head, and so on. By analysis of an image, it is possible to identify
the iconemes that are important to the information content and
identify the key syntagm, the “meaning nucleus” of the visual.
Editing, eliminating, or adding certain iconemes can alter the ef-
fectiveness of an image.
In my view, the basic elements are not equivalent to the pho-
nemes in spoken and written languages. Visual signs do not re-
tain their meaning in the same way as verbal signs when rotated
and turned in different directions. Also, the actual placement on
the page, the layout, is important. The graphemes represent
qualities more than visual phonemes. Graphemes would instead
be dots, lines, and areas, since they all can vary more or less with
respect to colour, form, grain, orientation, tallness, and value.
Anyhow, they are all variables in the visual language. If there
were some kind of “visual phonemes,” it would be possible for
people to learn to draw and paint in about the same way they
learn to read the words in a text.
In accordance with Bertin (1967) and later Baudoiun and
Anker (1984), a graphic language used on maps consists of visual
variables. The most important variables are colour, density (or
greyness), directions, form (of symbols), granularity (or texture),
position and place, and size (of symbols). Each variable can be a
dot, a line, or an area. The way in which different variables are
combined has greater importance than how the variables are
comprehended. Using too many visual variables at the same time
makes map reading more difficult. When several variables are
used simultaneously the hierarchy of visibility is important. The
largest symbols are always perceived first. Here size is more im-
portant than colour and form.
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 In cartography Stigmar (2010, p. 15–16) used the term sym-
bol to describe the visual objects that constitute the map, usually
together with descriptive text elements or number labelling.
Mijksenaar and Westendorp (1999, p. 5) discussed instructional
design and they concluded that the “language of visual instruc-
tion” remains very primitive, with a limited number of signs and
a weakly developed grammar.

Basic elements in image design

The simplest components in a picture, i.e., its basic elements or
graphic elements, are dots, lines, and areas. Dots, lines, and ar-
eas can be varied and put together in many ways. Obviously, the
borders between graphic elements are not at all distinct, but ra-
ther blurred.
A dot is the smallest graphic element in visual language. A
line may be defined as a dot that is extended, at least to the length
of two dots, and usually into many more. An area may be defined
as a line that is broadened. Thus, the smallest line possible has
the length of two dots, and the smallest area possible has the size
of four dots.

In a pictorial presentation, a dot or a line may have widely var-

ying meanings. Execution influences the content. To illustrate
this, six copies were made of a simple drawing. Figure 1 was left
unchanged. The mouth was changed in figures 2–5 by the addi-
tion of small lines that completely altered our perception of the
contents in the illustrations. In Figure 6 a small line was added
to the hair, but this addition has no effect on our perception of
the content in the illustration (Pettersson, 1984).

104
 Three-dimensional visuals also have volumes. Dots, lines,
areas, and volumes all have various properties, and together they
build up the visuals. Changes of the basic elements will result in
different images, sometimes of great and sometimes of minor im-
portance. Simple image elements can be rotated, turned upside
down, and re-combined to form a series of completely different
but intelligible representations of real concepts.

A dot (1) may vary in size. A line (2) may be defined as a dot that
is extended, at least to the length of two dots, and usually into
many more. An area (3) may be defined as a line that is broad-
ened. Thus, the smallest line possible has the length of two dots,
and the smallest area possible has the size of four dots.
The simplest image components should be arrayed so that
the picture’s message is brought out as clearly as possible. This
can be combined with high demands on aesthetic quality. How-
ever, it is difficult to make any general recommendations on how
various drawing styles should be used. Fine details in the texture
of a drawing disappear in the dot screen structure of the printed
image. Even more detail is lost in a television image and usually
in an image on a computer screen. In order to save money, pic-
tures could be tailored to the technical limitations of the systems
that are used to make originals, masters, and print runs in the
respective medium and distribution channel.
Like a text, a picture can be produced in various styles. Illus-
trative or artistic pictorial style can be defined as the mode of ex-
pression employed by an artist in interpreting pictorial content.
Sloan (1971) discussed four pictorial artistic styles: photographic,
representational, expressionistic, and cartoon. Photographic
style was defined as a coloured photograph of the subject. Rep-
resentational style was defined as an artist’s rendition of the

105
subject that conforms to the subject in its true form. Expression-
istic style was defined as an artist’s rendition of the subject that
leans heavily towards abstraction. Cartoon style was defined as
an animated caricature of the subject. These four artistic styles
form a realistic to an abstract continuum.

Dots
A dot is the smallest graphic element in visual language. A dot
may vary in size. The dot is usually a meaningless, or a non-sig-
nificant image element, but it may also be a syntagm, such as an
eye in a cartoon-face. A dot may even have a complete meaning,
such as a ball in mid-air. It all depends on the context, and the
situation depicted. With respect to the technique and the differ-
ent types of visuals, dots can vary in colour, grain, position,
shape, size, as well as in value. Also, the context of dots will vary.
A dot can provide harmony or stress to a given composition.
When we look at a printed picture, a television image or an
image on a computer screen, our minds combine the dots by
blending and organizing the patterns into correct images. This
subconscious process is called visual fusion.
Mathematics
In mathematics, a point is a location, defined by the crossing of
two very thin lines. The mathematical point has no colour, no
grain, no shape, no size, and no value. However, for practical rea-
sons the mathematical point is often represented by a visible and
printed dot.
In work with digital images in computerized image pro-
cessing systems, graphic elements can be defined mathematically
as points and vectors, defined by Cartesian coordinates. Here we
can change the scale of an image without any loss of quality.
Pixels
In work with digital images in computerized image processing
systems, graphic elements can be defined in the form of pixels.
They are minute rectangular picture elements used in “building
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blocks.” These building blocks are defined by raster coordinates.
Dots, lines, areas, and symbols (such as letters) are composed of
several pixels.
Normally an individual pixel is insignificant from a visual
language point of view. A surprisingly large number of pixels can
be deleted from an image without any loss of perceived content.
An individual pixel may also be an important feature of a basic
graphic image element (a dot, a line, or an area) or of a simple
shape, thereby contributing to a visual sub-meaning, a syntagm.
We can add, delete, or shift information in an image without
drastically affecting perception of image contents. The pixels that
form borders or edges between different shapes are more im-
portant to picture perception than other pixels. Since the brain
fills in missing information and always strives to make the best
possible interpretation of a given stimulus, the deletion of even
some meaningful parts of a picture is also possible.
Graphic elements
In printing technology, graphic elements may be defined as type
for letters, and lines, and screen points for all kinds of pictures.
In the scanner a light beam “reads” all parts of the picture. This
information is converted to the raster-dots that are employed in
the printing of the picture. The photos we see in books and news-
papers are really collections of small printed dots. Further see my
book Image Design.

Examples of five “raster patterns” with increasing size of the in-

dividual printed raster dots (from less than 10% to more than
90% of black.)

107
Lines
A line may be defined as a dot that is extended, at least to the
length of two dots, and obviously usually into many more dots.
Thus, the smallest line possible has the length of two dots. A line
may vary with respect to its starting point, its brightness, colour,
context, curvature, direction, evenness, grain, length, orienta-
tion, positions of change, printing, shape, thickness, value, and
its terminus.

When the blue dots are close to one another they form a line.
An arrow or a finger pointing at something leads your eye
to it. Artists often use several kinds of lines in the same picture.
A light and thin line is like a “whisper.” A bold and heavy line is
like a “shout,” or a “yell.” Depending on its boldness, and loose-
ness a line may express a wide variety of emotions. A line can be
a border between two areas in a visual. The line can separate, and
it can group picture elements. The meaning of a single line will
vary a lot. A horizontal line can serve, e.g., as a horizon, a street,
or the surface of a sea.

A horizontal line can serve, e.g., as a horizon (left), a street (mid-

dle), or a sea (right).
Diagonal lines are unstable and attract the eye. They disrupt
harmony, give the impression of movement, creating visual
stress, and add a feeling of depth to a visual. Horizontal and ver-
tical lines, that are parallel to the borders of the picture, give the
impression of calm and stability. Horizontal lines are perceived

108
as being shorter than equally long vertical lines (Thurstone and
Carraher, 1966, p. 27). In accordance with Lanners (1973, p. 66)
horizontal lines seem shorter to us than vertical lines.

A line (A) seems to be long when we compare it with a shorter

line (B), but it seems short when we compare it with a longer
line (C). Perception is relative.

There is a tendency for curved lines and smooth shapes to

stand out more than straight lines and shapes made out of
straight lines. Lines that reach out from one point in different di-
rections may be perceived as aggressive or even violent. Straight
or curved lines tend to lead the eye along, and even beyond, the
line.
An important factor to consider in information design is: 1 +
1 = 3, or sometimes even more. Two bold and heavy lines that run
closely parallel to each other can easily be interpreted as three
lines, two lines in colour, with a white line between them.

Two lines may be seen as three lines; in this case we see two blue
lines and one white line between the two blue lines.
Tufte (1997, p. 73) suggested the design strategy of the small-
est effective difference: “Make all visual distinctions as subtle,
but still clear and effective.” For projection of visuals on screens
the corresponding gradation of line thicknesses is at least 1, 2,
and 3 points. However, in a large auditorium, with a great dis-
tance between the screen and the people at the far end of the
room we may have to use 2, 4, and 6 points, or even thicker lines.
In most situations, we should avoid too bold lines; we don’t need
to “shout” at the audience.

109
Areas
An area may be defined as a line that is broadened. Thus, the
smallest area possible has the size of four dots. An area can be
varied with respect to brightness, colour, colour combinations,
context, emptiness, grain, grey scale, shaded or non-shaded
parts, shape, size, texture, and value. Roundness is the most
common form in nature. When ink, water, or any other liquid
material is dropped on a surface, it assumes a rounded and nat-
ural form. The size of an individual area is always relative. It de-
pends on our knowledge of its surroundings (Pettersson, 1989).
In schematic pictures, we should avoid using more than five
colours, grey tones, or screen patterns in different areas in the
same picture. Appropriate scales might be: white–grey–black;
and white–light grey–grey–dark grey–black.
The size of an individual area is always relative. It depends
on our knowledge of its surroundings. The size of a single circle
means little to us. A hand gives the circle the size of a tennis ball.
Orange or yellow lines around the circle make it the gigantic size
of the sun.
When small children are scribbling they make dots, lines and
endless open circular movements (Kellog, 1959). Already three-
year old kids may draw solid circles, triangles and squares (Bere-
felt, 1977). Circles, rectangles and triangles are all simple and
basic geometric shapes.

Volumes
A volume has a three-dimensional form. The form may be actual
or simulated. In two-dimensional representations of three-di-
mensional objects, shadows are key cues for simulated volumes.
We structure the three-dimensional field into various depth
planes, or grounds, a foreground, a middle ground, and a back-
ground. Like lines and areas, volumes also have several basic
properties, such as architecture, balance, colour, context, con-
tour, direction, form, gravity, light, material, position, propor-
tions, size, structure, stability, surface, and weight.
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Development of visual language abilities
Visual language abilities develop prior to, and serve as the foun-
dation for, verbal language development (Moriarty, 1994; Reyn-
olds Myers, 1985). Development of visual language abilities is de-
pendent upon learner interaction with body language, images,
and objects (Reynolds Myers, 1985). There seem to be no major
difference between genders in interpretation of image contents
(Dwyer, 1972).
Comprehensive school students have a very poor pictorial
capability. They are poor at reading and understanding pictures.
They are also poor at expressing themselves with pictures (Back-
man, Berg, and Sigurdson 1988; Eklund, 1990).
Both students and teachers have to learn how to read, how
to create and how to use visuals (Pettersson, 1990). Comenius’
conclusion (Reynolds-Myers, 1985), that nonverbal communi-
cation between parent and child both precedes and forms the ba-
sis of later language acquisition and development, is still valid
(Moriarty, 1994; Sinatra, 1986). Moriarty (1994) noted that
“child development scholars would agree that visual communi-
cation skills are not secondary, derivative, impure or peripheral
and, in fact, develop earlier than verbal skills in children” (p. 15).
People who have not learned to read or write do not necessarily
look at pictures in the order intended. It often proves helpful, as
messages are being tested, to ask several groups of people to ar-
range the individual message into a sequence that seems most
logical to them (Zimmermann and Perkin, 1982).

Visual complexity
The term visual complexity refers to a property of images that
determines the level of cognitive load required for recipients to
process an advertisement (Phillips & McQuarrie, 2004).
Visual categories are ordered in terms of the cognitive de-
mands that they place on the intended audience. Generally
speaking, less complex images are easier to understand than
complex images.
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 Fusion is the blending or merging of elements. Straightfor-
ward images articulate literal meanings. Juxtaposition involves
a side by side arrangement of pictures. Replacement occurs when
one element appears in place of the other. Visual rhetorical fig-
ures describe artful deviations from expectation that are not re-
jected as nonsensical.

New literacies
Piaget (1963) maintained that the sources of thought are not to
be found in any verbal language but in the non-verbal, visual-
motor reconstruction performed by the very young child during
its first two years of life. Traditionally the concept of “literacy”
was restricted to the ability to read, write and use arithmetic.
The definition of traditional literacy has been changed and ex-
tended several times during the last decades. However, tradi-
tional literacy is not enough anymore. Nowadays authors write
about different literacies.
In 2004 UNESCO made clear that literacy is much broader
than the ability to read and write: “In acknowledging the fact that
literacy involves oral, written, visual and digital forms of expres-
sion and communication, literacy efforts conceived in terms of
the plural notion of literacy intend to take account of the ways in
which these different processes interrelate in a given social con-
text” (UNESCO Education Sector, 2004, p. 14).
Contemporary literacy has a multidimensional aspect (Rid-
dle, 2009, p. 4), in that information and knowledge come from
various sources and directions, among which visual imagery of-
ten plays an important role.
Several authors have seen a need for a broader definition and
proposed new categories of literacy. With reference to the basic
skills that underpin our school curricula and education it was
suggested that articulacy, graphicacy, (print) literacy and numer-
acy constitute four categories of literacy (Balchin and Coleman
1965, 1966). Our contemporary society is defined by visual cul-
ture hence, images are now the most dominant and influential
112
method of communication. Living in a visual culture “influences
enormously our attitudes, beliefs, values, and general life-style”
(Avgerinou, 2009, p. 28).
In my book Text Design, I have divided the main section
New literacies in five sections: Musicacy, Numeracy, Visuacy,
Electracy/mediacy, and Area specific literacies. The table on the
next page is an attempt to present a structure over these litera-
cies.

113
An attempt to present a structure of new literacies.

Musicacy Area specific literacies

Advertising literacies
Numeracy Aesthetic literacy
Economic literacy Promotional literacy
Financial literacy Rhetorical literacy
Statistical literacy Communication literacy
Visuacy Agricultural literacy
21st century literacy Content area literacy
Data visualisation literacy Diaspora literacy
Diagrammatic literacy Disciplinary literacy
Digital visual literacy Nonfiction literacy
Graphic literacy Scientific literacy
Graphicacy Software literacy
Graphical literacy Technological literacy
Visual information literacy Cultural literacies
Visual-numeric literacy Cultural visual literacy
Typographic literacy Image literacy
Visual literacy Cultural image literacy
Critical visual literacy Political literacy
Social literacy
Electracy/mediacy Ecological literacy
Computer literacy Environmental literacy
Digital literacy Nominal literacy
Hypertext literacy Functional literacy
Multicultural literacy Operational literacy
Multiliteracy Health literacy
Functional literacy Mental health literacy
Critical literacy Information literacy
Rhetorical literacy Meta-literacy
Multimedia literacy Critical information literacy
Multimodal literacy Media literacy
Media literacy Media and Inform. Literacy
Multi-semiotic experience Television literacy
Transliteracy

Some authors have used the terms Critical information literacy,

and Functional literacy for different concepts.

114
 Visual perception
The process of visual perception involves many basic parts, in-
cluding the sensing of information; the use of past experience,
both real and genetically acquired; and the processing of infor-
mation along dual pathways. The contemporary view of percep-
tion maintains that perceptual theory requires an understanding
of our environment as well as of the perceiver.
This chapter includes the following main sections: Percep-
tion, Perception of visuals, Interpreting visuals, Understanding
visuals, Memory for visuals, Providing simplicity, and Image
associations.

Perception
Among the thousands of stimuli in the external context we only
see, hear, smell, feel, taste, or “pay attention to” one stimulus at
a time. Attention is sudden, direct, and distinct. We can pay at-
tention to the content of a message, to the execution of that mes-
sage, to the context in which the message is presented, and to the
actual format or medium that carries the message. For Stern and
Robinson (1994) the selection of sensory data is the first part of
perception. However, many researchers see this selection as at-
tention.
The concept perception is a collective designation for many
complex processes in which an organism obtains data about the
outside world. Perception is always organized. The contempo-
rary view of perception maintains that perceptual theory requires
an understanding of our environment as well as of the perceiver
(Kubovy, Epstein, and Gepshtein, 2013). The perceiver, however,
brings into the visual image themselves.
Our human perception system strives to obtain clarity.
When the system arrives at clarity, then clarity serves as rein-
forcement, which is a reward. Thus, an important principle for
the designer is to improve clarity of any message (Winn, 1993).

115
 Many observers have noted differences in visual perception
and pictorial conventions between people in less technologically
developed countries and those in the industrialized, European
cultural sphere. On closer examination these differences appear
to be related to cultural factors rooted in geographic location as
well as in level of technological development. These perceptual
differences have educational implications, as Arnheim (1974),
Chaplin (1971), Duncan, Gourlay, and Hudson (1973), Stacey
(1969), and others have pointed out.

Colour constancy is our tendency to judge colours as the same

despite all the changes in distance, viewing angle, and illumina-
tion.
We interpret the data from our sense organs with a bias to-
ward constancy. Usually, there is a constancy of brightness, col-
our, contrast, shape, and size in the perception of known objects.
This is regardless of distance, angle, and illumination.

116
Perception of visuals
The process of visual perception involves many basic parts, in-
cluding the sensing of information, the use of past experience,
both real and genetically acquired, and the processing of infor-
mation along dual pathways (Barry, 2002).
Our “decoding” of an image, and our subsequent perception
of it, may vary considerably with respect to which of the visual
cues we see first. Studies of eye movements have shown that we
often scan pictures in search of simple shapes providing struc-
tural simplicity. The brain fills in missing data so a logical and
“complete” visual impression is created. Influenced by our read-
ing habits, people in western countries often scan pictures from
left to right.
Visual languages have “analogue coding” employing combi-
nations of basic graphic elements (dots, lines, areas, and vol-
umes) for depicting reality. A given set of basic elements can be
combined to form completely different images. Visual languages
attempt equivalence with reality. Visuals are iconic. They nor-
mally resemble the thing they represent. Meaning is apparent on
a basic level, but the visual language must be learned for true
comprehension.
Our visual system has a strong preference to ascribe the con-
tour to just one of its border regions and to perceive the other
side as part of a surface extending behind it (Palmer, 1999). Ac-
cording to Nakayama, He, and Shimojo (1995), surfaces of
shapes constitute the only visually accessible aspects of our
world. According to Alter (2009), our ability to “read,” interpret,
and make meaning from images has been given a higher profile
in education in recent times. This can partly be attributed to cog-
nitive research directed toward understanding the processes of
image perception and retention.
Pictures have a strong emotional impact (Kimball and Haw-
kins, 2008; Kostelnick and Roberts, 2010). Factors in visual lan-
guage have both functional and semantic properties. The same

117
intended theme or subject may be expressed with many different
pictures (Pettersson, 1983a; 1986a, 1986b; 1987).
There are major differences between the three concepts “see-
ing,” “looking,” and “reading” (Pettersson, 1986a). It may take
only 2–3 seconds to recognize the content in an image (Paivio,
1979; Postman, 1979), but 20–30 seconds to read a verbal de-
scription of the same image (Ekwall, 1977; Lawson 1968) and
60–90 seconds to read it aloud (Sinatra, 1986). Meaning is ap-
parent on a basic level, but visual languages must be learned for
true comprehension. In verbal and visual languages, prior expe-
rience and context are very important to the perception of con-
tent.
The pattern for eye movements and fixations depends on
what we wish to see or are told to see in a picture (Yarbus, 1967).
Perception of two or three-dimensional representations entails
fast, parallel, simultaneous, and holistic processing (Gazzaniga,
1967; Sperry, 1973, 1982). The same visuals are not equally effec-
tive for learners in different grade levels, and for learners with
different prior knowledge (Dwyer, 1972).
Certain colours have different meanings in different socie-
ties (Zimmermann and Perkin, 1982). It is not likely that there
will be just one, but several equally good options available for
achieving satisfactory communication. The design of a picture
can be changed a great deal without any major impact on the per-
ception of the image contents (Pettersson, 1986b).
There is a large degree of perceptual constancy. We can view
a symbol or a picture from various distances and various angles
and still get the same perception of the content in the image. Per-
suasion tends to be accomplished in both children and adoles-
cents almost exclusively through imagery (Barry, 1998). Usually,
there is a constancy of brightness, colour, contrast, shape, and
size in the perception of known objects.
Seeing is to believe. Most people believe that pictures tell the
truth (Lefferts, 1982). Graphics can help readers see and

118
comprehend complex patterns (Horton, 1991). Stylized and “sim-
ple” pictures are more effective than complex pictures.

Interpreting visuals
The reader (viewer) always has greater freedom in interpreting a
visual message than in interpreting a verbal message. Pictures al-
most always convey multiple messages. This main section in-
cludes the following sections: Ambiguity, Visual rhetoric, and
Visual semiotics.

Ambiguity
Extraneous messages in visuals may compete with the messages
the sender regards as significant and important. So, pictures al-
ways incorporate some ambiguity and numerous “correct” inter-
pretations, although not always a picture creator’s intended or
anticipated interpretation. The way in which a picture is inter-
preted depends to a great extent on the reader’s code in relation
to the sender’s code. Studies of intended vs. perceived image con-
tent give clear evidence that there are major differences between
intended and perceived image content.
There are many ways to depict even the simplest object.
Many pictures are appropriate to and representative of a given
designation, such as “Easter,” “Christmas,” “flowers,” “children,”
“horses,” “dogs,” “cats,” “cards,” etc. The depiction of, e.g., “Jesus
Christ” and “Buddha” is commonplace in the classical art of the
respective religions. The number of pictures capable of depicting
a concept declines as the degree of descriptive detail increases.
Many pictures may be regarded as “visual synonyms.” A message
may always be expressed in different pictures. A picture will al-
ways be interpreted in different ways. Thus, it may be concluded
that pictures used in information and instructional materials al-
ways should have captions to guide understanding of the content.

119
Visual rhetoric
Since it originated in ancient Greece rhetoric has been widely dis-
cussed. Aristotle defined rhetoric as a potential for a message to
influence an audience. The concept and the definition of rhetoric
has evolved and been expanded, especially as new digital com-
municating media have developed.
Visual images are artifacts with an overall goal to communi-
cate (something) to specific, intended audiences. The first formal
call to include images in the study of rhetoric was not made until
1970 (Foss, 2005, p. 141).
In the study of visual rhetoric, the creator of a visual image
is called a rhetor (Patton, 2020, p. 127). A visual rhetorician is
concerned with how members of the intended audiences inter-
pret and understand visual images. This can be totally different
from the originally intended meaning.
Barthes (1977) showed the relevance of traditional rhetorical
theories to still photographs, and discussed the implied and the
interpreted messages in photographs. Within different media
visual rhetoric uses various “tools” to analyse images for their
form and meaning. Gradually visual rhetoric has developed to
the art of effective communication through use of colours,
graphs, images, tables, texts and typography, among other de-
sign elements. Visual rhetoric can include both visual images and
artifacts, such as architecture, art, book covers, films, furniture,
interior design, pamphlets, photographs, posters, sculptures,
videos, and many other things.
As far as ambiguous pictures are concerned, there is often a
major difference between their denotation, connotations, and
private associations. Denotation is the direct, specific, or literal
meaning people get from a sign, or a code. Images are seen as
“visual sensations or stimuli that activate the nerve cells in the
eyes to convey information to the brain” (Barthes, 1967, 1977;
Lester, 2006, p. 50). Connotation is the meaning evoked by the
sign—what it symbolizes on a subjective level (Barthes, 1977; Mo-
riarty, 2005).
120
 Private associations are the individual associations people
make (Cornell et al., 1985; Pettersson, 1993). By exaggerating
perspective, deforming shapes, making symbolic use of colours,
etc., a picture creator can easily create works that evoke many
extra private associations in viewers. This is in fact the very idea
behind an artistic picture. However, the informative picture
should not be open to different interpretations. The picture’s
message should then be the message intended by the person or
agency commissioning the picture. Further see the section Asso-
ciations from photographs in the main section Image associa-
tions later in this chapter.

Visual semiotics
The development of semiotics, at the start of the twentieth cen-
tury, was consistent with avant-garde art and design efforts to
challenge the prevailing ideas about the structural relationships
between form and meaning (Davis, 2012, p. 131). Eco (1971, 1976)
explained that semiotics studies all cultural processes as pro-
cesses of communication. Thus, there are different languages,
such as spoken, written, and visual languages.
Semiotics is the theory of signs (Eco, 1971). A sign means
nothing in itself. A sign can be a word, a sound, or a visual image.
Signs are assigned meaning based on historic patterns of use that
are recognized within cultural and social groups. In any culture
people have to agree on the meaning of signs. Regardless of the
medium semiotics can be used for the analysis of written texts as
well as images and pictures. All meanings are heavily culturally
dependent. Nonverbal signs can produce many symbols with dif-
ferent meanings.
Semiotics has expanded in a number of directions. Regard-
less of the medium semiotics may be used for the analysis of writ-
ten texts as well as pictures.
Pictorial semiotics is connected to art history, art theory,
and also visual literacy. All meanings in messages are heavily cul-
turally dependent.
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 Visual semiotics refers to understanding how people formu-
late and interpret the meanings of a broad range of visual mes-
sages embedded in sign systems such as body languages,
graphics, images, and texts (Dunleavy, 2020).
People do not always interpret the meaning of images as the
designers have intended (Boling et al., 2004). Tomita (2015) re-
marked that this makes things complicated. We need to remem-
ber that intentions and perceptions often are very different.
Like verbal language, images are rich in meaning potential,
and they are governed by visual grammar structures with a po-
tential to convey multi-layered meanings (Ly and Jung, 2015).
Image grammar structures can be utilized to decode the deeper
meanings of images. Ly and Jung analyzed two digital advertis-
ing images from a Korean fashion magazine according to the in-
teractive and representational dimensions of the framework.
They found that 1) the represented participants seem to be rep-
resented as superior figures that possess desirable qualities; 2)
the social relations established between the participants and
viewer appear to support the identities represented; and 3) the
identities and relations suggested in the advertising images can
be used to promote the products of the advertiser. All of this con-
tribute to the sociological interpretations of the images.
When Forceville (2017) studied pictorial metaphors, he re-
vealed that people really need to have a lot of "cultural back-
ground knowledge" in order to evaluate and make sense of visu-
als used in commercial advertising. Here the goals are unambig-
uous. A number of examples of billboards and print demonstrate
how visual metaphors may misfire when they are interpreted by
members from another culture than the one for which they were
designed. Forceville proposed to stimulate critical reflections in
cross-cultural, inter-cultural, and multi-cultural communication
pedagogy.
Further see the main section Semiotic studies in my book
ID Theories.

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Understanding visuals
We are able to differentiate between “immediate” and “analyti-
cal” understanding of pictures. Different assignments may cause
different interpretations of image contents. Some assignments
cause interpretation on a low cognitive level, and some on a high
cognitive level. Different people may understand and describe
one picture in different ways.
Comprehension is higher when a whole person, rather than
some part of the body, is portrayed in the picture (Zimmermann
and Perkin, 1982). Pictures of abstract subjects are understood
in considerably more varied ways than pictures with concrete
subjects. Abstract subjects are described in concrete terms (Pet-
tersson, 1985). Visuals are cultural products shared by individu-
als (Moriarty and Rohe, 1992).
Visuals are understood within individual people’s frames of
reference (Singer, 2010). Visual logic is based on associations,
and continually works to make sense of disparate elements by
weaving them together into a kind of visual story that speaks
most clearly to the emotions (Barry, 1998). Even simple pictures
may cause many associations.
Each receiver will place available information in a wider, ex-
panded, “personal” context. Receivers are apparently capable of
sensing far more information than is explicitly displayed in a
given picture (Pettersson, 1991). Picture readability is positively
correlated with both the aesthetic rating and usefulness in teach-
ing. The aesthetic rating and assessed usefulness in school were
also strongly correlated (Pettersson, 1983b). How we actually
create meaning is an area where a lot of research is still needed.
In comparison to a written text, a visual contains an infinite
amount of information. By selecting and utilizing different parts
of a picture’s information on different occasions, we can experi-
ence completely new and different perceptions when we re-see a
picture in new contexts. Like other languages, pictures consist of
coded messages that are comprehensible in a social context and
in a given age. For example, we often find it difficult to interpret
123
the messages in pictures from unfamiliar cultures and ages.
“Modern art” puzzles its public who has not yet learned to deci-
pher the new codes.

Memory for visuals

Visual memory is very fast (Beaver, 1994). Furthermore, memory
for pictures is superior to memory for words (Branch and Bloom,
1995; Paivio, 1983). This is called the “pictorial superiority ef-
fect.” Memory for a picture-word combination is superior to
memory for words alone or for pictures alone (Adams and Cham-
bers 1962; Haber and Myers, 1982). Visual rehearsal allows the
learner to process information simultaneously at several levels
(Dwyer, 1994). Emotionally charged pictures may improve moti-
vation for reading, and thereby also improve the memory for
words. The concepts of visual intelligence and visual memory
have a positive relationship with the concept of visual literacy
(Güney 2019).
Since the brain fills in missing information and, in certain
instances, attempts to make the best possible interpretation of a
given stimulus, certain significant graphic elements can be de-
leted from images. Missing lines in cartoons can sometimes be as
important as the lines actually used. Employing about the right
number of graphic elements and finding the right visual balance
are characteristics of skilled and experienced artists, photogra-
phers, and graphic designers. Inadequate information results in
an inadequate picture. Excessive information results in visual
overload, making a picture hard to interpret. There is an opti-
mum trade-off for each content and application.
The effectiveness of a visual depends on the medium, on the
type of information, and also on the amount of time learners are
permitted to interact with the material (Dwyer, 1972). All types
of visuals are not equally effective. Line drawings are most effec-
tive in formats where the learner’s study time is limited.

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Providing simplicity
Our human perception system strives to obtain clarity. When the
system arrives at clarity, then clarity serves as reinforcement,
which is a reward. Thus, an important principle for the designer
is to improve clarity of any message.
The essential thesis in gestalt psychology is that in percep-
tion the whole is different from the sum of its parts (Koffka, 1935;
Köhler, 1929; Palmer, 1999; Wertheimer, 1923). Gestalt psychol-
ogy attempts to explain how we organize individual elements into
groups in order to acquire and then to maintain meaningful per-
ceptions (Nesbitt and Friedrich, 2002).
Visual elements have a conceptual relationship. Preble and
Preble (1989) noted that “everyday visual perception” is a con-
tinuous flow of complex interrelations. Organizing a message can
make perception much easier and learning more efficient. The
message should have a moderate degree of complexity. However,
complexity without order produces confusion, and order without
complexity may produce boredom. Any inappropriate use of
graphical elements may direct learner attention away from es-
sential learning cues and depress subsequent achievement.
There is a close relationship between guidelines that are
aimed at providing simplicity and guidelines aimed at facilita-
ting perception, processing and memory. Simplicity in a mes-
sage will result in easier and more efficient perception, pro-
cessing and memory of that message. The information designer
has to consider the readability of text, the readability of pictures,
as well as the readability of graphical form. Providing simplicity
in text, illustrations, and graphical form is probably one of the
most important principles in information design. It should be a
priority for the information designer to make use of the guide-
lines related to these areas.
This main section includes the following sections: Readabil-
ity of pictures, Readability of signs and symbols, Readability of
maps, and Readability of colour.

125
Readability of pictures
Readability is determined by how well the contents and the
presentation of the contents are adapted to the readers. Today
readability of a message involves the reader's ability to under-
stand the style of text, the style of pictures and the style of graph-
ical form. The choice of words, symbols, and picture elements
creates the style. The readability is determined by content and
formulations, and how well the language and style are adapted to
the readers. Pictures in information and learning materials must
have good readability. We should:
• Avoid excessive image detail.
• Choose illustrations carefully.
• Leave out needless pictures.
• Leave out picture element.
• Use visual sequencing techniques to present complex ideas.
• Write captions to explain pictures.
All sighted people are capable of “looking at” a picture. But peo-
ple can also learn to “read” pictures as they learn to read words.
The language of pictures used in all media should be tailored
to reader perceptions. For example, the degree of reading diffi-
culty should gradually increase in textbooks intended for differ-
ent school grades. A picture that is easy to read and comprehend
conveys information more readily than a picture that is hard to
read and comprehend. A picture that evokes a positive response
conveys information more effectively than a picture that evokes
a negative response when motivation is identical in both in-
stances. Even a “poor” picture will work when viewer motivation
is high, but a “good” picture would then work even better.

126
Here the upper illustration is a simple example of a schematic
picture with poor readability. It takes some time to figure out
the relationships between the four picture elements A, B, C, and
D. The lower illustration is an example of a schematic picture
with good readability. The content is the same as in the upper
illustration. However, here it is much easier to understand the
relationships between the picture elements A, B, C, and D.
Depiction of contents
An analysis of a photographic portrayal can identify positive and
negative depictions of individuals seen in the photographs (Mo-
riarty and Garramone, 1986; Wanta and Chang, 2000). Indivi-
duals are viewed more positively when they are shown walking,
running or moving than just sitting or standing (Moriarty and
Popovich, 1991). Visuals with varied degrees of realistic detail
can be used to reduce differences in the performance of learners
with different levels of prior knowledge of the subject matter
(Dwyer, 1994).
Style of illustration
The style of illustration is decided by the specific choice of draw-
ings, photographs, schematic pictures, and other kinds of pic-
tures, as well as consistency, expressions, picture elements, and
symbols. Images can be readable in the sense that they inspire
cognitive and affective processing. A drawing style that includes
different kinds of lines, patterns, shadings, and inconsistent use
127
of symbols may obstruct the reading and understanding of the
picture content.
Instructional illustrations have good readability when: 1)
The subject matter is familiar to the audience, 2) the subject mat-
ter is depicted in a realistic manner, 3) they lack excessive image
detail that may distract from the main message, and 4) the picto-
rial conventions are familiar to the audience (Boeren, 1994;
Brouwer, 1995; Colle and Glass, 1986; Hugo, 1996; Lent, 1980;
Van Aswegen and Steyn, 1987; Zimmermann and Perkin, 1982).
Captions
It is possible to interpret most pictures in several different ways
until they are “anchored” to one interpretation by a caption
(Barthes, 1977; Pettersson, 1987). The only way to assure that in-
formation conveyed by pictures in information materials is clear
and unambiguous is to write a caption for each picture and tell
the reader what to see (Bernard, 1990a; Zimmermann and Per-
kin, 1982).
Effectiveness
The effectiveness of a visual depends on the medium, on the type
of information, and also on the amount of time learners are per-
mitted to interact with the material (Dwyer, 1972). Increasing the
size of illustrations by projecting pictures does not automatically
improve their effectiveness in facilitating the achievement of the
learners. Also, language and cultural differences may impact the
effectiveness of visuals (Kovalik, 2005; Singer, 2010). It is also
known that stylized and “simple” pictures are more effective than
complex pictures. Therefore, it is always important to select pic-
tures with great care.
Cermak and Craik (1979) found that if learners perceive a
task as more demanding, they tend to process the material more
deeply and are better able to remember the main ideas and de-
tails in a text. Weidenmann (1988) found some support for this
relationship in his research on the effectiveness of pictures.

128
Usefulness
Picture readability is positively correlated with both the aesthetic
rating and usefulness in teaching. The aesthetic rating and as-
sessed usefulness in school were also strongly correlated (Pet-
tersson, 1983a).
Picture readability indexes
In efforts to find a way to measure the readability of pictures used
in textbooks researchers have discussed and experimented with
picture readability indexes.

Bildläsbarhetsindex, BLIX
The word “Bildläsbarhetsindex” is Swedish for picture readabil-
ity index (Pettersson, 1983a). This index has six values ranging
from zero to five. It is labelled BLIX. A picture with a BLIX-index
5 is executed in a true-to-life colour and it has a clear contrast
and grey scale. An index-5 picture has a shape other than a
square or a rectangle or it covers an entire page. It has a caption
which is brief, easy to understand, and deals with the picture. An
index-5 picture is unambiguous and not too “artistic.” It has a
dominant centre of interest at or near its optical centre (middle
of the picture) and few details, which can be regarded as distract-
ing. Picture readability is positively correlated with both aes-
thetic rating and usefulness in teaching.
Picture readability is positively correlated with both aes-
thetic ratings and perceived usefulness in teaching. When the re-
search started in 1979, seventeen variables were directly con-
nected to the content and execution of the visual and two to the
context. The investigated variables were the external shape, ex-
ternal contour, size, colour versus black and white, colour inten-
sity, contrast, grey scale and darkness-lightness, degree of real-
ism, number of details, number of centres of interest, location of
centre of interest, presence of symbols and reading aids, perspec-
tive, illusions, subject common or uncommon, size of main sub-
ject, technical quality, caption, and relationship between caption
and picture.
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Rating-scheme for BLIX.

Questions Yes No
(a) Colour picture: The picture is executed in a
true-to-life colour.
1
(b) Black and white picture: The contrast and
grey scale in the picture are clear.
The picture has a shape other than a square or a
2
rectangle or covers an entire page.

The picture has a caption that is brief, easy to un-

3
derstand and deals with the picture.

4 The picture is unambiguous and not too “artistic”.

The picture has a dominant centre of interest at
5 or near its optical centre and few details that can
be regarded as distracting.

Total number of yes answers

In this rating-scheme the total number of “yes” answers pro-

vide a direct value for picture readability. Here 0 is “a virtually
incomprehensible picture,” 1 is “very hard to read,” 2 is “hard to
read,” 3 is “neither hard nor easy to read,” 4 is “easy to read,” and
5 is “very easy to read.” Experiments with ranking and rating of
test-pictures showed that pictures with high BLIX-values were
ranked and rated better than those with lower values by children
as well as by adults. Experiments with the actual making of pic-
tures showed that despite detailed instructions on the execution
of the visuals, there was still plenty of scope for individual crea-
tivity. It was also shown that informative pictures drawn so that
their BLIX-ratings were high (more than 4.5) were to a large ex-
tent rated as an aesthetically pleasing, rated as “suitable” or “very
suitable” for teaching, and did not take more time to make than
pictures with lower BLIX-ratings. Instructions on the execution
had to be followed if reliable and satisfactory results were to be
obtained.
130
Two of the visuals produced in the experiment with actual mak-
ing of pictures. These visuals got BLIX ratings 4.8 (left) and 2.5
(right). Here the visuals are very much reduced in size.
BLIX must not be an end in itself. There is always a risk as-
sociated with index values since they can be interpreted as abso-
lute values. BLIX actually represents the average difficulty or
ease with which a picture can be read. It also yields some very
valuable information and detailed knowledge on the importance
of individual picture variables. The ability of the receiver to study
the contents of a word-picture message is likely to increase con-
siderably if the word-picture is designed with this in mind.
Knowledge of picture readability, i.e., our total ability to interpret
and understand a visual message in terms of our perception of
the content, execution, and context of the visual, enables us to
make a visual description.
In Norway Ertzgaard (1996) successfully used the picture
readability index BLIX as one of the measurements in a major
study of the use of text and pictures in textbooks. He calculated
BLIX values for more than 1,300 pictures.
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 Carstens (2004) employed BLIX within a multiple theoreti-
cal framework to analyse an African culture with high illiteracy
rates, and proposed design heuristics for improving information
processing based on reading comprehension and visual literacy.

Photograph readability index

Lantz (1992) developed the concept of a “photograph readability
index” in order to evaluate photos in textbooks. The instrument
was designed for use in textbook adoption decisions. Lantz used
methods from the fields of cognitive psychology, linguistics, and
also reading.
The initial phase gathers information on how a viewer per-
ceives a photograph during an initial brief period, that is, at a first
glance. The latter phase entails extended exposure to the photo-
graph and endeavours to reveal how a viewer encodes infor-
mation while being influenced by a caption. First glance fixations
were assessed by projecting photographs for 1/2 second, after
which subjects drew what they could remember about this dis-
play and completed an affective questionnaire.
Exposing subjects to the image with caption assessed ex-
tended eye fixations, and then a cognitive questionnaire was
completed. The revised instrument was useful in confirming sub-
jective expert critique. However, the complexity of gathering this
information would be prohibitive for many practical adoption
applications.
Picture readability index, PRI
Vrasidas and Lantz (1995), and Lantz (1996) further developed
this concept of a photograph readability index into a “picture
readability index,” which they labelled PRI. Here readability re-
fers to the success of the image as defined by its objective or its
caption. Images can be readable in the sense that they inspire af-
fective and cognitive processing.
The PRI utilizes an interdisciplinary battery of methods
adapted from the fields of cognitive psychology, linguistics, read-
ing of text, semiotics, and visual literacy. The PRI is based on the
132
theory that the processing of visual information comprises two
main phases, related to the affective and the cognitive domains
(Spoehr and Lehmkuhle, 1982).
Vrasidas and Lantz (1995) examined the initial and the pro-
longed stages in the perception of instructional photographs. In
the first phase, affective or emotional impressions are formed as
the viewer scans the image with rapid eye fixations. The viewer
becomes aware of basic forms, begins to explore the image and
starts to speculate about why it was created. The process may
stop here, but it may also go on to a second step. For this phase
subjects use a questionnaire with 77 questions in order to assess
affective perception of the image.
The second phase of image processing is influenced by the
context of the image, which is often provided by a caption. This
phase is more cognitive and it includes processing of the caption
as well. The viewer relates data from the first phase to his or her
existing knowledge. Here the subject gets a second questionnaire
with 80 questions dealing with cognitive processing. An image
that stimulates a high degree of visual processing during both
phases is considered very readable and gets a high PRI score. An
image with low readability inspires reactions that do not go be-
yond initial first glance responses.
Vrasidas and Lantz (1995) concluded that the readability rat-
ing deriving from the PRI should be thought of as a classification
attempt, and not a judgement of value.

Readability of signs and symbols

A message may be communicated to the receiver/s or inter-
preter/s with several different symbols. A symbol may be used to
communicate several different messages. People have to learn
the meaning of the important symbols within their own society.
We should:
• Use a combination of pictographs and words.
• Use colour.

133
• Use position.
• Use realistic figures rather than abstract forms.
• Use shape.
• Use size.

Many symbols are culturally biased and arbitrary to those from

other cultures (Mangan, 1978). For example, when using a guide-
book with symbols, we often have to look them up in a key in
much the same way as we look up unfamiliar words in a diction-
ary. The readers have to learn the meanings of symbols. Usually
symbols are not naturally understood. Examination of guide-
books and magazines show that a certain meaning is explained
with different symbols, and a certain symbol has several different
meanings. Symbols are of special importance and value in maps.
A good symbol is designed so it can be used in many contexts and
in many situations.
The main purpose of a warning is to inform people, and to
change their behaviour in order to avoid a situation of a danger,
a hazard or a risk. A warning should also alert people of the im-
portance to prevent a problem (Dewar, 1999; Wogalter, 1999;
Wogalter, Dejoy, and Laughery, 1999). According to Wogalter
(2006) graphical warnings should provide the following infor-
mation: 1) Recognition of the problem, 2) Description of the haz-
ard, 3) Description of the consequences, and 4) Instruction of
necessary actions.
To achieve recognition of the problem we can use signal
words, like attention, caution, and danger. Informative signal
words enable people to recognize that the message is in fact a
warning that a hazard is present. Signal words also provide in-
formation on the level of the hazard. Here the word “Danger” is
signalling risk for a more serious injury than the word “Caution.”
A description of the hazard, e.g. in the case of a no diving
sign, a statement such as “Shallow water” provides extra infor-
mation about the specific danger involved.

134
 An example of a description of the consequences that could
occur if the person fails to obey the warning’s directions is: “You
can be permanently paralysed.”
An instruction of necessary actions concerns specific ac-
tions that should or should not be done. A sign with the text “No
diving” is an example of an important instruction.
Spinillo, de Souza, and Storck (2011) studied graphic presen-
tations of warnings in 23 animated assembling instructions from
a visual literacy perspective. These animations did not follow the
basic recommendations for graphical warnings. The authors con-
cluded that warnings in animated instructions are poorly and in-
completely represented. This may lead to serious failures in com-
munication.

Readability of maps
Maps must have good readability. We should:
• Be consistent! All inconsistencies will confuse the readers.
• Keep the map as simple as possible.
• Make symbols clear.
• Make symbols large.
• Restrict the number of visual symbols on maps.
Traditional maps are static with a fixed scale and printed cap-
tions and map symbols. The functionality of maps has been
greatly advanced by technology. Computerised dynamic and in-
teractive maps are commercially available. By applying different
layers, a digital map can be adopted for specific purposes. It is
possible to decrease and increase the scale and to move over and
focus on different areas. In-car global navigation satellite sys-
tems are computerised maps with route planning and facilities
for advice.
Symbols are important in maps. However, symbols have to
be learned by the readers. The way in which different visual var-
iables are combined has greater importance than how the varia-
bles are comprehended (Bertin, 1967; Baudoiun and Anker,
135
1984). Map reading is difficult if we use too many visual variables
at the same time. The hierarchy of visibility is important when
several variables are used simultaneously. The largest symbols
are perceived first. Size is more important than colour and form.
Brodersen (2002, p. 9), and Stigmar (2010, p. 145) proposed
that the following three types of measures can be used in order
to quantify how “good” a map is: 1) The time that is needed to
solve the task (quick–slow). 2) The behaviour used while solving
the task (certain–uncertain). 3) The percentage of correct an-
swers (right answers–wrong answers).

Readability of colour
Colours that are used in information materials must have good
legibility. We should:
• Be sensitive to colour-deficient viewers.
• Use colour to emphasize important information.
• Use colour to help readers recall information.
• Use colour to play something down.
• Use colour to show differences.
• Use colour to show similarities.
When colours of equal intensity are compared, the most visible
hues are white, yellow, and green. The least visible hues are red,
blue, and violet. Yellow is a powerful colour because of its lumi-
nosity. It is especially powerful when combined with black.
Graphic symbols often make use of bright colours to inten-
sify their meaning–in fact in some instances a change of colour
creates a diametric change of meaning. Common hues in graphic
symbols are pure yellow, red, blue, green, white and black, or
combinations of the same. Unfortunately, red and green are quite
often used as discriminating colours in symbols and in warning
signs. Since many colour-blind people perceive red and green as
grey colour can only be used to code the information redun-
dantly. Colour may be combined with shape, and position, or

136
with both, which is often seen in traffic signs. Complementary
colours contrast, and they provide a warm–cool effect.

The McDonald symbol exists in many sizes from very small to

very large. It is hard not to recognize it.
Female and male subjects showed no differences in reading
efforts of different colour combinations (Pettersson, 1993). Fur-
thermore, there was no difference between colour blind (red-
green) users and users with normal vision. Colour coding im-
proves attention, learner motivation, and memory (Dwyer,
1994). Subjects dislike the use of more than three or four text col-
ours on the same page, screen, or slide. For some learners and
for some educational objectives, colour improves the achieve-
ment of the learners. However, in some cases the added cost of
colour may not be justified (Dwyer, 1972).

137
Image associations
We know that the information provider may have many different
intentions when they use pictures. However, we do not usually
know how people perceive and interpret pictures. There is often
a considerable disparity between the sender's “intended mes-
sage” and the receiver's “perceived message” (Pettersson, 1985,
1988). Indeed, it is sometimes doubtful whether the receiver has
understood anything at all of what the sender wants to convey.
Listeners and readers create their own associations and chains of
associations.
Young learners tend to talk about their experiences. Children
are always attempting to do things with language (Pinter, 2006).
Children are natural decoders of images and are attracted to il-
lustrations which spark their imaginations and transport them to
imaginary worlds (Liruso, Cad, and Ojeda, 2019). Arizpe and
Styles (2002) found that even children who were very young or
not fluent in English could show ability to make sense of visual
cues, infer information of fairly complex images and communi-
cate ideas (as cited by Liruso, Cad, and Ojeda, 2019, p 146).
This main section includes the following sections: Associa-
tions from advertisements, Associations from photographs, Im-
age association study, and Kinship diagrams.

Associations from advertisements

Many companies, public authorities, and other organizations put
a great deal of effort and money into the design and distribution
of advertisements. Sometimes the text and pictures shown are
redundant with respect to each other, giving the same infor-
mation, or at least closely congruent information, to the ob-
server.
In the spring of 1990, 50 students at Stockholm University
took part in a study. They were told that the pictures were clipped
at random from ads in SCANORAMA. It is an airline magazine
published by SAS, to be read by international passengers on
flights, and in transit halls. Well-known international companies
138
pay for the ads. I cut out pictures, pasted them on white paper,
and numbered them randomly. I removed trademarks from two
ads (Pettersson, 1994).
The students could study each picture for as long as they
needed – usually a half-minute at the most – to decide what com-
pany they thought it represented. Then they were asked to write
down the type of product and the company or trade mark that
they believed the advertisement was meant to promote. The stu-
dents were also asked whether they had seen the pictures before.
The 50 subjects provided 300 associations to the six pictures
in advertisements. The results showed that only a few of the stu-
dents associated the “right” picture with the “right” product and
the “right” company. Four of the six pictures caused all the stu-
dents to associate them with the “wrong” products. Six students
(12%) associated one picture with the right company.
Pictures can always be interpreted in a number of different
ways. Yet it cannot be said that the pictures in these advertise-
ments were inappropriate to the products they were meant to
promote. These pictures are shown together with special texts,
that to some degree determine or revise our understanding of the
pictures.

Associations from photographs

According to Rutledge (2020, p. 73) visual cognition literature
indicates that the brain processes images of people, in particular
faces, differently than it processes objects. Faces contain com-
mon features that encourage holistic processing. As a result, we
can recognize faces in milliseconds (Richler et al., 2009). Objects
do not contain the same predictability and take longer to process.
Russel (1991) studied how individuals make sense of their
world through photographs. A total of 163 children (11–12 years
old) were given black and white, and colour photographs and
were asked to write words and phrases which came to mind as
they viewed the images. The pictures elicited more than 400 dif-
ferent words/phrases (associations). On average, each child gave
139
a total of 17 words/phrases. Russel found that boys used words
that are denotative or refer to factual elements in the photograph.
Girls used more emotive words, which reflect a viewpoint of the
children in the photograph.
Russel concluded that photographs could provide a unique
view of life, but the cultural environment and background expe-
riences of the viewer influence the meaning in the mind of the
viewer. In making sense of the world through photographs each
viewer internalizes the message to personal space, time and life
experiences.
Later Russel (1993) described five categories for viewers
contributions to photographs. In observation the photograph is
seen as a series of observable elements. In interpretation the
photograph is seen as a stimulus for interpretation. Here the
viewer tries to create meaning from the visible elements. In per-
sonal memories the photograph is seen as a stimulus to recall
personal experiences. In participation the photograph is seen as
a stimulus for imaginative participation. The viewer is participat-
ing in the actual scene in the image. In medium intrusion the
photograph is seen as a specific communication medium related
to the photographer and to the camera.
In one study 1991 I asked 52 students to write on a separate
paper the associations called to mind by the image content in a
total of five slides (Pettersson, 1994, 2001). The students were
able to view the pictures and understand the image content, but
they were given no chance to actually analyse and reflect on the
content of each picture.
The slides stimulated a great variation in the number of as-
sociations by the subjects. Some subjects got only one association
from a slide, while other subjects produced long chains of asso-
ciations. In all, subjects generated 385 associations. In some
cases, several people made similar associations.

140
This picture is similar to the “summer-picture” with boats and
sea, used in the experiment. There were many positive associa-
tions.

141
This close-up of a dead bird washed up on a sandy Japanese
beach was one of the slides in an “association” experiment. The
bird is as large as a gull, and parts of its skeleton are clearly
visible. There is no trace of oil or any other potential menace;
the picture does not explain how the bird died.
As could be expected, to a great degree the summer pictures
awakened positive associations. Examples of this are words such
as: “a cabin in the country,” “a fiddler’s hoedown,” “beautiful,”
“drinking coffee by the water,” “folk music,” “fun time,” “leisure
time,” “lovely,” “Midsummer,” “my wedding,” “Stockholm’s fes-
tival day,” “summer in Sweden,” “sun,” “taking a walk,” “warm
breezes,” and “warmth.” The picture with “summer and sea” pro-
duced associations that can be perceived as positive. The word
summer, led to various chains of associations. Here are three ex-
amples:

142
• Summer – taking a walk home.
• Summer – lovely – grandmother – boats – the archipelago.
• Summer – warmth – leisure time – beautiful – Swedish.
Even negative associations came up. Some of these are: “ca-
daver,” “death,” “destruction,” “disturbing”, “environmental ca-
tastrophe,” “environmental pollution,” and “oil spills.” The pic-
ture of the dead bird produced associations that can be perceived
as negative. For example, the word death, led to various chains
of associations. Here are three examples:

• Death – look away.

• Death – the passage of life – the work of humans – disturbing.
• Death – yuck! – disgusting – but a lovely beach – oil.
Pictures could generate a great variety of associations in audi-
ences. It was concluded that pictures used in information and in-
structional materials always need captions to guide the intended
understanding of the content.
Clearly, it can be concluded that lecturers and teachers who
use slides in their verbal presentations must realize that pictures
can generate a great variety of associations in audiences. There-
fore, it is necessary that the presenters talk about pictures in an
interesting way, clearly indicating what each picture means to
say, so that the message communicated is in fact the intended
one.

143
Any picture can arouse a great number of different private as-
sociations and chains of associations in different individuals.
Some of the words the subjects wrote down were actually
connotations and denotations rather than private associations,
in as much as they directly reflect the contents in the pictures.
Some of these words constitute the starting points for chains of
associations. As far as ambiguous pictures are concerned there is
often a major difference between their denotation, i.e., their lit-
eral meaning, and various connotations, i.e., their associative
meanings and private associations.

Image association study

In order to further observe what kind of interpretations pictures
may cause in different people I designed and conducted another
“Image association study” (Pettersson, 2003). The main hypoth-
esis is that different assignments to a picture will influence the
meaning in the mind of the viewer. When we ask students about
a picture we should expect that they “see” different things in the
picture. Substantial research has shown that teachers seldom
talk about, or ask about, the contents in pictures (Evans, Watson
and Willows, 1987; Metallinos et al., 1990; Pettersson et al., 1992;
Sigurgeirsson, 1990).

144
Questions and answers
When we ask people a basic question like: “What does this pic-
ture represent?” we should expect to get the same answer from
different persons in the same cultural environment. This should
be an answer on an “immediate level interpretation.” At least we
should expect to get rather similar answers from different per-
sons. These answers might be rather short and distinct. The same
words would be used by a large number of people.
However, when we ask people a question like: “What do you
think of when you see this picture?” we should expect to get a
large number of different answers. This should be an answer on
an “analytic level interpretation.” These answers might be rather
long and elaborated and subjects would be expected to use many
different words. For this specific study I used the following five
questions:

• What does this picture represent?

• What happens in the picture?
• Where did you first look in the picture?
• What do you think of when you see this picture?
• Why do you think so?
The subjects were also asked to write a caption to each picture.
To avoid problems with copyright I selected nine of my own pho-
tographs from our private “photo album” to be used in this study.
All photographs are highly realistic and they are all in colour. The
selected photographs represent a range of themes from many dif-
ferent activities and places, and they were randomly assigned a
number. These nine pictures could well be used in various infor-
mation materials and textbooks.
Intended image contents
The intended image contents are: 1) A group of five lemurs at
Skansen, the zoo in Stockholm. 2) The Niagara falls in Canada.
3) A Chinese carnival in Washington DC, USA. 4) A part of a park
in central Stockholm. 5) The harbour in Stockholm. 6) Busy

145
traffic in Athens, Greece. 7) An airplane at the airport in Jackson
Hole in USA. 8.) A dead bird washed up on a sandy Japanese
beach. 9) Pont du Gard, an old Roman aqueduct in France.

Picture 2 shows The Niagara falls in Canada.

146
Picture 3 shows a Chinese carnival in Washington DC, USA.
Research method
All pictures were scanned and made available on a temporary
class Web Page on the Internet. The pictures were numbered at
random and had no captions. Students taking an introductory
course in Information Design were asked to study each picture
and answer the above questions using e-mail, one for each pic-
ture. The students could easily enlarge the pictures and study
various details if they wanted to do so. The participation of each
student was marked in a log. After this moment it is no longer
possible to link any statement or opinion to any specific person.
The next step in the process was to classify and group the opin-
ions expressed by the subjects.
Since computers build the pictures line by line from the top
left corner we had to exclude the third research question from the
study. It was not possible to look at the picture in other ways than
from the top left corner down to the right.
147
 When people express similar views and similar opinions they
may sometimes use exactly the same words in the same sen-
tences. However, they may also use synonyms, near synonyms
and related words to express what they mean. Some expressions
may be different but at the same time express a kind of “kinship”
with one another. Thus, from a practical point of view, rather dif-
ferent paragraphs of texts may convey “the same” message.
Results
More than 5,000 statements from more than 300 subjects
showed that pictures can generate a great variety of associations
in audiences. How we actually create meaning is an area where
much research still is needed. It may, however, be concluded
that:
• Different assignments to a picture will influence the meaning
in the mind of the viewer.
• Realistic photographs can generate a great variety of associa-
tions in audiences. Visual experience is subject to individual
interpretation.
• Humans, especially their faces, are the kind of image content
that will get maximum attention.
• Quite often perceived image content is different from in-
tended image content.
• In information design it is not sufficient merely to choose and
use good pictures. Pictures used in information and instruc-
tional materials always should have captions to guide the un-
derstanding of their intended content.

Kinship diagrams
When people express similar views and similar opinions they
may sometimes use exactly the same words in the same sen-
tences. However, they may also use synonyms, near synonyms
and related words to express what they mean. Some expressions
may be different but at the same time express a kind of “kinship”

148
with one another. Thus, from a practical point of view, rather dif-
ferent paragraphs of texts may convey “the same” message.
If all subjects in a study provide exactly the same answer to
a question this can be represented in a diagram with one large
circle. If all subjects provide their own, individual answer to a
question this can be represented in a diagram with one hundred
circles evenly distributed in the diagram. I have named this kind
of diagram kinship diagram.

Kinship diagrams for “The Niagara falls in Canada,” and “A

Chinese carnival in Washington DC, USA.” The diagrams show
answers to the question “What do you think of when you see this
picture?” Subjects have different opinions about any picture. If
all subjects had the same opinion about a picture there should
only be one large purple circle in each diagram. Here a green
dot represents one subject, a yellow dot two subjects, and the
red dot three subjects.
If we put the circle representing the largest number of views
and opinions in the centre of the diagram, then use the direction
and distance as variables to subjectively represent the kinship be-
tween these opinions it is possible to visually compare results
from the different assignments. This is quite possible to do. The
indexes vary a great deal between the different pictures, and

149
between the different questions. The first two questions: “What
does this picture represent?” and “What happens in the picture?”
cause fewer opinions than the following two questions: “What do
you think of when you see this picture?” and “Why do you think
so?”.

150
 Visual learning
The way we learn, and subsequently remember things, bears a
strong relationship to the way our different senses operate. Edu-
cators can no longer afford to ignore the fact that a high propor-
tion of all sensory learning is visual (Patterson, 1962; Rigg, 1971;
Spencer, 1991). This was clear to Andreas Vesalius, and some
other authors, already many hundred years ago.

Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564) revolutionized the study of biol-

ogy and the practice of medicine by his careful verbal and vis-
ual descriptions of the anatomy of the human body. The pic-
ture shows pages 163 and 170 from from De humani corporis
fabrica (1543) showing our skeleton and our muscle system.
Engraved numbers in the pictures are links from and to the
text. The page size is a43 x 28 cm. Picture: Wikimedia Com-
mons.

151
 This main section includes the following sections: Theories
of learning, Visual spatial intelligence, and Verbal and visual
representations.

Theories of learning
How individuals learn have been a major interest of psychologi-
cal research for many decades. Now, there are a number of theo-
ries of learning. A group of theories known as information pro-
cessing appears to provide a better framework than those based
on behaviourism or cognitivism. The brain is processing mes-
sages received by our senses. The efficiency can be greatly en-
hanced by using images. The integration of verbal and non-ver-
bal messages improves learning and facilitates retention
The dual-coding memory model (Paivio, 1971, 1983) pro-
poses a verbal system for processing and storing linguistic infor-
mation and a separate non-verbal system for spatial information
and mental imagery. These systems can function independently,
but are also interconnected. The image is centrally important in
facilitating long-term retention, at least for adults. It is generally
agreed that information presented in pictures is encoded twice,
once as a picture and once as a verbal label that names the picture
(Winn, 1993). The redundancy in memory that results from this
dual coding (Paivio, 1971, 1983), or conjoint retention (Kulhavy,
Lee, and Caterino, 1985, Schwartz, 1988) means that information
can be retrieved either from the pictorial, or from the verbal
memory.
However, in a study on higher online education Bader (2019)
found that instructors still have very poor abilities to integrate
images in their teaching. The results suggest that institutions of-
fering online courses and programs also should offer services and
training to improve the confidence of instructors in both image
use and ability to manipulate images for their educational pur-
poses.

152
Visual spatial intelligence
Apart from the multidimensional functionality of visuals, teach-
ers’ efforts to help students develop the capacity or ability to
learn from all kinds of visuals appears to be connected to the so-
called visual spatial intelligence (Gardner, 1983). This ability or
capacity is driven by the currently prevailing notions that not
only intelligence can be developed and enhanced, but it is also
best perceived as a series of intelligences or abilities—part of
which is visual spatial intelligence.
With the help of pictures, it is possible to show and illustrate
concepts and phenomena that can be difficult to explain only by
means of words. As previously noted all types of visuals are not
equally effective. Line drawings are most effective in formats
where the learner’s study time is limited. More realistic versions
of artwork, however, may be more effective in formats where un-
limited study time is allowed (Dwyer, 1972; Fleming & Levie,
1978; Soulier, 1988).
Visual experience is by far the most dominant learning mode
(Barry, 2020, p. 5). It may be both natural and artificially cre-
ated. Our visual experience is the most basic determinant in
building the synaptic connections in the brain that determine
who we are, and how we act. No other sensory system has been
studied more than the visual system.
The realism continuum is not an effective predictor of learn-
ing efficiency for all types of educational objectives. An increase
in the amount of realistic detail will not produce a corresponding
increase in learning. No pictorial image gains the status of a
“statement,” unless an explicit reference is made to what it is sup-
posed to represent (Gombrich, 1969).

Verbal and visual representations

When illustrations provide text-redundant information, learning
information in the text that is also shown in pictures will be fa-
cilitated (Levie & Lentz, 1982). The same visuals are not equally
effective for receivers with different prior knowledge (Dwyer,
153
1972). Too many details and too much complexity give rise to dis-
tracting interference and reduce the interest for the content and
the impact of the important part of the content of the visual (Pet-
tersson, 1993).
Learners are most able to build connections between verbal
and visual representations when text and illustrations are ac-
tively held in memory at the same time. This can happen when
text and illustrations are presented in close connection on the
same page in a book (Contiguity principle), or when learners
have sufficient experience to generate their own mental images
as they read the text (Mayer, 2002; Mayer et al., 1995).
At some point illustrations move from being engaging moti-
vators to engaging distracters (Evans, Watson, & Willows, 1987).
When too many pictures are used, readers may ignore many of
them – the opposite of attention. Massoumian (1989, p. 19)
noted, “haphazard use of visuals may lead to minimal or no in-
structional gain and gradual loss of effectiveness as an instruc-
tional tool.”
Further see my book Learning.

154
 Visual thinking
Thinking is an activity that takes place where no one can see it —
inside our heads. There has been a debate about mental imagery
and visual thinking for many years. Visual thinking and visual
thoughts are visual representations that arise when we think.
Several researchers have provided definitions and theories about
visual thinking. In this book, the bronze sculpture The Thinker
represents all people who visually imagine their future products.

The French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) worked in an

“object-oriented way.” He used the same form elements in sev-
eral of his sculptures. His bronze sculpture The Thinker is avail-
able in several versions around the world. This specimen below
is located in Stockholm.
155
 Thinking is an activity that takes place where no one can see
it — inside our heads. There has been a debate about mental im-
agery and visual thinking for many years. Visual thinking and vis-
ual thoughts are visual representations that arise when we think.
Several researchers have provided definitions and theories about
visual thinking.
Arnheim (1943, 1969a, 1969b, 1974) was one of the first to
use the term visual thinking. He described visual thinking as the
unity of perception and conception that calls for the ability to see
visual shapes as images (pictures, signs, and symbols). Arnheim
was the art and film theorist who championed the notion of “vis-
ual thinking” in the western world.
Paivio (1971) suggested that imagery uses representations
and processes that are ordinarily dedicated to visual perception
rather than to abstract conceptual structures. Hinton (1979) and
Kosslyn (1980) suggested that there are special processes dedi-
cated to handle spatial information. According to Ruch and Zim-
bardo (1971) visual thinking, in its simplest form, is the manipu-
lating of symbols representing elements of the internal or exter-
nal environment by using imagery by formation of mental im-
ages. Wileman (1980) defined visual thinking as organizing men-
tal images around shapes, lines, colour, textures, and composi-
tions. And McKim (1980a, 1980b) defined visual thinking as the
interaction of seeing, drawing, and imagining.
Stokes (2002) saw a connection between visual thinking and
viewing graphics on a computer. Here complex computations are
presented graphically, allowing for deeper insights as well as
heightened abilities to communicate data and concepts.
According to Malamed (2009), “Visual thinking is an inte-
gral aspect of cognition, and the visualizing of abstract concepts
helps us understand the world and communicate about it” (p.
129). Thus, it is important for the designer to make the abstract
concrete.
Visual literacy involves critical viewing and thinking. Depic-
tive expressions of thought precede written language by
156
thousands of years (Tversky, 2011). These depictive expressions
evolved in communities through a kind of informal user testing
that refined them.
Advertising is based on imagery, sound, and text that re-
placed many old forms of communication (Green, 2000). It
teaches individuals what they need, what they should desire, and
what they should think and do in order to be happy, patriotic,
and successful (Lefler, 2014).
When the learner doesn’t see, read, or hear what she or he
expects to see, or can’t find agreement between verbal and visual
content, the message is likely to be misunderstood. Since the
competition for our attention is very fierce in commercial arts
and in advertising, discontinuity is often used intentionally to at-
tract and even to hold attention. The intended message may be
hidden within verbal or visual puns, metaphors, satires, paro-
dies, or humour. In these cases, designers break the traditional
rules of instructional design.
From many experiments, it is clear that people prefer colour
in visuals. Advertising is known to be much more effective when
visuals are in colour than in black and white. Tests have indicated
that viewers feel that they have a better understanding when tel-
evision images are displayed in colour, although the use of black
and white sometimes would be sufficient.
Advertising messages do not often require nor invite critical
evaluation from their audiences, especially for soft sells and emo-
tional advertising appeals. A theoretical foundation for the study
of how individuals process persuasive messages is the Elabora-
tion Likelihood Model (Petty and Cacioppo 1986). This dual pro-
cessing model suggests that individuals will likely process the in-
formation displayed through one of two routes after a critical
point of message evaluation. The two routes are differentiated by
the amount of elaboration, defined as amount of issue relevant
thinking.

157
 Visual literacy
There are four case variations of the term “visual literacy” in the
literature: VISUAL LITERACY, Visual Literacy, Visual literacy,
and visual literacy, and even VL. Although the term visual liter-
acy may be modern, it is not at all a new idea. A historical view
shows that discussions about the design and use of images have
a long history. There are several definitions claiming that visual
literacy is an ability, a competency, or a skill.
Visual literacy is not confined to any particular academic dis-
cipline. Visual literacy is an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary
and multidimensional field of knowledge. We may apply differ-
ent kinds of visuals in almost all subject matter areas, and in
many different media. Some of these areas are practical, and
some are theoretical. A. large number of individuals from various
areas of knowledge, and also from some academic disciplines
have explained their views and their interpretations of visual lit-
eracy.
From a theoretical point of view visual literacy are domi-
nated by five large areas of knowledge: 1) Visual communication,
2) Visual language, 3) Visual learning, 4) Visual perception, and
5) Visual thinking. Seen from a communications view presenta-
tion of an intended message involves a wide range of professional
interest groups concerned with its design, production, distribu-
tion and use.
Due to a growing concern about the detrimental impact of
television on children during the late 1960s, the concept of visual
literacy gained considerable momentum in the United States.
Like information literacy and media literacy also visual liter-
acy has evolved alongside cultural, social, and technological
changes in societies around the world. Sadly, these digital tech-
nologies also sometimes offer people disinformation. In order to
be able to communicate and to survive all citizens need to de-
velop knowledge of traditional literacy as well as knowledge of
visual literacy. These are critical life skills.
158
 This chapter includes the following main sections: Some
early problems, An interdisciplinary concept, Visual literacy
theory, Research in visual literacy, Abilities, Competencies,
Skills, and Many definition problems.

Some early problems

The term Visual Literacy was coined in the 20th century, some
50 years ago. It has acted as a needed umbrella term for a rather
broad spectrum of applications, disciplines, and also some theo-
ries related to visual communication and visual language. There
have been and there still are many aspects of visual literacy and
of the use of images for various purposes. Many definitions and
many explanations of what visual literacy actually is have been
considered.
Braden, (1996, p. 9) wrote: “There are two major impedi-
ments to research on visual literacy. The first is a lack of a widely
accepted definition of the term Visual Literacy itself. The second,
perhaps a consequence of the first, is a lack of a cohesive theory.”
Already before the 1990s many scholars, coming from different
disciplines and from many areas of knowledge, had presented
their own private interpretations about the concept Visual Lit-
eracy.
In many attempts to form an all-encompassing concept of
Visual Literacy, early visual literacists brought practical as well
as theoretical components and ideas to visual literacy, from other
areas of knowledge such as:
Advertising (Griffin and Whiteside, 1984),
Business presentations (Griffin and Whiteside 1984),
Communication (Curtiss 1987),
Computer science (Whiteside 1983),
Education (Dondis 1973, Evans, Watson and Willows 1987),
Engineering (Earl 1983),
Film studies (Foster 1979),
Graphic design (Dondis 1973, Bennett 1989),
History (Schiller 1987),

159
Instruction (Levie 1978),
Language (Griffin and Whiteside 1984, Wilson 1988),
Learning (Dwyer 1978, Hanson, Silver, and Strong 1988),
Mathematics (Maccoby and Jacklin 1974),
Media (Cochran 1976),
Museum education (Davis 1939),
Perception (Haber and Myers 1982, Hanson, Silver, and Strong
1988),
Photography (Muffoletto 1982, Oudejans 1988),
Psychology (Hanson, Silver, and Strong 1988, Moore 1988),
Reading (Levin and Lesgold 1978),
Teacher education (Muffoletto 1983),
Teaching (Barry and Leaver 1989; Dale 1946; Evans, Watson,
and Willows 1987),
Television (Becker 1987, Foster 1979, Johnson 1988),
Text design (Bennett 1989),
Thinking (Braden and Hortin 1982, McKim 1980a 1980b),
Video (Hobbs 1989, Williams 1988),
Visual art (Arnheim 1969a, 1969b, 1986; Curtiss 1987),
Visual cognition (Sinatra 1986),
Visual communication (Dondis 1973, Hardin 1983),
Visual competence (Fransecky and Debes 1972, Ragan 1988),
Visual design (Braden 1987),
Visual language (Barthes 1977, Dondis 1973, Flory 1978, Petters-
son 1989),
Visual learning (Flory 1978),
Visual thinking (Arnheim 1969b, Flory 1978, Hortin 1984, Mar-
tinello 1985, McKim 1980a, 1980b).
As we can see in the next main section, this list has been extended
to include 125 different areas of study or disciplines, and 307 dif-
ferent authors. Scholars from all these disciplines have presented
their own needs of visual information and needs of visual liter-
acy, and they perceive the term in various ways.

160
An interdisciplinary concept
Various pictorial representations may be used a large number of
subject matter areas for presentations in different media. Visual
literacy is not confined to any particular academic discipline.
Many individuals from different areas of knowledge, and from
different disciplines, have explained their views and their inter-
pretations of visual literacy. Selected references to such research
are shown in the table below and on the following pages.

Visual literacy is related to many areas and many disciplines.

Area, discipline Author/s

Atkin and Rice, 2013; Besser 1987; Forceville
2017; Green, 2000; Griffin and Whiteside 1984;
Ketelaar, Van Gisbergen and Beentjes 2012;
Advertising
Kjeldsen, 2012; Kim and Park 2019; Lefler
2014; McQuarrie and Phillips, 2008; Velders
1996
Bakony 1983; Bamford 2003; Fellman Fattal
2012; Metallinos 1991; Mooney 2020; Vala-
Aesthetics
nidou 2011; Seward Barry 1994; Velders 1996;
Zettl and Kelly 2020
Adult education Kissick and Grob 1989; Velders 1995
Anatomy Eilam 2013; Metallinos 1994
Durington and Collins 2020; Hill 2003;
Anthropology
Keeran, Crowe and Bowers 2021; Müller 2008
Archeology Fee 1999; Fee and Fee 2012a, 2012b
Architecture Campbell 2008
Akpang 2018; Alter 2009; Arnheim 1969a,
1986; Coman 2004; Curtiss 1987; Emanuel and
Art Challons-Lipton 2014; Gonsalves 1983; Hassall,
2011; Hortin 1994; Johnson et al. 1963;
Selivanov 2021; Seward Barry 1994; Spalter

161
 and van Dam 2008; Velders 1996; Yenawine
2008; Williams 2014
Beier 2013; Curtiss 1987; Dondis 1973; Flem-
Art education ming 1960; Mackenzie 2012; McMaster 2015;
Rice 1989; Yerli̇kaya 2016
Bamford 2003; Emanuel and Challons-Lipton
Art history 2014; Garoian 1989; Hill 2003; Velders 1995,
1999
Astronomy Crider 2015
Audiovisual mate- Ausburn and Ausburn 1978; Cochran 1976; De-
rials and media bes 1969
Schönborn and Anderson 2006; Towns et al.
Biochemistry
2012
Eilam 2013; Fibriana, Pamelasari and Aulia
2017; Flannery 2006; Lord 1985; Roth et al.
Biology
1999; Susiyawati and Treagust 2021; Wander-
see 1992
Biotechnology Fibriana, Pamelasari and Aulia 2017
Brain research Lampe 1983; Sinatra 1986
Business
Brumberger 2005; Hentz 2006
communication
Business Griffin 1994; Griffin and Butt 1980; Griffin and
presentations Whiteside 1984
Cable television Johnson 1988
Cartography Balchin and Coleman 1966
Chemistry Polizois and Valanides 2011; Talley 1973
Child
Ausburn and Ausburn 1978
development
Cinema Eyüce 2012
Clothing Giesen and Robinson 2007

162
 Chiras and Valanides 2011; Danos and Norman
Cognition
2011; Dole 2012; Güney 2019
Cognitive
Reynolds Myers 1985
development
Cognitive style Hanson, Silver, and Strong 1988; Lampe 1983
Baca 1990; Bamford 2003; Bratslavsky et al.
2019; Csillag 2010; Curtiss 1987; Felten 2008;
Communication Gibbs 2006; Hirsch 1987; Messaris 1998, 2012;
studies Müller 2008; Roth and Roth 1998; Schallert–
Lawrie 1990; Wisely 1994; Wisely, Kennett, and
Bradford 1989
Comprehension Pruisner 2012
Computer Bodzin and Cirucci 2009; Chang, Quintana,
graphics and Krajick 2009; Spalter and van Dam 2008
Griffin and Whiteside 1984; Ragan 1988;
Computer science
Whiteside 1983
Computer literacy Considine and Haley 1992
Bratslavsky et al. 2019; Couch, Caropreso, and
Creativity Miller 1994; Hokanson 2019; Plucker,
Beghetto, and Dow, 2004
Critical thinking Bratslavsky et al. 2019
Cultural Identity Brown and Lysaght 2012
Bamford 2003; Emanuel and Challons-Lipton
Cultural studies 2014; Hill 2003; Keeran, Crowe and Bowers
2021; O’Donnell 2020; White 2012
Martinello 1985; Miller 1987; Ragan 1988;
Curriculum
Robinson 1991
Data visualization Boy et al. 2014; Locoro, Fisher and Mari 2021
Dondis 1973; Gibbons and Carol 2021; Spalter
Design
and van Dam, 2008

163
Didactic design Stenliden, Nissen, and Bodén 2017
American Library Association 2013; Çam and
Kiyici 2017; Ferrari 2012; Flood, Heath, and
Digital Literacy
Lapp, 2015; Luce-Kapler, 2007; Metros 2008;
Trail and Ackerman 2012
Avgerinou 2011; Baca 1990; Bedward et al.
2009; Behnke 2021a, 2021b; Bertoline, Burton,
and Wiley 1992; Bleed 2005; Dondis 1973; Ev-
ans, Watson and Willows 1987; Fee and Fee
2012a; Feinstein 1994; Fillion 1973; Finson and
Pederson 2011; Fleming and Minix 2021;
Education Güney 2019; Hammet & Illick 1971; Hill 2003;
Kędra 2018a; Kocaarslan 2013; Levie 1978;
Lopatovska et al. 2018; McVicker 2018; Miller
1987; Moline 1995; Muffoletto 1983, 1984;
Palmer 2011; Pedersen and Finson 2009; Sadik
2009; Schwartz 2008; Vezzoli 2017; Yeh and
Lohr 2010
Educational
Behnke 2021a, 2021b
psychology
Allen 1956; Baca 1990; Bamford 2003; Bolter
Educational
2001; Rowntree 1978; Seels and Richey 1994;
technology
Stokes 2002
Emotion Dzokoto et al. 2018; Reyes and Bishop 2019
Earl 1983; Miller 1992; Miller and Bertoline
Engineering
1991
Alter 2009; Barry and Leaver 1989; Connors
2011; da Rocha 2016; Eilam 2013; Espinosa and
English Burns 2003; Foster 1979; Mendoza and Reese
2001; Newfield 2011; O’Rourke 1981; Savic
2020
Environmental
Krejci et al. 2020
science

164
Equality Fullmer 2019
Ethics Limburg 1988
Ethnicity Fullmer 2019
Ethnography Ricardo, Ayala, and Koch 2019
Evolution Matuk and Uttal 2010
Bakony 1983; Foster 1979; Hill 2003; Malich
Film studies and Kehus 2012; McDougall 2019; Messaris
1998, 2012; Miller 1989
Games Bleed 2005
Dwyer 1972; Fullmer 2019; Elmiana 2019;
Gender
Moriarty 1996; Sosa and Kong 2007
Genetics Fibriana, Pamelasari and Aulia 2017
Behnke 2015, 2016b, 2017a, 2017b, 2021a,
2021b; Bodén and Stenliden 2019; Hollmann
Geography 2013, 2014; Pettersson et al. 1992;
Rose 2008, Thornes 2004; Trahorsch and
Bláha 2020
Bennett 1989; Braden 1994; Dondis 1973;
Dzokoto et al. 2018; Hardin 1983; Hoffman,
White and Aquino 2006; Pettersson 1989;
Graphic design
Pettersson and Strand 2006, 2018; Pettersson,
Strand and Avgerinou 2009; Pruisner 2009,
2010, 2012; Seidman 2009
Balchin and Coleman 1966; Drucker 2014;
Graphicacy
Kazmierczak 2001; Stafford 2004
Aagard 2009; Coventry et al. 2006; Eilam
2013; Fee and Fee 2012a; Keeran, Crowe and
History
Bowers 2021; Leahy 1991; Mitchell 2005a,
2005b; Schiller 1987
Human Rights Valanidou 2012
Iconology Mitchell 2005a, 2005b; Velders 1995

165
Illustration Levie and Lentz 1982; Thompson 1994
Image design Pettersson 1989; Thompson 1994
Information
Padovani 2008; Pettersson 1993, 2002, 2010
design
Boy et al. 2014; Locoro, Fisher and Mari 2021;
Information
Harris 2010; Sutton 1992; Tewell 2016;
literacy
Thompson and Beene 2020
Information tech. Braden 1987
Bennett 1989; Dwyer 1972; Fredette 1994;
Instruction
Levie 1978
Bamford 2003; Braden 1989; Dwyer 1972;
Instructional
Heinich, Molenda, and Russel 1982; Levie
design
1978; Sugar et al. 2012
Instructional Güney 2019; Sherman and Lockee 2001; Stokes
technology 2002;
Cooper, Reimann, and Cronin 2007; Cooper et
Interaction
al., 2014; Saffer 2010; Search 2012; Shedroff
Design
1999
Barnhurst and Whitney 1991; Kędra 2016a,
Journalism
2016b
Alter 2018; Furlong and Edwards 1993;
Greenlaw 1976; Griffin and Whiteside 1984;
Jahangard 2007; Larkin 2012; Liruso, Cad and
Language
Ojeda, 2019; McVicker 2005, 2018; Myatt
2008; Savic 2020; Sayer 2010; Seglem and
Witte 2009; Sless 1981; Wilson 1988
Leadership Bintz 2016
Ackerman et al. 2012; Anglin, Vaez and Cun-
ningham 2004; Carter 2018; Colwell, Mangano,
Learning and Hortin 1983; Cameron and Dwyer 2006;
Carney and Levin 2002; Clark and Lyons 2011;
Curtiss 1990; Danos and Norman 2011; Dwyer

166
 1978; Dwyer and Dwyer 1985; Eilam 2012,
2013; Engelmann 1969; Glasgow 1994; Hanson,
Silver, and Strong 1988; Johnson 2010; Lampe
1983; Levin 1981; Lohr 2008; Mayer 2005; Mo-
ran and Tegano 2005; Olson and Westrup
2010; Rieber 1994; Riesland 2005; Rourke and
O’Connor 2009; Rubin 2011; Seward Barry
1997; Sless 1981; Standing, Conezio and Haber,
1970; Stenliden 2015; Stern and Robinson
1994; Stokes 2002
ACRL 2011; Brown et al. 2016; Brumberger
Library and Infor- 2019; Gibbons and Carol 2021; Statton, Shem-
mation Science berger, and Wright, 2018; Thompson 2019a,
2019b, 2019c
Library science Good 1987; Thompson and Beene 2020
Linguistics Bamford 2003
Literacy Bamford 2003; Teabo 2012; Wilson 1988
Literacy Kress 2000, 2003; Kress and van Leeuwen
development 1996
Literacy education Kress and van Leeuwen 1996; Sinatra 1986
Literature Alter 2018; Fee and Fee 2012a
Management Gerstein and Yankelewitz 2012; Handzic 2021
Marketing Gerstein and Yankelewitz 2012
Botha, Van Putten and Kundema 2019; Mac-
Mathematics
coby and Jacklin 1974; Pauwels, 2006
Cochran 1976; Lloyd-Kolkin and Tyner 1990;
Media
Müller 2008; Whiteside 1985
Media education Velders 1995
Griffin 2008; Moran and Tegano 2005;
Media literacy Pauwels 2008; Thompson and Beene 2020;
Sutton 1992

167
 Bamford 2003; Behnke 2021a, 2021b; Bolter
Media studies
2001; Messaris 1998; 2012
Meteorology Lowe 2000
Microbiology Fibriana, Pamelasari and Aulia 2017
Multiliteracy Bowen 2017; Brown et al. 2010
Hodes 1998; Rubin, Schmidgall and Ramos-
Multimedia
Torrescano 2010; Search 2011
Barton 2016; Brown et al. 2010; Holsanova
Multimodality
2014; Karasavvidis 2019
Museum
Davis 1939; Rice 1989
education
Music Eyüce 2012
Narrative Goodnow 2020
Natural sciences Fibriana, Pamelasari and Aulia 2017
Neurophysiology Metallinos 1994
New educational
Ausburn and Ausburn 1978; Debes 1969
media
Nonfiction
Bryce 2012
Literacy
Object language Moore 1994
Akpang 2018; Avgerinou 2011; Dwyer 1978;
Pedagogy
Seward Barry 1997; Stenliden 2015
Barry 2005, 2020; Csillag 2008; Haber and
Myers 1982; Hanson, Silver, and Strong 1988;
Perception Messaris 1993; Metallinos 1991; Seward Barry
1994, 1997; Stern and Robinson 1994; Sutton
1990
Perceptual
Bamford 2003
physiology

168
 Bamford 2003; Debes 1970; Hortin 1994;
Philosophy
Leahy 1991
Abilock 2008; Campbell 2008; Dermata 2021;
Lantz 2007, 2009, 2010; McLeod 2019;
Photography McLeod 2021; Moran and Tegano 2005; Muffo-
letto 1982; Nearpass Ogden 2012; Oudejans
1988; Sutton 1992
Hakoköngäs, Kivioja, and Kleemola 2021;
Photojournalism Kędra 2016a, 2016b; Moran and Tegano 2005;
Poole 2004; Raetzsch 2015
Phototherapy Barreto 2006; Krauss 1984; Weiser 1984
Physics Papageorgiou and Valanides 2011
Physiology Bamford 2003; Metallinos 1994
Plant anatomy Susiyawati and Treagust 2021
Political Famulari (in press); Schill 2012; Seidman
communication 2008a, 2008b, 2010
Political science Hill 2003; Müller 2008
Politics McDougall 2019; Seidman 2009
Printing Lantz 2012
Hallewell and Lackovic 2017; Hanson, Silver,
Psychology and Strong 1988; Hill 2003; Hortin 1994;
Moore 1988; Müller 2008
Abas 2019; Bennett 1989; Levin and Lesgold
Reading 1978; Pruisner 2010; Reyes and Bishop 2019;
Sinatra 1986
Reading diagrams Bodén and Stenliden 2019
Bodén and Stenliden 2019; Boy et al. 2014; Lo-
Reading graphs
coro, Fisher and Mari 2021
Rhetoric Patton 2020

169
 Coleman, McTigue, and Smolkin 2011;
Finson and Pederson 2011; Lowe 2000;
Malamitsa, Kokkotas, and Kasoutas 2008;
Science
Marquez, Izquierdo, and Espinet 2006; Myatt
2008; Northcut 2007; Pauwels, 2006; Roth et
al. 1999; Rybarczyk 2011
Science education Aldrich, Sheppard and Hindle 2003
Bamford 2003; Finson and Pederson 2011; Hill
Semiology/
2003; Karasavvidis 2019; Muffoletto 1994;
semiotics
Velders 1995
Social history McDougall 2019
Social interactions Zagkotas, Fykaris, and Nikolaou 2017
Social science Bodén and Stenliden 2019
Social semiotics Kress and van Leeuwen 2006
Sociocultural
Fleckenstein 2007
theory
Sociology Bamford 2003; Müller 2008
Statistics Bodén and Stenliden 2019
Storytelling Goodnow 2020
Strategic reading Reyes and Bishop 2019
da Rocha 2016; Eberle 2008; Hatton and Smith
Teacher
1995; Moran and Tegano 2005;
Education
Muffoletto 1983
Anglin, Vaez and Cunningham 2004;
Avgerinou 2011; Barry and Leaver 1989; Carney
and Levin 2002; Clark and Lyons 2011; Con-
nors 2011; Dale 1946; Dwyer and Dwyer 1985;
Teaching
Eilam 2012, 2013; Ent 2012; Evans, Watson,
and Willows 1987; Garoian 1989; Kocaarslan
2013; Levin 1981; Lohr 2008; Lowe 2000;
Mayer 2005; Moran and Tegano 2005; Rezabek

170
 1990; Rieber 1994; Robinson 1992; Sadik 2009;
Serafini 2014; Standing, Conezio and Haber,
1970; Stokes 2002; Teabo 2009; Valanides and
Papageorgiou 2012; Wu 2010; Zaragoza Ander-
son 2010
Ausburn and Ausburn 1978; Bell, Gess-New-
Technology some, and Luft 2008; Brumberger 2011;
Chauvin 2003; Debes 1969; Lowe 2000
Adler 2006; Barry and Leaver 1989; Becker
Television 1987; Foster 1979; Johnson 1988; McLuhan
1955; Miller 1989; Robinson 1988
Test design Avgerinou 2000; Avgerinou and Ericson 1997
Text design Bennett 1989
Textiles Giesen and Robinson 2007
Braden and Hortin 1982; Bratslavsky et al.
Thinking
2019; McKim 1980a 1980b
Training Güney 2019
Pettersson and Strand 2006, 2018; White and
Typography
Aquino 2006
Video Hobbs 1989; Karasavvidis 2019; Williams 1988
Virtual construc-
Selivanov 2021
tion
Visual analysis Abas 2019; Lee, Cerreto and Ackerman 2010
Visual
Fee and Fee 2012b
Archaeology
Arnheim 1969a, 1986; Bamford 2003; Curtiss
Visual art 1987; Emery et al. 2019; Gonsalves 1983;
Hortin 1994; Seward Barry 1994; Velders 1996
Grabe 2020; Güney 2019; Miller and Burton
Visual cognition
1994; Seward Barry 1997; Sinatra 1986

171
 Abas 2019; Avgerinou and Pettersson 2011,
2020; Beh, Badni, and Norman 2011; Belland
and Best 1992; Behnke 2021a, 2021b;
Brumberger 2011; Dondis 1973; Famulari (in
press); Güney 2019; Hardin 1983; Lefler 2014;
Visual Lester 1995, 2006; Matusitz 2005; McDougall
communication and Hampton 1990; Moriarty 1994; Pettersson
1989; Scherer 1975; Schill 2012; Seels 1994;
Seidman 2008, 2010; Seward Barry 1997; Sew-
ell 1994; Sless 1981; Terzic 2008; Thompson
2019a, 2019b; Velders, de Vries, and Vaicaityte
2007; Wisely, Kennett, and Bradford 1989
Bowen 2017; Emanuel and Challons-Lipton
2014; Fransecky and Debes 1972; Griffin 2008;
Visual Hansen 1989; Kocaarslan 2013; Lapp, Flood,
competence and Fisher 1999; Metros 2008; Müller 2008;
Oring 2000; Paquin 1999; Ragan 1988; Seels
1994; Thompson 2019a, 2019b
Bernard 1990b; Elkins 2007; Mirzoeff 1999;
Mitchell 2005a, 2005b; Pauwels 2008;
Visual culture
Spalter and van Dam 2008; Velders, de Vries,
and Vaicaityte 2007
Braden 1987; Connors 2011; Gatto, Porter, and
Selleck 2011; Hung and Lockard 2007; Kress
Visual design
and Van Leeuwen 1996, 2006; Pettersson 1989;
Thompson 1994; Tomita 2015
Visual
Durington and Collins 2020
ethnography
Visual identity Shambaugh and Beacham 2012
Visual infor- Abilock 2008; Boy et al. 2014; Locoro, Fisher
mation literacy and Mari 2021
Avgerinou 2009; Avgerinou and Pettersson
Visual language 2011, 2020; Barthes 1977; Braden 1994;
Catalano 2008; da Silva and Coutinho 2008;

172
 Dondis 1973; Flory 1978; Jefferies 2007;
Kovalik 2005; Moore and Dwyer 1994;
Papageorgiou and Valanides 2011; Pettersson
1989, 1993, 2018; Rodriguez Estrada and Davis
2014; Seels 1994; Seward Barry 1994; Sewell
1994; Singer 2010
Avgerinou and Pettersson 2011, 2020; DeHart
2007; Dwyer 1978; Flory 1978; Güney 2019;
Mayall and Robinson 2009b; Moore and Dwyer
Visual learning
1994; Nelson Knupfer 1994; Pettersson 1989,
1993; Rodriguez Estrada and Davis 2014; Seels
1994; Sewell 1994
Visual intelligence Barry 1998; Güney 2019; Seward Barry 1997
Visual media Rodriguez Estrada and Davis 2014
Visual memory Güney 2019
Visual modality Papademetriou and Makri 2012
Avgerinou and Pettersson 2011, 2020; Barry
2002, 2005, 2020; Güney 2019; Messaris 1993;
Visual perception
Seward Barry 1994, 1997; Stern and Robinson
1994
Abilock 2008; Foss 2005; Hill 2004; La Gran-
Visual rhetoric deur 2005; Olson and Willcox 2012; Patton
2020
Visual semiotics Dunleavy 2020
Visual sociology Moran and Tegano 2005
Visual studies Elkins 2003
Arnheim 1969b; Asahel Silverstein 2011;
Avgerinou and Pettersson 2011, 2020; Flory
1978; Güney 2019; Hansen 1989, 1999; Hortin
Visual thinking
1984; Lee, Cerreto, Cross, and Chung 2011;
Martinello 1985; McKim 1980a, 1980b; Olson,
Shook, deGraffenried, and Westrup 2011;

173
 Rodriguez Estrada and Davis 2014; Seels 1994;
Valanidou 2011
Aigner et al 2011; Bederson and
Shneiderman, 2003; Burkhard 2005; Dowling,
2011; Dwyer 1973; Friedman 2008; Khan and
Visualisation Khan, 2011; Lengler and Eppler 2007;
Papageorgiou and Valanides 2011; Shiravi, Shi-
ravi, and Ghorbani 2012; Spalter and van Dam
2008; Thomas and Cook 2005
Writing Abas 2019; Barreto 2006; Wilson 1988

The above list includes references to 450 different articles,

books, chapters, and reports. These documents were written by
a total of 534 authors. The authors discuss visual literacy in 171
different areas, fields, and disciplines. This clearly demonstrates
a large inner-diversity of visual literacy as a concept, and at the
same time a large multi-diversity of visual literacy with respect
to areas, fields, and disciplines. It is very clear that the concept
visual literacy includes bits and pieces, influences, and perspec-
tives from a very large number of already established areas of re-
search. In the future visual literacy will probably be accepted as
a new discipline at some universities in the world.
There are of course still more examples to be found. A large
number of papers have been presented at Annual Conference of
the International Visual Literacy Association. Many papers have
been published in the Selected Readings, and many in the Jour-
nal of Visual Literacy. Pauwels (2008) discussed visual culture,
visual literacy, and visual scholarship. He concluded that (p. 23):
A more encompassing version of visual scholarship, both in
terms of subject matter, theories, methods and required
types of expertise, may (or may not) gradually develop into
an overarching interdisciplinary or trans-disciplinary con-
cern for understanding and dealing with the visual in human
endeavors in the broadest sense, and establish a more solid

174
 focus on integrating – wherever possible – insights of a very
varied nature. This does not necessarily require the disman-
tling of existing (sub)disciplines into a new one, but the cre-
ation of a meeting place of disciplines (through journals,
conferences, joint research projects), a site where discipli-
nary battles can be put aside, and where crossing borders be-
comes more accepted and less prone to amateurism.
Despite all our combined efforts during many years visual liter-
acy has not been able to attract enough interest from society and
enough interest from those responsible for the school curricula
around the world. An important reason for this may be a general
lack of focus.
Access to rapidly advancing digital technologies offer people
entertainment, information, and political rhetoric’s. This devel-
opment has increasingly impacted the perception, trust, and use
of different visual media. Many cultural and technological shifts
have changed what it means to be a visually literate individual in
the twenty-first century.
In my view, we need to consider combined verbal-visual
messages, not only words and not only visuals, when we study
communication and communication related issues. This is where
message design, and its subareas, may play a very important role
for visual literacists. The various literacies and modes of thinking
required in an information society will challenge the capacities of
every individual person. While a variety of means are being found
to help build and maintain these information resources, new vis-
tas of capacity lie before us. In my view, these opportunities, and
how we respond to them, will determine our collective future in
a world grown closer through mutual dependence upon shared
intellectual resources.
Thompson and Beene (2020) noted that rapidly advancing
technology, and easy multimodal access to disinformation, infor-
mation, and political rhetoric have had a huge impact on our per-
ception, and our use of visual media. These broader cultural and

175
technological shifts have also gradually changed what it means to
be a visually literate individual in the twenty-first century.

Visual literacy theory

According to Hooker (1992) a theory is not only a conceptual
framework, or an enclosed area. It also illustrates how and why
something is. According to Palmer (1999), a theory is an inte-
grated set of statements (hypotheses) about underlying mecha-
nisms or principles that not only organizes and explains known
facts but also makes predictions about forthcoming information
and news. A theory conceptualizes diverse phenomena and sys-
tematizes our knowledge about them. Lupton (2009) noted that
a theory is all about the question why.
While discussing information design, Pettersson (2021) used
the following definition of the concept theory (p. 28):

A theory is a branch of art, design or science that deals with

methods, principles, and proposed explanations that are still
subject to experimentation. A theory illustrates how and why
something is as it is.
For example, the system built for categorizing species of plants
by Carl von Linné is not a theory, and subsequently it does not
state anything. By way of example, some notable theories of dif-
ferent fields include the Big Bang Theory (Astronomy), the Con-
structivist Theory (Education), the Critical Theory (Humanities),
the Colour Theory (Visual Arts), etc.
The concept practice is defined as: “the exercise of a profes-
sion, and the expected way of doing something.” Researchers
formulate new hypotheses and follow well-established and relia-
ble processes for research.
We know that pictorial representations may be used in al-
most all areas of study, in almost all disciplines, and in different
media. Many individuals from various areas of knowledge, and
from some academic disciplines have explained their views and
their many interpretations of visual literacy.
176
 The review in a previous main section demonstrated the in-
ner-diversity of visual literacy as a concept, and the clear multi-
diversity of visual literacy with respect to areas, disciplines, and
fields. The previous main section includes a list of 125 different
areas of study, where 307 different authors have written about
various aspects of visual literacy.
In some areas of study, but not in all, researchers find that
parts of visual literacy are of interest to them. At the same time,
it is very clear that some areas of study have important core
knowledge for visual literacy. Having considered a vast literature
on visual literacy Avgerinou and Pettersson (2011, 2020) pro-
posed that a visual literacy theory should be grounded on the
following areas of knowledge: 1) Visual communication, 2) Visual
language, 3) Visual learning, 4) Visual perception, and 5) Visual
thinking.
This main section includes the following sections: Some
early visual literacy theories, and A new visual literacy theory.

Some early visual literacy theories

According to Jonassen and Fork (1975, p. 7) visual literacy is a
broad, “eclectic in origin” concept. Already 1975 these authors
hinted at the complex and very complicated task any visual liter-
acist is confronted with when attempting to make sense of any
theory at all for visual literacy. There are so many foundational
roots, and interest from many practitioners, researchers, and
teachers with their own specific areas of interest.
Flory (1978) presented the following theory of visual literacy:
(a) A Visual Language exists; (b) People can and do think visu-
ally; (c) People can and do learn visually; and, (d) People can and
should express themselves visually.
In 1982 Hortin noted that while the concept “Visual Liter-
acy” had been popular since 1969, no substantial theory of visual
literacy had yet been developed. Hortin indicated that most of
the visual literacy researchers had focused on applications and

177
practices, but also on the teaching of visual literacy. In fact, this
is still the case.
According to Burbank and Pett (1983) visual literacy is a
field that encompasses a variety of theoretical constructs and
practical considerations relating to communicating with visual
signs. The theoretical constructs that influence visual communi-
cation primarily fall into two closely interrelated categories:
those that relate to the individuals involved in the communica-
tion process, and those that relate to the visual signs. The first
category includes visual perception, hemispheric processes,
mental imagery, and cognitive styles. The second category in-
cludes sign systems, visual languaging, image variables, and im-
age analysis.
According to Griffin and Whiteside (1984) visual literacy
theory should stimulate practical applications. They suggested
that visual literacy should be approached from three different
perspectives: 1) a theoretical perspective, which incorporates
philosophical, physiological, and psychological aspects of learn-
ing; 2) a visual language perspective, which incorporates a re-
ceiver-oriented approach committed to helping people become
visually literate by effectively relating to visual stimuli; and, 3) a
presentational perspective, which incorporates a presenter-ori-
ented approach, and the improvement of the communications
process through design of visual stimuli.
Reynolds-Myers (1985) postulated the following four “Prin-
ciples of visual literacy theory” (p. 48): 1) Visual languaging abil-
ities develop prior to, and serve as the foundation for, Verbal
Language development; 2) Development of visual languaging
abilities is dependent upon learner interaction with objects, im-
ages, and body language; 3) The level of Visual Language devel-
opment is dependent upon the richness and diversity of the ob-
jects, images, and body language with which the learner interacts
and upon the degree of interaction; 4) The level of Visual Lan-
guage development is facilitated by direct learner involvement in
the process and equipment used to create objects, visual images,
178
and body language. Just as reader response theory (Rosenblatt,
1994) conceptualizes textual literacy in terms of an interaction
between the text and the reader, a theory of visual literacy ought
to consider the transaction of the viewer with the image (Abilock,
2008).
Many other theories, or theoretical schemata, have been pro-
posed. Some examples are: Braden 1987, 1996, Braden and
Hortin 1982; Clark-Baca 1990; Levie 1987; and Seels 1994. Avge-
rinou (2001) found several points of convergence among these
theories. All schemata seem to affirm art, philosophy, linguistics,
psychology as the parent disciplines for visual literacy. Also, all
schemata seem to accept communication, perception/visual per-
ception, visual learning/teaching, and visual thinking, as the
main constructs underlying visual literacy.
Mittal et al. (2021, p. 746) noted that: “Despite these theo-
ries, the complexity of VL and its coexistence in multiple disci-
plines have made it challenging to define it.”

A new visual literacy theory

Important conceptual investigations emerged between 1980 and
2010. However, visual literacy scholars had not arrived at a gen-
eral consensus for a theoretical organization of the visual literacy
field. Avgerinou and Pettersson (2011) presented an attempt to-
ward a cohesive theory of visual literacy. The main components
of the proposed VL theory were Visual Communication, Visual
Language, Visual Learning, Visual Perception, and Visual Think-
ing.
A review of research in visual literacy demonstrated the in-
ner-diversity of visual literacy as a concept, and the clear multi-
diversity of visual literacy with respect to areas, disciplines, and
fields. Many theoretical pieces have provided us with a substan-
tial amount of knowledge about the concept visual literacy. How-
ever, it has been complicated to organize and structure these the-
oretical pieces, and to provide any predictions as to how the con-
cept will behave under any given circumstances. Furthermore,
179
the absence of a comprehensive theory for visual literacy has im-
peded the establishment of an unanimously agreed definition of
the visual literacy concept. It has also proved to be counter-pro-
ductive in terms of generating research that is exclusively focused
on visual literacy.
In some areas of study, but not in all, researchers find that
parts of visual literacy are of interest to them. At the same time,
it is very clear that some areas of study have important core
knowledge for visual literacy. Having considered a vast literature
on visual literacy Avgerinou and Pettersson (2011, 2020) pro-
posed that a visual literacy theory should be grounded on the
following areas of knowledge: 1) Visual communication, 2) Visual
language, 3) Visual learning, 4) Visual perception, and 5) Visual
thinking.

Visual literacy (green sphere) is discussed in many established

areas, fields, and disciplines (represented here by the black
and red spheres, left picture), but not in all (represented here
by the orange sphere, middle picture). In some areas of study
researchers find that parts of visual literacy are of interest to
them, and vice versa. Five areas of study are especially im-
portant for visual literacy (right picture).
In the visual literacy theory model visual communication,
visual language, visual learning, and visual perception are lo-
cated in the four vertex corners of a regular tetrahedron. (A tet-
rahedron, or a triangular pyramid, is composed of four triangular
faces, six straight edges, and four vertex corners.) The fifth con-
ceptual component, visual thinking, is located in the middle of

180
the tetrahedron. This model clearly demonstrates how every con-
ceptual component always is connected with all the other con-
ceptual components. Furthermore, it is easy to see that visual
thinking always remain in the middle of the body of the regular
tetrahedron when we turn the model around. In this model every
single conceptual component is always connected with all the
other conceptual components.

The theory of visual literacy is grounded on five areas of study.

Every area is always connected with all the other areas. The
five areas of study are: 1) Visual communication, 2) Visual lan-
guage, 3) Visual learning, 4) Visual perception, and 5) Visual
thinking. Note that visual thinking is always in the middle
when we turn the three-dimensional model around.
Visual literacy is a multi-dimensional, multi-disciplinary,
and worldwide consideration. Like architecture, design, econom-
ics, education, engineering, journalism, medicine, music, and
many more disciplines also visual literacy has both practical as
well as theoretical components.
It may be possible to find some “core knowledge” of visual
literacy that may be very important to the use of pictures in all
disciplines and in all subject matter areas.

181
Research in visual literacy
This main section includes the following sections: Nonverbal
communication, Three waves of research, Qualitative research,
and Research articles.

Nonverbal communication
No doubt visual literacy is a part of the large field non-verbal
communication. Despite its key role in human interaction, not
much research has been conducted on behalf of non-verbal com-
munication. It has been claimed (Rosenthal, et al., 1979) that this
is due to factors such as:
• The strong verbal orientation of Western world’s societies;
• Because non-verbal messages are so embedded in human
communication, people tend to exchange them without being
aware of them;
• It is methodologically and practically difficult to isolate all re-
ception channels that participate in non-verbal communica-
tion with the view to researching each and every one of them.
According to Rosenthal et al. (1979) all research studies on non-
verbal communication fall under the structural or the external
variable approaches as outlined in Duncan’s (1969) seminal pa-
per “Nonverbal communication.” For many years, decoding non-
verbal cues in particular has been of mainstream interest to so-
cial psychology researchers. Yet, there has been a recognition
that this type of decoding cannot be easily assessed as the skills
involved in that process are intertwined with other cognitive
skills such as “ability to judge contextual or situational cues,
knowledge of personal dispositions, wisdom in choosing one’s
social responses, and various motivational states” (Rosenthal et
al., 1979, p. 3).

Three waves of research

Peña Alonso (2018, p. 111 f) made a bibliography of 2,400 articles
on visual literacy. He then created a full-text corpus of the 330
182
key articles and used tools for data visualisation. Examination of
the patterns revealed a rich history of visual literacy and showed
three waves of research associated with the development of par-
ticular technologies.
Wave 1) Visual literacy in art education (Davis, 1939) and
beyond into media studies during the 1940s and most of the
1950s (Flemming, 1960). Davis (1939) refers to “visual literacy”
as a necessary component within United States education. Davis
wrote: "Mere reading and writing are no longer sufficient. Liter-
acy of many kinds is necessary for taking a responsible part in a
more complex world." (Davis, 1939 as cited in Peña Alonso,
2018). After WWII, discussions related to visual literacy re-
emerged in the field of educational technology (e.g., Allen, 1956).
Such discussions attended to the implications of television and
its possible implementation in classrooms.
Wave 2) Visual literacy movement (Fransecky and Debes,
1972, p.7; Moore and Dwyer, 1994, p. 14ff). Peña Alonso (p. 51)
noted that Debes had claimed the term “Visual Literacy” himself
(Eastman Kodak Company, 1967; Johnson, 1977). However, at
that time the term had already been in use for at least 30 years.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, researchers struggled to agree
upon an “operational definition” of visual literacy, leading at one
point to as many as 62 definitions (Hortin, 1980a, p. 291).
Wave 3) A new generation of scholars show interest for vis-
ual literacy (e.g., Kress and van Leeuwen, 1996; Messaris, 1994).

Qualitative research
According to Creswell (2012) qualitative research is suitable
when no existing theory adequately explains the complexity of an
issue. Furthermore, qualitative research is suitable when a spe-
cific subject is too complex for a quantitative analysis. Elliott and
Timulak (2015) argued that qualitative research emphasizes un-
derstanding an issue from the perspectives of participants as op-
posed to external theories.

183
 In order to attain an “enriched ethnographic analysis” Ri-
cardo, Ayala, and Koch (2019) used nonconventional methods,
such as participant-made drawings and sociograms. Their re-
search method draws on interaction, representation, and visual-
isation, as ports of entry into group dynamics.

Research articles
Brumberger (2019) examined all VL-related research published
in the Journal of Visual Literacy between 1981–2017. She found
that most articles are conceptual or theoretical in nature with
frameworks and models for defining and understanding what
visual literacy is. Many of the articles are pedagogical case stud-
ies, describing assignments related to visual literacy. Only ap-
proximately 27% of the articles are focused on research.
The overall corpus of research articles is 375+ articles. A to-
tal of 104 articles were research articles, with 187 specified re-
search questions. The most frequent word in the total corpus of
research questions is students, followed by learning, text, visu-
als, and science. This focus on students and learning has per-
sisted across the entire time span.
However, the key terms shift from decade to decade. During
the first decade (1981-1990), the top five key terms were instruc-
tion, verbal, testing, effective, and news. The top five key terms
during the second decade (1991–2000) were visuals, students,
ability, effect, and emoticons. During the third decade (2001–
2010), the top five key terms were learning, instructions, stu-
dents, colour, and individuals. Over the last seven-year period
(2011–2017), the top five key terms were science, text, students,
cartoons, learning. This study indicates that “the core focus on
students and learning has persisted across the entire time span
that the JVL has been published” (p. 6).
Brumberger (2019) concluded that because visual literacy
sits at the intersection of many disciplines, visual literacy re-
search is poised to contribute to many areas and practices, both
inside academia and in the public sphere. Mapping the topics and
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questions that drive our research can help us better define the
field, better articulate the value of our scholarship, and better
share our work with those in the communities in which we teach
and practice.

Abilities
The visual literacy ability has been specified as: 1) to read/ de-
code/interpret visual statements, 2) to write/encode/ create vis-
ual statements, 3) to think visually (Avgerinou, 2003). Although
it could be argued that “thinking visually” has been implied in
most definitions. It has been added to and explicitly stated in
more recent definitions.
Avgerinou and Pettersson (2020, p. 444–445) noted that
many scholars have argued that “photographic context” is neces-
sary to distinguish individual journalistic photographs from
other images. Obviously, even when the “page context” contains
a caption, a journalistic image will still convey most of the visual
information.
Some visual literacy definitions refer to visual literacy as a
group of abilities stating this either explicitly (Ausburn and Aus-
burn, 1978; Debes, 1969; IVLA, 1989 in Pettersson 1993), or im-
plicitly (Braden and Hortin, 1982; Hortin, 1983). Others (Curtiss,
1987; Dondis, 1973; Heinich et al., 1982; Schiller, 1987; Sinatra,
1986) mention that visual literacy is ‘the/an ability to…’, and by
so doing they imply that visual literacy is one, major ability be-
hind which other, sub-abilities can be identified.
This main section includes the following sections: Composi-
tion and composing, Ability to construct meaning, and Ability
to read photographs.

Composition and composing

Schiller (1987) developed a diagram attempting to show the in-
put and output model of human perception and expression sug-
gesting how the different literacies have developed from the ab-
stractive processes of symbolic and image expression. He noted
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that every image is an aesthetic abstraction with a depictive ca-
pacity. This capacity ranges from highly abstract, such as printed
letters of the alphabet, to exacting isomorphism, such as realistic
paintings. Schiller claimed that in all the imaginative visual arts,
the composition is the fundamental unit–and that composing
is the fundamental process. He stated that: “It is in providing a
deeper understanding of this process that visual literacy can offer
education a pathway into the future that can begin to focus on
the knowledge most worth knowing” (1987, p. 282).

Ability to construct meaning

Giorgis et al. (1999) offered brief descriptions of 36 illustrated
children’s books, all with excellent examples of design and illus-
trations. The authors grouped the books according to use of col-
our, composition, design, line, perspective, technique, and tex-
ture. Giorgis et al. defined visual literacy as the “ability to con-
struct meaning from visual images.”
It's not enough to simply receive a message in a passive man-
ner. A truly visually literate person must be able to construct
meaning out of the images that are shown (Felten, 2008). In ac-
cordance with Coleman, McTigue, and Dantzler (2018) an effec-
tive use of graphics is multifaceted. It includes being able to or-
ganize information, to create graphics, to read graphics, to locate
specific information within a graphic, and to communicate with
others through the use of graphics. The effective use of graphics
must be taught (Gerber, Boulton-Lewis, and Bruce 1995; Kress
and van Leeuwen, 2006).
Visual literacy can help students become more aware of the
social structures and representations in society, make them more
aware of the reinforcing media messages they encounter on a
daily basis (Mihailidis and Hiebert, 2005) and recognize their
own biases when producing creative works.
Dake (1999) argued that visual literacy begins when the eyes
scan the visual field and make highly selective choices of spatial
information to construct a stable mental image of the world. One
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study discovered that non-professional subjects used almost ex-
clusively small, local scan-paths (Zangemeister, Sherman and
Stark, 1995). Professional subjects, however, made many global
scans and had a large ratio between local to global scan paths.

Ability to read photographs

Farrell (2013) investigated the measurement of VL ability across
the US in order to establish a baseline VL ability measure from
which to make vital decisions in the purposeful training of visual
literacy within teacher preparatory programs and professional
development within school districts. Her findings emphasized
the need for more development in critical engagement with visu-
als especially as it applies to Common Core State Standards as-
sessments, consumer-driven marketing and power roles, and
new modes of digital authorship in a media-saturated society.
Kędra (2016a) suggested using journalistic photographs and
their interpretation as an instrument of visual literacy education.
The focus of her study was the image interpretation process, and
the methods that can be applied to guide journalistic photog-
raphy interpretation in visual literacy education. The main focus
in her model is an eight-step collection of questions compiled in
order of interpretation, reading and analysing the caption, de-
scribing photographic techniques, viewer’s emotions and feel-
ings related to the photograph, identifying punctum and inter-
textual connotations along with visual rhetorical figures, and in-
dicating a message implied in the photograph. The model is built
on the denotative-connotative division.
Many scholars have argued that photographic context is nec-
essary to distinguish individual journalistic photographs from
other images. Obviously, even when the page context is limited
only to a caption, a journalistic image will still convey visual in-
formation. Kędra (2017) made a critical evaluation of contextual
studies of journalistic photographs and she proposed to interpret
journalistic photographs without the traditional photographic con-
text. Reading photographs without the page context offer the
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viewer freedom to search for various meanings and get a deeper
understanding of the images. Each viewer interprets a journalistic
photograph from her or his own cultural background, experience
and visual competence. According to Kędra (2017) this approach
is especially useful for visual education.

Competencies
Today competency in visual literacy is crucial for effective visual
communication. According to Pettersson and Avgerinou (2016),
“The ability for visual communication is becoming more im-
portant as an increasing number of decisions in society are being
made on the basis of pictorial representations” (p. 260). The na-
ture of visual literacy among the young and the relationship be-
tween visual competencies and the notion of media literacy have
not been adequately specified and fully explored (Griffin, 2008).
Avgerinou and Pettersson (2020, p. 444) concluded: “Since
it is not easy to use traditional literacy criteria on texts con-
structed in other modalities, educators must develop new assess-
ment tools. These new tools must focus on the ways in which de-
sired learning outcomes may be achieved.”
This main section includes the following sections: Media cul-
ture, Reading pictures, The general population, Outcomes, An
emerging shift, Critical visual literacy, Digital competence, and
Visual information literacy.

Media culture
Visual competencies are too often assumed on the part of those
that exhibit familiarity with media culture. Griffin (2008) argued
that: 1) a cultivated awareness of the production of visual forms
and characteristics, and their implications, is necessary for what
has been described in the literature as “media literacy”, and 2)
the acquisition of visual analysis skills pre-requires a broader op-
erational context of media literacy. Visual competencies and me-
dia literacy skills may be mutually dependent.

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 Students are consumers and producers of media. They have
easy access to sophisticated entertainment, and visually rich so-
cial networks. However, they are not visually literate (Metros,
2008). They do not have the skills to understand how to decipher
an image and make ethical decisions based on validity and worth.
They lack a vocabulary of vision to communicate nonverbally.
The emphasis on images over words has continuously in-
creased (McQuarrie and Phillips, 2008). And Kjeldsen (2012)
noted a remarkable shift in the use of imagery and text in mes-
sages over the past decades. Addressing significant social prob-
lems, such as climate change, environmental pollution, and pub-
lic health depend for their success on the creation of effective per-
suasive messages (Atkin and Rice, 2013).
Lefler (2014) discussed the impact of advertising in our modern
visual culture. Advertising is a pedagogy that teaches individuals
what they need, what they should desire, and what they should
think and do to be happy, patriotic, and successful. Advertising is
not just part of the dominant culture; it is the dominant culture
(Twitchell, 1996). We live in an increasingly visual society and we
are losing our patience with written words (Machin, 2014)
According to Brown et al. (2016, p. 60): “participation in a
highly visual culture does not in itself prepare [students] to en-
gage critically and effectively with images and media in an aca-
demic environment.” Artificial intelligence, disinformation, and
major technological changes impact our perception, trust, and
use of visual media. New demands are put on a visually literate
individual (Tewell, 2016).
Bowen (2017) noted that criteria for assessing student learn-
ing have not moved much beyond the traditional written text dis-
ciplines, except in art and design. Bowen proposed five levels of
assessment criteria for describing Visual Literacy Competency.
1. Recognition of Representations. People are looking at images
and are aware that they represent creatures, events, objects,
people, places and things in the world.

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2. Identification and Narration. People understand that images
can be used to illustrate a story about an activity or event, a
moment or interactions.
3. Interpretation and Analysis. People can be reading images,
and gain perspectives in ways that words alone may not.
4. Manipulation and Recreation. People understand affective
implications of images in a critical way. People can reuse, rec-
reate, and redistribute affective implications of images, and
create their own narratives and they can retell stories from
new perspectives.
5. Conceptualization, Creation, and Intertextual presentation.
People have the capacity to understand and apply visual rhe-
torical concepts. People can critically analyze different visual
representations. People can articulate and rationalize deci-
sions they make about contextual positions, image selection,
and manipulations.
The five levels of assessment criteria may be used for developing
scales for assessing competency at different levels. Twenty-first
century students are used to construct digital, visual, and multi-
modal artefacts. Since it is not easy to use traditional literacy cri-
teria on texts that are constructed in other modalities educators
must develop new assessment tools. These new tools will focus
on the ways in which desired learning outcomes may be achieved.
Communication takes place in multiple modes. In pedagog-
ical materials for young learners meaning is made through mul-
timodal texts that include many resources such as colour, images
in various sizes, numbers, and verbal language. At primary level
Liruso, Cad, and Ojeda (2019) examined young learners’ (five to
eleven years old) interpretations and productions of images and
language. They found that young learners were able to assign
meaning to images that could be communicated in the foreign
language both at the level of comprehension and production. The
inclusion of visual literacy to the teaching of foreign languages to
young learners can: 1) Enhance communicative abilities, 2)

190
Favour language engagement and understanding, and 3) Pro-
mote critical thinking.
Creating multimodal messages requires mastering the req-
uisite hardware and software tools (Manovich, 2013). However,
there is still little knowledge about how users receive and under-
stand multimodal media products (Holsanova, 2014).

Reading pictures
According to Fransecky and Debes (1972, p. 12) a visually literate
student must be able to: 1) Read visuals made for intentional
communication, 2) Plan visuals for intentional communication,
3) Create visuals for intentional communication, and 4) Combine
visuals and verbals for intentional communication.
In order to make meaning from images “readers” use their
critical skills of critique, exploration, and reflection. To describe
the combined literacies needed to read in a “multimedia world”
Lapp, Flood, and Fisher (1999) used the term “intermediality.”
Pictures exist all around us, and Oring (2000, p. 58) argued that
“the need to learn to read visual images is an urgent one that
touches at all levels in our society.”
In terms of its relevance to social sciences (anthropology,
communication science, media and social psychology, political
science, sociology) Müller (2008, p. 101) suggested that the term
“visual competence” is necessary.
Kocaarslan (2013) studied the competencies of visual liter-
acy of the students of 347 teacher candidates at Bartın University
in Turkey. Results showed a positive correlation between the
level of visual literacy competency and the academic achieve-
ment score.
Initially visual literacy may be demonstrated at the basic lev-
els of recognition and understanding, such as indicating the
name of a painting and/or its artist, recognizing an image, and
telling what a symbol means (Emanuel and Challons-Lipton,
2014). On a more skilled level subjects are more skilled at ana-
lysing and interpreting the meaning of visuals. Studying a
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cultural artefact provides subjects with an opportunity to put
things in context and to practice critical thinking.
Viewers who are that lacking a critical eye may fall victim to
misinformation purposefully distributed by agitators whose goal
is to deliberately prey upon one's beliefs in order to deceive (Shen
et al., 2018).
Hall (1966) claimed that the natural physical distance be-
tween people defines their social relations. In the natural dis-
tance theory Hall defined the following distances:

Close intimate distance is showing the face, there is great in-

timacy.
Far intimate distance is showing the head, two persons can
touch each other.
Close personal distance is revealing the shoulders, one per-
son can grasp another person.
Far personal distance is showing half of the body.
Close social distance is showing a full body, two persons have
impersonal business.
Far social distance is showing the background, and imper-
sonal relations.
Close public distance is showing more than one person, a per-
son feels the presence of another person close to her/him.
Far public distance is showing a group of people.

Based on the natural distance theory, Kress and van Leeuwen

(2006) defined six corresponding “fields of vision.” Kress and
van Leeuwen condensed the two phases of far intimate distance,
and far public distance into one category.

The general population

Experts and policymakers do not often consider public percep-
tions about environmental issues when putting together tech-
nical documents. Through surveys and interviews of 40

192
Northeast Ohio residents, Le Rouge (2021) asked participants fu-
ture freshwater offshore wind farm on Lake Erie in North Amer-
ica about their literacy (reading and writing habits), their envi-
ronmental knowledge, and experiences. Then, the interviewer
asked participants specific questions about the proposed wind
farm and associated technical documents.
The technical documentation about this wind farm included
much visual information in the form of charts, maps, photo-
graphs, and technical illustrations. There was a range of docu-
ment types, from alphabetic text to partially illustrated, photo-
graphic, and video genres. Participants had the chance to re-
spond in written, oral, and drawn formats. In the end, small focus
groups met to talk about the project and give their recommenda-
tions to policymakers.
Research showed that participants had a distinctly embod-
ied understanding of environmental information (Le Rouge,
2021). Their drawings, oral stories, and written responses reflect
use of visual literacy that personifies fish and birds, the lake it-
self, the actual wind turbines, and Earth’s processes as human in
nature.
In return, participants’ perception of the wind farm’s fea-
tures, distance, and size, is skewed toward an immediate, and
physical presence. Some participants quickly realized that their
drawings were flawed when compared to the technical simula-
tions. The anticipated size of the wind turbines was dispropor-
tionately large compared to most other subjects in participant
drawings, including buildings, Lake Erie, and the sun. Of 38 rep-
resentations of wind turbines, 29 were “huge” (designated as
such in a qualitative evaluation).
However, what the general population sees as important in
a large-scale sustainable energy project is very different from
what is shown in technical documentation from engineers, poli-
cymakers, and scientists. This is complicating public decision
making.

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Outcomes
When Paquin (1999) discussed “competencies of visual literacy”
he combined the concept of visual literacy skill perspectives of
Fransecky and Debes (1972), Hansen (1989), and Seels (1994),
with the visual literacy outcome perspective, proposed by Ragan
(1988). Paquin made an “expanded taxonomy of visual literacy
outcomes” (p. 247). Paquin’s “expansion” is the addition of out-
comes that require combining of visuals and verbal information
for successful visual communication. In the table below and fol-
lowing on the next page these new expansions are set in blue text.
The expansions made by Paquin make the model interesting for
information design. (See next page.)

194
 An expanded taxonomy of visual literacy outcomes.

Level Manipulation Construction Abstractions

Pri- Holding, touching Creating simple Identification of

mary and changing ob- works, paintings, concepts– sizes,
jects in the environ- cut outs. Taking shapes, colours,
ment. pictures. names with objects.

Skilled Using tools for Drawing with per- Creating visual

problem solving; spective. Control- plans/patterns in
sewing, taking apart ling variables when two dimensions.
and reassembling taking/ processing Specifying photo-
things. pictures. Origami or graphic treatment
Sequencing and de- other complex con-
for objects, actions
scribing photo- structions.
and sequences.
graphs. Interpreting and
Creating visuals
following mixed in-
structions. from verbals and
vice–versa.

Advan- Mental manipula- Ability to draw im- Multiple holistic ap-

ced tions of complex agined objects in 3- positional forms of
representations; D, producing origi- abstract thought;
maps, multivariate nal conceptualiza- lateral thinking, vis-
statistical models. tions. Processing ual intuition,
one’s own original unique visual in-
photographic style.
vention.
Develop meaningful
Describe conceptual
charts and graphs
from given data visual ideas ver-
sets. Creating fly- bally.
ers, advertisements
or other mixed
communication.

195
An emerging shift
It seems that visual literacy has become a critical area for student
learning throughout the higher education curriculum. The ACRL
(Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education)
outline visual literacy competencies for learners in the twenty-
first century. Through an analysis of 196 research articles pub-
lished from 2011 to 2019, Thompson and Beene (2020) exam-
ined how the ACRL standards have been used. Thompson and
Beene studied the following nine aspects:
1. The location in which the research was published.
2. The year the research was published.
3. The primary and secondary disciplines where visual literacy
research is occurring.
4. The types of literacies being researched.
5. The educational audience for which the research is intended;
6. Subject categories and fields.
7. How the Visual Literacy Standards were used, mentioned, or
referenced in the research.
8. Type of research item and how the standards were used.
9. Correlation in the format of the research item and how the
standards were implemented in the research.
This study unveils an emerging shift in the paradigm of visual
literacy scholarship. Thompson and Beene identified library sci-
ence (100 items), education (46 items), and also seventeen other
disciplines as primary disciplines for visual literacy. The authors
coded thirty research items as belonging to two different primary
disciplines. One item was identified as having three primary dis-
ciplines. Usually “multi-disciplinarity” occurred when multiple
authors from different fields collaborated in a research project.
Thompson and Beene (2020) identified visual literacy as the
primary literacy (112 items), followed by information literacy (24
items), media literacy (14 items), and archival/primary source
literacy (10 items). Data literacy (6 items), digital literacy (5
items), and data visualisation literacy (1 item) were the least
196
mentioned types of literacy identified by the authors. The au-
thors designated 18 items as having multiple types of literacy. In-
formation literacy and visual literacy overlapped the most.

Critical visual literacy

Newfield (2011) discussed differences in method and orientation
between two “educational materials” produced for classroom use
in South Africa. The first material was produced in 1993, during
the last few years of apartheid education, under the two umbrel-
las of “media education,” and “visual literacy.”
A goal for media education was the strengthening of demo-
cratic educational practices in the face of hegemonic structures.
Many authors had shown how visual images of all kinds were in-
creasingly used to represent feelings, ideas, and meanings. Pho-
tographs created a powerful sense of “evidence,” “reality”, and
“truth.” In education “visual literacy” enhances understanding of
the role and function of images in communication and represen-
tation, especially in the media.
In South Africa there was a shift in pedagogic orientation be-
tween 1993 and 2011. According to Ferreira (2009) it is better to
use the term “critical visual literacy,” than “visual literacy,” when
the term includes criticality. The second material was produced,
under a new umbrella of “critical visual literacy,” and in a new
historical context. This version emphasised editorial and photo-
graphic choice in relation to positioning, and interrogated the so-
cial effects of the image for a contemporary audience.
Both versions of the “educational materials” were premised
on inclusion of visual media in what were then almost exclusively
language- and literature-based curricula. A critical visual literacy
reading would reveal that a number of textual and contextual fea-
tures contribute to the readers’ interpellation.
Newfield (2011) found that the examination of authorial dis-
course, context, and semiotic choice demonstrated: 1) The posi-
tioned and positioning nature of visual texts, 2) The socio-politi-
cal consequences of semiotic choices in visual texts, and 3)
197
Emphasis on reading against, rather than reading with the visual
text.

Digital competence
Higher education students are increasingly faced with the chal-
lenge of building and strengthening their own digital competen-
cies in order to meet the requirements of their future professions.
Merkt et al. (2020) described the development of a digital com-
petency model, with which digital competence can be described
and easily grasped by university students. The digital compe-
tency model includes eight dimensions:
• IT competence. Task-oriented, adequate and safe use of digi-
tal technologies and devices for studies, work, and everyday
life.
• Information literacy. Competent and critical handling of in-
formation; obtain, evaluate, organize, share and use infor-
mation correctly.
• Communication/collaboration. Use and active participation
in digital (social) networks for learning, teaching and re-
search. This dimension corresponds to the aspect of media
use.
• Digital teaching. Confident handling and independent use of
digital technologies for learning and teaching purposes.
• Digital identity and career planning. Building, maintaining
and protecting your own digital identity.
• Digital science. Use and generation of digital data, sources,
methods and publications to achieve individual scientific
goals.
• Digital production. Creation of digital media for learning and
teaching purposes, or for research. In this dimension, the as-
pect of media design is transferred to academic fields of ac-
tion.
• Analysis and reflection. Efficient and critical use of digital
media, analysis and criticism of one’s own use of media as

198
 well as use of digital media to reflect on one’s own actions.
This dimension corresponds to media criticism.
The digital competency model includes three skill levels:
• Digital Literacy, students have basic knowledge of digital
technologies.
• Digital Fluency, students can use digital technologies.
• Digital Scholarship, students can provide instructions about
digital technologies to others.
Merkt et al. (2020) present a competency grid based on the com-
petency model with detailed verbal competency descriptions.

Visual information literacy

A “literate” person is able to decipher the basic code and syntax,
interpret the signs and symbols, correctly apply terms from an
academic discipline or field of study, understand how things fit
together, and do appropriate work. Visual information literacy is
the ability to understand, evaluate, and use visual information
(Abilock, 2008).
According to Boy et al. (2014) visualization literacy is “the
ability to confidently use a given data visualization to translate
questions specified in the data domain into visual queries in the
visual domain, as well as interpreting visual patterns in the visual
domain, as well as interpreting visual patterns in the domain as
properties in the domain.”
According to Locoro, Fisher and Mari (2021) it is a major
problem in education, and in visual information design that the
ability to properly process information from data graphics is still
“off the radar.” At the same time tools to measure people’s read-
ing and writing abilities with texts and numbers are ripe. Appar-
ently even less interest is devoted to evaluation of these skills.
Locoro, Fisher and Mari (2021) call this ability to process infor-
mation from data graphics in a proper way for Visual Infor-
mation Literacy.

199
 Locoro, Fisher and Mari (2021) present an exploration of
methods and tools towards the measurement effectiveness and
efficiency of data graphics. They present the design of a model
characterizing it as a developmental skills progression that co-
vers the cognitive abilities activated when dealing with data
graphics. Further, they present statistical evidence that data
graphics comprehension depends on the matching of users’ abil-
ities and data graphics difficulties.

Skills
Some researchers, as well as some practitioners, have provided
definitions of visual literacy with emphasis on the holistic success
of the actual use of visual literacy techniques in producing visual
messages, in art, in everyday life, as well as in teaching. Debes
(1969) identified 35 visual literacy skills. These skills range from
the ability to distinguish light from dark to the ability to read and
express a sequence of body language arranged to express a per-
sonal emotion.
The visual literacy skills are not isolated from other sensory
skills. It is generally believed that there is exchangeability of in-
formation received and transmitted by all sensory channels.
Avgerinou and Pettersson (2020, p. 443) concluded: “The visual
literacy skills are (a) learnable, (b) teachable, and (c) capable of
development and improvement. Although research has not al-
ways substantiated these assertions, most VL definitions have
embraced them.”
This main section includes the following sections: A skill to
be learned, Textbooks, Digital textbooks, Preschool, Elementary
school, Visual awareness, Theory of mind, Middle school/Jun-
ior high school, High school, College and university, Library ex-
hibitions, and Developing communities.

A skill to be learned
Seeing is direct and effortless. Making and understanding visual
messages is natural to a point. However, effectiveness in visual
200
literacy can only be achieved through learning. And the ability to
read and understand pictures is learned. This learning to under-
stand pictures takes place more rapidly in a culture where pic-
tures are used and seen frequently. Pictures reinforce our
knowledge when they are needed.
It is necessary for all people to become discerning citizens
who understand the role images play in communication today.
Everyone needs to learn how to increase their visual literacy
skills and critically read images.
Debes (1969) identified 35 different visual literacy skills.
These skills range from the ability to distinguish light from dark
to the ability to read and express a sequence of body language
arranged to express a personal emotion. Automatic acquiring of
visual literacy skills mostly concerns so-called “lower order
thinking skills” (Tillman, 2012).
Our contemporary society is dominated by visual communi-
cation, yet visual literacy is a learned skill that requires training.
The visual literacy skills are not isolated from other sensory
skills. It is generally believed that there is exchangeability of in-
formation received and transmitted by all sensory channels.
Given this, visual literacy is thought to improve the development
of verbal (written and oral) literacy (Avgerinou, 2003). The vis-
ual literacy skills are: 1) Learnable, 2) Teachable, and 3) Capable
of development and improvement. Although research has not al-
ways substantiated these allegations, most visual literacy defini-
tions are centred on them.
In the field of Visual Literacy and Visual Communication
Velders, de Vries, and Vaicaityte (2007) reported on a successful
inter-university co-operation between a research university and
a university of applied sciences. Participating students from both
institutes worked together in a course.
Art criticism, art history, art philosophy, etc. have lost the
prerogative to the use of images (Mitchell, 2008). Many of the
issues connected to the use of images exceed the aesthetic, or

201
formal characteristics of images. A deep understanding and use
of images require a conscious learning effort.
A person with visual literacy skills can extract the essence,
the most important idea, from a visual message (Rieber, 1991).
In order to improve visual literacy skills, it is a good idea to en-
courage learners to practice reading visuals through analysis
techniques, and to produce visuals as tools for communication
(Heinich et al., 1999).
Thompson (2019b) provides a detailed overview of current
initiatives, organizations, and resources for visual literacy and
related visual arts education initiatives in the USA and abroad.
By examining these existing initiatives, it is possible to under-
stand the current state of visual literacy and related visual arts
education initiatives in several sectors like: education partner-
ships, frameworks outside of education, higher education initia-
tives, industry initiatives, international organizations, K-12 edu-
cation standards, museum partnerships, and national organiza-
tions.
The use of visuals in education and training is a factor that
increases the effectiveness, efficiency and attractiveness of the
learning-teaching process and positively affects motivation
(Güney 2019). According to Savic (2020) the 21st century re-
quires learners to move beyond the traditional print literacy
skills and develop strategies for effective communication in pre-
dominantly visual environments.
An image rich world
Many believe that visuals will communicate instantly and univer-
sally. In a society that is becoming increasingly visually oriented
and diverse, few people appreciate the critical role of visual liter-
acy and visual communication (Wilcox, Ault and Agee, 1992).
Students must learn to cope with a visually rich culture. Felten
(2008, p. 60) concluded: “living in an image rich world, however,
does not mean students (or faculty and administrators) naturally
possess sophisticated visual literacy skills.” They all need

202
practice and training to develop the ability to recognize, inter-
pret, and employ the distinct syntax and semantics of different
visual forms. The capacity to manipulate and make meaning with
images is a core component of visual literacy.
The ability to create and interpret information from a multi-
plicity of visual sources is becoming a ‘survival skill’ in schools
today (McKenzie, 2008, p. 1). Participation in a highly visual cul-
ture does not prepare college learners to engage critically and ef-
fectively with the visuals in an academic environment. Hattwig
et al. (2012, p. 61) argued for higher education’s support of visual
literacy since it represents essential competencies for 21st century
learners. In higher education students need to be able to find,
identify, evaluate, understand, and use images and visual media
effectively (Hattwig et al., 2013). They have to learn to create
meaningful images.
In USA the majority of the inhabitants (77%) go online every
day, and about a quarter of adults say they are “almost con-
stantly” online (Perrin and Jiang, 2018). In the age group 18–24
years old, 94% use YouTube, 80% use Facebook, 78% use Snap-
chat, 71% use Instagram, and 45% use Twitter (Smith and Ander-
son, 2018).
McVicker (2018) concluded that visual literacy skills assist
students in all levels of concept and skill learning. The ever-in-
creasing use of technology in virtually every aspect of life legiti-
mizes visual literacy’s place on the list of language arts. Visual
literacy clearly has an important status from early childhood set-
tings to the secondary education and university studies.
Visual storytelling comes in many forms (e.g. commercials,
comics, films, and photographs). It is used for a range of pur-
poses (e.g. to entertain, inform, and persuade). Technological ad-
vances are fast enabling non-specialists to be consumers and
producers of visual storytelling. Williams (2019) noted that alt-
hough many people are growing up surrounded by visual works,
this does not mean that they carefully attend to images.

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Education must prepare students to navigate the changing visual
landscape.
Effective visual communication
Today competency in visual literacy is crucial for effective visual
communication. However, studies on visual literacy are not yet
common in formal education curricula. There is still no agree-
ment on what it means to be visually literate (Kędra and Žake-
vičiūtė, 2019). Based on eleven definitions of visual literacy
Kędra (2018b) provided lists of visual literacy abilities, compe-
tencies, and skills that can be used as basis for defining learning
objectives in visual education, and for creating a method of visual
literacy assessment. According to Kędra (2018b) formal and sys-
tematic visual education is of critical need in today’s universities.
The category visual reading skills cover analysis, evaluation,
interpretation, knowledge of grammar and syntax, understand-
ding, visual perception, and visual-verbal-visual translation. Vis-
ual writing skills cover image production, image use, visual com-
munication, and visual creation. Other visual literacy skills in-
clude applied image use, visual learning, and visual thinking.
Esdale and Robinson (1982) argued that visual literacy
should be integrated across all curricular areas in an effort to
both expand ability and to prevent categorization which could
limit learning and use of visual literacy skills. Some educators are
preparing themselves for a shift from text to image. Today’s stu-
dents need to be multimodal.
McVicker (2018) concluded that visual literacy skills assist
students in all levels of concept and skill learning. The ever-in-
creasing use of technology in virtually every aspect of life legiti-
mizes visual literacy’s place on the list of language arts. Visual
literacy clearly has an important status from early childhood set-
tings to the graduation of seniors. Research has pointed to a lack
of visual literacy in education (Bader, 2019).
Both academics and students, especially in higher education,
are expected to produce high-quality visuals for their papers and

204
presentations. However, some studies have shown that academ-
ics and students lack visual communicating skills. When O’Ma-
hony et al. (2019) analysed individual sessions between a graphic
designer and scientists they found that many visuals that scien-
tists had designed for publications required substantial improve-
ments, such as altering colours and creating proper layouts.

Textbooks
Textbooks largely determine not only what topics and ideas are
taught in the classroom but also the way they are presented to
students (Stern and Roseman 2004, p. 539). Well-designed text-
books have the potential to make learning more fun, lasting and
meaningful (Morgan, 2014). Textbooks may engage learners’
cognition through analytical thinking, posing questions, testing
hypotheses, verbal reasoning and visual processing.
However, it is easy for students to lose interest in learning
materials with complicated content. For several centuries, edu-
cators have used images and pictures in their work. With the help
of good visuals, it is possible to illustrate concepts and phenom-
ena that are complicated and difficult to explain with words
alone. At present, online and blended learning is occurring
around the globe in meaningful ways to address specific needs of
K-12 students (Barbour, 2018).
In many countries’ textbooks are seen as the most important
materials that make it easy for students to follow different topics.
Textbooks are also guiding teachers. In Turkey, Yücesoy et al.
(2020) noted that course books are required to be designed
based on local visual design principles. In order to examine the
views of 15 instructors, who were working at Fine Arts Faculties
of universities, the authors performed a “semi-structured inter-
view method” with them, asking about design of textbooks, page
design, design of visual elements and text design. The research-
ers transcribed the interview forms into written documents, and
then used a content analysis method. Sadly, the results showed
that primary school textbooks in the TRNC (Turkish Republic of
205
Northern Cyprus) did not follow the visual design principles. The
authors concluded that crucial points in these primary school
course books need to be improved.
In one study Trahorsch and Bláha (2020) made a quantita-
tive content analysis of the visual structure in Czech geography
textbooks for students in primary and lower secondary school.
They found that visuals concretise, organise, represent and
transform the curriculum into a visual representation of phe-
nomena. Several studies on visual analysis confirm that geogra-
phy textbooks include a higher proportion of visuals and a higher
proportion of photographs and maps than in textbooks of other
subjects. An expert group assessed a total of 3,507 visuals from
16 geography textbooks. There were eleven textbooks for primary
schools (2,076 visuals) and five for lower secondary schools
(1,431 visuals).
Results showed that in all analysed textbooks, there is at
least one visual on 93% of the pages. As the age of users increases,
the number of visuals decreases. On average, visuals occupy over
a third of a page. Real visuals (photographs and real drawings)
have a key role in textbooks for both levels of education. Abstract
and quantitative visuals (e.g. graphs and diagrams) are marginal.
The proportion of maps, graphs, and schemes is higher in text-
books for older students than for younger students. In primary
school textbooks, the proportion of visuals without captions is
25.7%, while in lower secondary education textbooks it is 11.8%.

Digital textbooks
Based on recent digital geography textbooks in Germany, Behnke
(2021b) analysed theoretical approaches concerning the concep-
tion and design of learning from effective and motivating digital
textbooks. Which attributes should a well-designed digital text-
book include in order to meet attitudes, learning requirements,
and skills of users today? In this context, the term user firstly de-
scribes students, and secondly describes teachers. Although to-
day’s students extensively utilize digital devices and value digital
206
technologies, their digital and visual literacy skills are still lim-
ited. This demonstrates the need for more instructions for using
digital tools more effectively for learning and problem-solving.
Because of their technological features and possibilities re-
quirements for digital textbooks are different than requirements
for printed textbooks. The new requirements may even be more
complex and more expensive. Solely digitally enriched or un-
modified adaptions of printed textbooks to digital textbooks fail
to meet the user requirements of today’s digital educational me-
dia. Digital textbooks require the development of new concepts
synthesizing content, design, pedagogy, and structure. It is not
enough for digital educational media to provide subject content
and technical features. In new digital educational media carefully
elaborated didactical concepts should integrate subject content
with digital features, such as connectivity, customization, differ-
entiation, immediate feedback, and useful interactivity.
According to Behnke (2021b) designers of digital media
should consider motivational theories, users’ attitudes and
needs, and utilize playful elements and multimedia features in a
meaningful manner. Development of digital textbooks should in-
clude prototyping, usability tests, and user surveys. A “well-de-
signed digital textbook” has a didactic concept, and an elaborated
structure that integrates subject content and learning tasks. It
addresses various knowledge types with playful elements, moti-
vational design, and technical features.
The visual design should be focused on learning-fostering
principles from educational psychology, information design, and
visual communication, including aesthetics, clarity, comprehen-
sibility, and usability. The content, design, didactic concepts, and
structure of digital geography textbooks need to be further devel-
oped to meet the learning requirements of today’s curricula. It
must allow today’s students to gain twenty-first century skills
and knowledge necessary to develop their capabilities.
Also see the section Generative theory of textbook design in
the book Learning.
207
Preschool
In a series of workshops with twelve young preschool children in
a public library setting in USA Lopatovska et al. (2018) collected
information about children’s knowledge of visual literacy. All
workshops utilized three types of images for discussions and in-
struction: photographs, paintings, and illustrations in children’s
books. Most of these 3- to 4-year-old children showed a baseline
knowledge of colours, lines, shapes and textures. After the work-
shops the children generally showed an improved understanding
of the introduced visual literacy concepts and they were able to
answer questions related to the new concepts, recognize them in
images, and apply them in art projects.
Today many “photographers” does not know the basic prin-
ciples of photography, or they cannot apply these principles ef-
fectively in practice. Dermata (2021) used blurred photos,
“shaken photos”, produced by preschool children, as an oppor-
tunity to develop creativity and imagination through photog-
raphy. These “shaken photos” resulted in multiple, original inter-
pretations for each of the photos.

Elementary school
Lopatovska et al. (2016) found that 5-year-old preschool children
were quite familiar with the elements of colour, line, and shape.
They could recognize these elements in a visual artwork. How-
ever, they needed guidance and instruction to recognize and un-
derstand the concepts of perspective, primary and warm/cool
colours, and the use of shapes to construct objects.
Stewig (1997) studied what fifth grade children wrote about
in their picture books. He concluded that despite widespread in-
terest in visual literacy among psychologists and art educators,
little, if anything is done in most elementary schools to develop
children’s skills in visual literacy. As communicators, we need to
understand the types of issues that become relevant when de-
signing information materials across cultures. Visuals must al-
ways be relevant to the intended audience.
208
 The introduction of visual literacy and multimodal texts in
modern textbooks gradually highlights the need for understand-
ing visual representations; a young person who lives in the mod-
ern civilization of images should be able to understand an im-
age’s function, appreciate its beauty and express himself through
art (Elkins, 2010).
In verbal and visual languages prior experience and context
are very important to the perception of contents. The pupils in
primary school often believe that all necessary information is
communicated in the verbal text in textbooks (Løvland, 2011, p,
39).
Guo, Landau Wright, and McTigue (2018) concluded that
current elementary school textbooks rely heavily on visuals. Stu-
dents may not be prepared to navigate complex visual presenta-
tions. According to the authors researchers should develop in-
structional strategies that will develop students’ visual literacy
skills.
De Laszlo (2021) noted that abstraction and colour may help
students gain access to their full capacities for complex thought
and self-expression. Observations of middle school students sug-
gest that the “Color Pile method” could be meaningful to a di-
verse audience of teachers and learners. The “Color Pile” is a vis-
ual tool transported from the author’s art-student context.

Visual awareness
Several researchers have realized that “visual awareness” is im-
portant for children. This does not only benefit their visual skills
but also their confidence, engagement, independence, motiva-
tion, and their verbal skills. Mittal et al. (2021) studied how vis-
ual literacy activities can be introduced for primary school chil-
dren in India. They concluded that abstract visual literacy is an
essential skill to comprehend and interpret visual meaning effi-
ciently. Knowledge of visual literacy is necessary for communica-
tion, learning, and thinking. Children need visual awareness in

209
order to develop their confidence, engagement, independence,
motivation, verbal skills, and their visual skills.
A possible way may be to introduce visual literacy through
an activity book for primary school children. The authors devel-
oped an activity book with 37 tasks related to visual literacy skills.
Activity doodle books are considered to stimulate creativity and
imagination and have advantages over other media (such as low
cost and ease of use). The authors had the following goals for the
visual literacy activity work book:
• The illustrations should be familiar with distinct visual forms
and less text to maintain prolonged interest in the workbook.
• The book should encompass visual literacy tasks related to
the operationally defined framework.
• To augment the heuristic approach of children while solving
visual literacy tasks.
Eighty-seven primary school children volunteered for the study
in Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh, India). Informed consent was taken
from the school authorities and parents before conducting the
experiments and tests. There were 49 male, 38 female students
in grades 4 and 5. Results showed significant improvements in
children’s visual literacy skills. Such visual literacy activities
should be a part of the curriculum for children in India.
For these authors visual association, critical viewing, and
discrimination skills refer to applying critical thinking skills to
visuals. Visual creativity and visual imagination skills refer to
the ability to imagine and use images in creative ways. Visual
perception skills deal with visual elements such as background,
colour, emotions, foreground, form, rhythm, shapes, textures,
and their relationships. Visual reasoning is logical thinking car-
ried out primarily by means of images.
Museums offer themselves as platforms for the infinite lay-
ers of human actions and interactions. Museums employ multi-
ple tools and strategies which serve as prototypes in the formal
educational sector. The realities of material culture studies,
210
hermeneutic philosophy, and constructivist epistemology lend
themselves to a host of initiatives and innovative theories. Dimas
(2016) studied if the museum platform, as a representative of
cultural multiplicity, can offer new approaches to learning that
teachers can use to enhance curriculum and exhibit their best
practice objectives? The project iteach2 seeks to evaluate learn-
ing, as the museum sees it, and apply these strategies to situa-
tions of structured learning in the classroom. Some of the key
challenges lie within the ability to find the most appropriate in-
stitutions suitable for the purposes.
Museum-based learning techniques are built to appeal to in-
ternational audiences due to the diverse visitor profiles of major
museums and galleries. They are required to explore the learner
as a vessel of knowledge and inherent experience. Their pro-
grams engage visitors in a dialogue designed to become culturally
relevant to all. The modern museum has globalized its approach
to the public and it has identified a new level of cultural relevance
in its approach to education.

Theory of mind
Most studies conclude that a child learns text better when it is
accompanied with illustrations (Carney and Levin, 2002; Eitel
and Scheiter, 2015). The concept “theory of mind” refers to an
important cognitive-social skill. For the individual this skill in-
volves the ability to think about her/his own mental state, and
also the mental states of other people. Theory of mind encom-
passes the ability to understand that other people have their own
beliefs, desires, emotions, intentions, perspectives, and
knowledge. “Theory of mind skills” are important for all kinds of
human cognitive, social interactions. However, individuals with
different mental disorders may have problems with the theory of
mind skills.
According to Donner (2020, p. 13) there has been little to no
research done in the area of theory of mind difficulties when an-
alysing illustration dominant stories. Theory of mind skills are
211
necessary for children to be able to interpret and understand il-
lustrations in early primary school educational materials with
the purpose of learning to read. Donner wrote (p. 15): “Changing
the sequencing and adding multiple images greatly improves the
amount of analysing a child would need to do to understand the
story.”
Donner (2020) analysed 31 early readers for first and second
order perspectives, as well as for the probability of first and sec-
ond order false-belief scenarios. Donner wrote (p. 21): “Out of
the thirty-one stories, almost a third require an understanding of
second order perspective within the illustration for comprehen-
sion.”
In addition, Donner examined four of these early readers in
more detail in order to understand how the relationship of text
to illustrations as well as the composition of the illustrations
themselves either aided comprehension or increased the possi-
bility of false belief scenarios. Results showed that one in four
early readers required complex first order perspective skills of
the children. Furthermore, one in ten early readers could lead to
second order false belief scenarios by children who lacked theory
of mind.
The early readers where illustrations and texts gave identical
information had the least probability for false belief scenarios.
Here, the first and second order perspectives was clear in both
illustrations and texts.
Donner concluded that more research needs to be done in
order to assess to what extent theory of mind is critical in inter-
preting illustrations and understanding text and illustration
combinations. When text and illustrations give the same infor-
mation, there is less of a chance for misunderstandings. Improv-
ing early readers would improve the lives of many children in
mainstream schools who lack theory of mind and increase their
chances of being able to learn to read effectively, including their
ability to comprehend text and illustrations at a similar level as
their peers.
212
Middle school/Junior high school
Morgan (2014) noted that textbooks that are well-designed have
the potential to make learning more fun, lasting, and meaningful.
These textbooks may actively engage learners’ cognition through
mechanisms such as analytical thinking, posing questions, test-
ing hypotheses, verbal reasoning, and visual processing. In con-
trast to extensive research on text processing and text design,
there has been less research on the potential power of illustra-
tions for fostering learning from textbooks (Houghton, and Wil-
lows, 1987; Mandl and Levin, 1989; Mayer, 1989; Willows, and
Houghton, 1987).
Science trade books for children
In one study Coleman and Dantzler (2016) examined the fre-
quency and type of graphical representations in science trade
books for children, published in USA 1972–2007. They examined
534 books with a total of 2 067 graphics. The number of graphics
per book was between 0–51.
The results revealed that there is an increase in the presence
and variation of graphics over time. The physical science trade
books had larger proportions of the range of graphics than life
and earth science books. Most notably flow diagrams, cross sec-
tions, cutaways, and tree diagrams were present in physical sci-
ence books. Regarding intended audience age, there were more
graphical representations of most types in books for intermedi-
ate age children. The results from this study suggest that students
will encounter a higher presence of trade books with graphics
and graphical types in the coming years.
Coleman and Dantzler (2016) concluded: “Given the fre-
quency and variation of graphical representations present in sci-
ence trade books, students without graphical literacy skills will
experience even greater frustrations during reading. Not only is
there an emphasis in the Next Generation Science Standards
(NGSS, 2013) regarding children’s graphical literacy but there is
also a push for children to read more complex texts across the

213
elementary grades. With the adoption of the Common Core State
Standards (2010) in many states, literacy educators are faced
with helping children navigate more difficult texts, which are in-
undated with visual information. Consequently, both science and
literacy educators must be diligent in supporting children’s vis-
ual literacy skills and teach them how to ‘decode’ not just the
words on the page but the graphics as well.”
Readability of medical information
In one study in the Netherlands Grootens-Wiegers et al. (2015)
examined readability and use of text and visuals in medical re-
search information forms for children, and adolescents. In the
Netherlands, children from the age of 12 are legally allowed to
co-decide on research participation together with their parents.
Thus, the analysed documents in this study have legal status. It
is essential that all information in these forms is adapted to the
level of children and adolescents. This is also stated in various
regulations and rules of the United Nations, WHO, and others.
In addition to readability analysis of the texts, the authors
investigated the potential of visuals in medical tests. There were
seven qualitative focus groups of 10 to 12 children in the study. A
total of 77 children (age 11-12 years) from three different elemen-
tary schools in the Dutch eighth grade, in the area of Haarlem,
participated in the focus groups. Children made it clear that vis-
uals should be informative, rather than only decorative. Almost
all children in this study expressed a need for guidance by cap-
tions next to illustrations. In addition, there was a need for clear
and concise explanations of terms and difficult words, within the
text itself, or in a small box on the same page. The authors con-
cluded that the use of visuals is a powerful, but neglected, tool to
improve medical information for children.
Visual critical reading skills
Reading visuals and texts have “understanding qualities,” and
readers are expected to interpret visuals with a critical approach
in order to capture details (Batur, Başar, and Süzen, 2019). The
214
authors examined visual critical reading skills of students in the
fifth and sixth grades in an interesting study.
The authors met with students and teachers, and determined
five topics: the Earth, the outer space, the planets, the sun, and
the world. Then an artist visualized all five topics, and deliber-
ately included small conflicts, inconsistencies, and unrealistic
components in all illustrations.
The participants were five boys and five girls from fifth
grade, and from sixth grade. All 20 randomly chosen students
had approximately 20 minutes per illustration to write down
their own opinions about any conflicts, inconsistencies, or unre-
alistic components.
Here is one example of a text: “There is a ship in the sky. This
has nothing to do with reality. Fish would die if they did not live
in water but these fish communicate by talking, which is not re-
alistic, either. Also, having seaweeds in sky is unrealistic.”
Analysis of student’s written opinions showed that in order
to recognize inconsistencies or irrationalities in an illustration,
one must think critically. In this study the girls found more con-
flicts, inconsistencies, and unrealistic components in the illustra-
tions than the boys. Obviously, the girls were more critical visual
readers than the boys. According to Batur, Başar, and Süzen
(2019) “the cause of this result may depend on the fact that the
female students are better readers than the males.” They also
concluded: “It is crucial that programs be restructured from basic
education to higher level education with a more critical approach
and textbooks should be reviewed with a critical thinking based
perspective.”
It is clear that visual literacy requires a critical approach
along with basic reading ability.
Vislets
Using the visual analytics application Statistics eXplorer
(Lundblad, 2013), Bodén and Stenliden (2019) produced three
vislets, interactive data visualisations. The vislets demonstrate

215
official statistics of the world in an interactive and visual analytic
manner. This makes it possible for students to interact with the
visual information, analyze it and draw conclusions.
Bodén and Stenliden (2019) recorded on video how 97 stu-
dents in five social science secondary classes in three secondary
schools in Sweden interacted with the vislets. Students were in-
fluencing each other when they were working with diagrams and
graphs. The interactions were both strengthened and weakened
by different social as well as material forces.

High school
According to Griffin (2008) it has become fashionable to invoke
the term visual literacy to loosely describe twenty-first-century
habits of the young generation. Sometimes visual literacy is used
to describe the goals of educational programs meant to prepare
ill-equipped young students to interface with visual media in
contemporary society. However, these curricula are often de-
scribed as media literacy programs. Media literary education has
not necessarily addressed issues of visual acuity.
Seven levels of visual literacy
Hanson (1988) argued that skills and understandings of visual
literacy are not taught in schools in any organized way. However,
these skills are directly related to academic success, and espe-
cially to success in reading. Hanson proposed the following seven
levels of visual literacy. The student can (p. 422–423):
• Recognize instances of the same element in different con-
texts.
• Produce graphic likeness.
• Recognize an object when seen from different angles (Gard-
ner, 1983, p. 170).
• Transform one element into another by imagining move-
ment, rotation, inversion, or internal displacements among
the parts (Thurstone, 1937, p. 32–39).

216
• Identify or correctly configure elements within a spatial con-
figuration that could otherwise represent distortions because
of the observer's orientation (Karp, 1962).
• Identify lines of force, tension, balance and composition, i.e.,
to identify the principles that make the visual arts aestheti-
cally satisfying (Aero and Weiner, 1983, 65–74).
• Identify resemblances, symbols or signs across seemingly un-
related areas of existing knowledge or personal experience
(Gardner, 1983).
Hanson, Silver, and Strong (1988) provided similar thoughts.
Unfortunately, it’s not much better thirty years later.
Visual culture in the classroom
Vermeersch and Vandenbroucke (2015) used the “culture in the
Mirror theory” in order to study aspects of visual culture as an
ongoing process in the classroom. They discussed a skill-based
classification of visual literacy skills: 1) Perception, 2) Imagina-
tion and creation, 3) Conceptualization, and 4) (Theoretical)
analysis. They found that curriculum standards refer only pe-
ripherally to the use of visuals in compulsory education in Bel-
gium. The attention for visual literacy skills decreases from sec-
ondary education.
Considine and Haley (1992) noted that the effective integra-
tion of imagery into instruction could facilitate the student's abil-
ity to read, recall, and comprehend the content of the message.
Visual literacy can therefore support traditional literacy. In cul-
tures where film, magazines, newspapers, television, and video
proliferate the natural learning of visual literacy becomes inci-
dental and develops over a long period. In fact, this learning may
never occur.
According to Vezzoli (2017) it is necessary to build an inter-
disciplinary dialogue that deeply analyses the educational poten-
tials and related competences of visual literacy. Some research-
ers have argued that students’ as well as teachers’ visual literacy
skills are increasing (Brumberger, 2011; Carter, 2003; Sosa,
217
2009; Yeh & Cheng 2010; Yeh & Lohr 2010). However, there are
also researchers who argue that not enough importance is at-
tached to visual communication and literacy in teacher education
programs (Britsch, 2010).
According to Connors (2011) literacy educators might advo-
cate using graphic novels to develop students’ visual literacy
skills, but teachers who lack a vocabulary for engaging in close
analysis of visual texts may be reluctant to teach them. Teacher
educators should equip preservice teachers with a vocabulary for
analysing visual texts.
Photography
As a language of inquiry photography is communicative and gen-
erative (Moran and Tegano, 2005). Photography conveys and
provokes meaning. Teachers construct new understandings and
are more prepared to engage in subsequent similar activities.
Photography can be a powerful research tool for educating stu-
dents and teachers in the construction and co-construction of
knowledge about the processes of teaching and learning.
Alter (2009) suggested that a dichotomy exists between a
systemic functional approach to reading images as “text” in Eng-
lish education and what could be described as an aesthetic ap-
proach in art education.
According to Kędra (2018a) a focus on teaching the interpre-
tation of journalistic photographs is a crucial component of con-
temporary education. In higher education students are expected
to be able to interpret, use and create images. Kędra proposed an
approach that will examine two dimensions of photographic in-
terpretation: connotation and denotation.
Indonesian textbooks
In one study Elmiana (2019) analysed the use of pictures in In-
donesian senior high school textbooks in English as a Foreign
Language (EFL). Students were 15–17 years old. Main questions
were related to: 1) What is the function and significance of visu-
als, 2) In what way do students interact with the materials, and
218
3) To what extent do the visuals reflect the aim of foreign lan-
guage learning?
These three books had 714 pages with 232 images, one image
on every third page. The findings showed a gender bias. Males
appeared in almost twice as many images than females (66–
34%). The contents of the images suggested an impersonal and
objective connection between images and viewers. However,
there was no apparent discrepancy of power. Students were able
to make connections to the images. Elmiana (2019) suggested
that the visuals in the three senior high school EFL textbooks
could help students to effectively engage with the exercises in the
books. The visuals could provide emphasis for the assertions,
concepts and meanings made in the linguistic parts of the texts.
These three senior high school EFL textbooks met the criteria of
the pedagogical objectives.

College and university

Although college and university education still heavily rely on
texts, recent years have shown greater recognition of the im-
portance of visual education. Our visual, screen-based world is
the natural environment for many of today’s college students
(Felten, 2008).
Whiteside (1985) discussed visual literacy awareness in col-
lege-level educational media courses. He used a seven-step ap-
proach to plan and implement visual literacy modules. These
steps may be summarized as follows: 1) Defining visual literacy.
2) Identifying visual literacy needs. 3) Selecting and prioritizing
needs, goals, and objectives. 4) Selecting appropriate media. 5)
Planning classroom activities. 6) Implementation of visual liter-
acy modules. 7) Planning for future activities. Whiteside con-
cluded his paper with this remark (p. 100): “We should provide
visually enhanced learning to optimize our students’ entrance
into the world of tomorrow.”
Alter (2018) explored the concept and teaching potential of
media literacy, and visual literacy. Based on an example from her
219
university class, Alter (2018) argues that a hands-on approach of
creating digital visual reader-responses to literary texts is a
highly beneficial tool to not only develop but also experience me-
dia literacy and visual literacy. In the process of creating digital
visual narrations students reflect on the representation of the
protagonists’ cultural and ethnic identity within the text and in
their surrounding environment, thus fostering intercultural
awareness.
Visual literacy gives educators a chance to increase the qual-
ity of their teaching and to connect with learners in a more inter-
esting way. Duchak (2014) proves that visual literacy is im-
portant for learning and teaching in educational practice. Visual
literacy is an essential component of science and technology ed-
ucation. Using visual treatments in lessons raise learning with
various degrees of success.
Incorporating a visual pedagogy in higher education re-
quires a paradigm shift in terms of re-envisioning the curricula,
faculty skills, and instructional approaches (Abas, 2019). Images
are central to our lives, and it is time they become central in our
universities’ (Elkins 2007, p. 8). Despite regular confrontations
with visuals, there is a need to develop visual literacy skills
among university students (Brumberger and Northcut, 2016).
Visual literacy is a core skill for biology students. The study
of plant anatomy relies heavily on drawings and photographs as
teaching and learning tools. Susiyawati and Treagust (2021)
studied if biology students have a sufficient level of knowledge in
visual literacy, particularly in the case of plant anatomy. This
study involved 79 university sophomores in Indonesia. Two data
collection methods included a test and semi-structured inter-
views to investigate to what extent biology students are visually
literate in interpreting plant anatomy-based photographs.
The results showed that the biology students had insufficient
skills in visual literacy. Students had difficulties to interpret and
understand plant anatomy-based photographs. Furthermore,
they could not generate plant visualisations.
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Pre-service teachers
Sadik (2009) investigated how visual literacy skills impacted pre-
service teachers when they took advantage of Flickr, an online
image- and video-hosting website. Flickr provided a place for the
subjects in this study to be exposed to a variety of images. The
pre-service teachers took advantage of the social network and
sharing community functions. They interpreted and investigated
the meaning of new photos. They realized captions and mean-
ings, added comments and asked questions. The pre-service
teachers were able to communicate more effectively when they
learned and used basic visual literacy skills.
In one study Alpan (2015) aimed to identify the reflections
of the visual literacy training given to pre-service pre-school
teachers in the instructional materials they designed.
There were 57 pre-service teachers, 226 pre-school students,
2 experts, and 3 observers participating in the study. The pre-
school students were 18–23 years old, 7% were male and 93%
were female. The pre-service teachers were attending the Gazi
University’s Early Childhood Education Department, in Ankara,
Turkey. They had all taken an Instructional Technologies and
Materials Design course, but they had not previously taken any
course on visual literacy and visual design. All 226 pre-school
students were 5–6 years old, from 19 elementary schools.
Semi-structured interviews and student diaries provided
qualitative data. Graded materials evaluation forms, and obser-
vation forms for pre-school students provided quantitative data.
In this study results suggested that pre-service teachers had
positive perceptions of the visual literacy course. Most pre-ser-
vice teachers stated that the visual literacy training enhanced and
improved their own visual awareness and sensitivity. The pre-
service teachers were often successful at the use of design tools
when designing instructional materials.
The author concluded that visual literacy is the bridge to the
world of multiple literacies and a democratic avenue for students
to expose and compose their ideas. Visual literacy must be inclu-
221
ded in all school curricula. Visual literacy should not be left to the
discretion of a few lecturers at teacher education institutions. It
should become an independent course in the curriculum.
Visual communication
The fact that visual communication has been given a higher pro-
file in education in recent times can partly be attributed to recent
cognitive research directed toward understanding processes of
image perception and retention. Visual communication is a pro-
cess of sending and receiving messages using images (Bamford,
2003).
Research in the field of visual communication indicates that
students benefit from self-reflection to improve their own design
abilities and visual literacy (Lauer, 2013). In a qualitative study
Essel, Tachie-Menson, and Opoku-Asare (2015) found that the
ability to draw significantly affects students’ decisions for the
study of Book Design and Illustration at the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology in Ghana, for careers in il-
lustration.
da Rocha (2016, p. 98) concluded that on the brink of an im-
age-based era, society has to rethink the role and responsibility
of schools and the contents, or rather, strategies that ought to be
taught. “Hopefully, prospective teachers will be equipped with
respective skills for analysis and task development to facilitate
visual literacy.”
It seems that students and teaching faculty often take visual
literacy for granted, assuming it is an innate skill not requiring
any special training. In addition, the use of emoticons and emoji
is increasingly popular across a variety of new platforms of online
communication. However, many users do not understand their
intended meanings (Rodrigues et al., 2018). Hallewell and
Lackovic (2017) studied how teachers used 145 photographs in
PowerPoint presentations for Psychology students in the UK.
The teachers explicitly referred to only one third of the photo-
graphs, which seems to be strange.

222
 Williams (2019) investigated an undergraduate course on
Visual Narratives in spring 2017 in the USA. A content analysis
of 124 course documents showed a wide range of art and design
elements in visual narrative analyses made by the students (27
elements), and original compositions (26 elements), with many
elements overlapping (21 shared). The results suggest that teach-
ing a wide range of art and design elements can effectively help
students acquire a flexible toolkit for composing, and for reading
different kinds of visual texts. It will expand their visual literacy
skills.
Abas (2019) provided a practical guide for teaching visual
analysis to university students. Buckley and Nerantzi (2020) pro-
vided examples of the use of diagrams in academic development,
in learning and teaching
A 1st-year seminar
In a 1st-year seminar course at the University of Virginia, in the
fall 2009, students were helped to develop their visual literacy
skills (Palmer and Matthews, 2015). Throughout the semester
the 16 students completed a series of carefully designed learning
activities. At the beginning and near the end of the semester stu-
dents were asked to study two different—but stylistically simi-
lar—paintings, and respond to the following two questions: what
do you see and what do you think it means?
At the start of the semester, before the instructional inter-
ventions, the median value for the number of basic observations
made was 13. Near the end of the semester this median value was
26. The interventions had significantly improved the post basic
observation score.
At the start of the semester, the median value for the number
of advanced observations made was 2. Near the end of the se-
mester, this median value was 3. The interventions had signifi-
cantly improved the post basic observation score.
For the pre-assessment, students provided on median 2.5
pieces of evidence. For the post-assessment, students provided

223
on median 8.0 pieces of visual evidence for their best-supported
claim.
The results of this study suggest that the classroom interven-
tions significantly improved students’ ability to make necessary
and appropriate observations in images and to develop stronger
claims supported by their observations. These students im-
proved their visual literacy skills.
Plant anatomy
Teaching and learning plant anatomy relies heavily on visual rep-
resentations such as drawings and photographs as learning tools.
Visual literacy is a core skill for biology students. In one study,
with 79 university sophomores in Indonesia, Susiyawati and
Treagust (2021) found that the biology students had difficulties
to interpret, understand, and generate visualisations of the pre-
sented plants’ photographs. Their visual literacy in plant anat-
omy was not sufficient.
At the University of Denver, USA, Keeran, Crowe and Bow-
ers (2021) have developed strategies to incorporate visual liter-
acy into instructional sessions across multiple disciplines. They
provide practical strategies that educators can use to implement
this type of collaboration at their own institutions.
Graph comprehension
The 21st century demands of visual literacy require students to
attain high levels of graph comprehension. Instructors expect
that information presented for students in visualisations provide
easily accessible answers to their questions. However, there are
skill gaps in knowledge and in visual literacy between under-
graduate students and instructors. These skill gaps must be con-
sidered in course planning.
Quite often teachers in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) use many visuals in their lectures. Further-
more, there may be many visuals in these textbooks. However,
undergraduate students do not always have enough visual

224
literacy skills. A lack of intervention, and participation from in-
structors and teachers may limit the students’ academic success.
In one study, Krejci et al. (2020) developed and tested a vis-
ual literacy intervention in a face-to-face (FTF) and in an online
section of an undergraduate non-major course: Introduction to
Environmental Science. They used the intervention to test visual
literacy skills at three levels: 1) Elementary level—identifying val-
ues; 2) Intermediate level—identifying trends; and 3) Advanced
level—using the data to make projections or conclusions.
In the online course, and in the face-to-face course, students
completed the pre- and post-tests, the online homework, and the
midterm exam. Results showed that the undergraduate students
demonstrated a significant difference in their ability to answer
elementary and advanced visual literacy questions, both in the
pre-tests and post-tests in both course sections. The students in
the face-to-face course had significantly higher exam scores, and
higher median assessment scores compared to sections without
a visual literacy intervention. Due to a lack of reinforcement of
visual literacy following the initial intervention the online section
did not show significant improvements in visual literacy or aca-
demic success. The visual literacy intervention shows promising
results in improving student academic success and visual literacy
should be considered for implementation in other general edu-
cation STEM courses.
Krejci et al. (2020) concluded that the promotion of global
sustainability within environmental science courses requires a
paradigm switch from knowledge-based teaching to teaching
that stimulates higher-order cognitive skills.
Nursing education
Usually nursing students learn valuable clinical skills in simula-
tion labs on campus. However, in March 2020, COVID-19 dras-
tically changed educational practices and impacted in person
learning. During the 2020 spring semester, two librarians at In-
diana University, USA, worked together to identify resources to

225
support a nursing course that quickly switched to remote learn-
ing (Fleming and Minix, 2021). These resources ranged from free
virtual reality simulations to library licensed content. The librar-
ians met with various constituents to understand curriculum
goals and needs, and defined visual literacy within nursing. They
examined similarities between the Association of College and Re-
search Libraries Visual Literacy Competency Standards and the
American Association of Colleges of Nursing Clinical Resources
Essentials for Baccalaureate Nursing Education. Both authors
feel that their work can positively impact the curriculum of the
School of Nursing. The authors strongly believe that having a vis-
ual literacy skill set is a part of the preparation for anything in
the future careers of nurses.
Engineering and Technology
Students of engineering technology (ET) are expected to both
create and read graphical communications. Huber and Ravi
(2021) gave an “Adaptive Comparative Judgment” (ACJ) assess-
ment to 115 ET students to inform visual design instruction and
future research. In order to familiarize these students with visual
design principles a visual design framework supplemented the
assessment. Instead of grading against a rubric of learning out-
comes Huber and Ravi (2021) offers an alternative assessment
model. The model uses context to judge the quality of a work. The
results outline specific areas to focus visual design instruction for
students to be able to effectively create and navigate graphical
communications. Huber and Ravi (2021) concluded that ET stu-
dents need visual literacy support to make informed decisions
about creating and reading graphical communications, as well as
giving feedback to their peers.
Engineers are mainly visual thinkers (Nelson, 2012). For an
engineer, communicating by their visual language has the same
importance as verbal communication (Jerz, 2001). A visually lit-
erate engineer must know the conventions and symbols that
shape the grammar and syntax of engineering drawings to

226
decode and encode the messages that are expressed. Technology
professions have an important visual characterization, both in
the transmission of information and in problem solving.
The European Network for Visual Literacy group, ENVIL,
proposes a model of Visual Literacy as a competence. In this
model, three main dimensions, production (creating and using
images), reception (responding to images), as well as metacogni-
tion, are contemplated. Related to production and reception, this
model enlists sixteen sub competences such as Create, Describe,
Draft, or Empathize (Wagner & Schönau, 2016).
Multiliteracies
In Australia, visual literacy is integrated in all literacy syllabus
documentation across states and territories (Leu et al. 2004,
cited by Callow, 2008). Students need to develop new literacy
skills, multiliteracies, in order for them to negotiate the growing
number of texts that populate their lives at home and school.
These texts often use more than one mode, such as the visual and
written modes on a cereal box; the audio mode for a podcast; or
the audio, visual, written and gestural modes used with interac-
tive multimedia or video games. The various combinations of
these modalities are commonly referred to as multimodal texts
(Anstey and Bull, 2006, cited by Callow, 2008).
As modes of language have changed to incorporate more ro-
bust multiliteracies, thoughtful interactions are required for
teaching and learning within higher education (Loerts, and
Belcher, 2019). They conducted a qualitative case study of how
new methods of instruction were perceived in a Bachelor of Ed-
ucation program in Ontario, Canada. Results showed that partic-
ipants moved from previous dependence on dominant modes of
communication, such as reading and writing, to experiments
with different modes of communication. Participants discovered
how to envision new ways of thinking about assessment, creativ-
ity, ownership, and reflections.

227
Association of College and Research Libraries
In USA the Association of College and Research Libraries
(ACRL), a Division of the American Library Association (ALA),
agreed on the following definition of Visual Literacy (ACRL,
2011):
Visual literacy is a set of abilities that enables an individual
to effectively find, interpret, evaluate, use, and create images
and visual media. Visual literacy enables a learner to under-
stand and analyze the contextual, cultural, ethical, aesthetic,
intellectual, and technical components involved in the pro-
duction and use of visual materials. A visually literate indi-
vidual is both a critical consumer of visual media and a com-
petent contributor to a body of shared knowledge and cul-
ture.
The ACRL discussed Visual Literacy Competency Standards for
Higher Education (ACRL, 2011). Their standards, all begin with
“the visually literate student”:
• Determines the nature and extent of the visual materials
needed.
• Finds and accesses needed images and visual media effec-
tively and efficiently.
• Interprets and analyses the meanings of images and visual
media.
• Evaluates the effectiveness and reliability of images as visual
communications.
• Uses images and visual media effectively.
• Designs and creates meaningful images and visual media.
• Understands many of the ethical, legal, social, and economic
issues surrounding the creation and use of images and visual
media and accesses and uses visual materials ethically.
The ACRL Visual Literacy Standards have supplied comprehen-
sible, measurable guidelines for research and instruction across
a variety of fields. Brown et al. (2016) provided librarians with
228
practical ideas for integrating the Visual Literacy Standards
with the codified 2016 ACRL Framework for Information Liter-
acy for Higher Education (the Framework).
Increasingly, college students and academics are using vis-
ual resources in their teaching, assignments, and scholarship re-
spectively. According to Fullmer (2019) libraries have the possi-
bility to improve diversity and inclusion in their communities
through teaching visual literacy skills at all levels.
As social justice institutions, academic libraries in the USA
have long taught critical consumption of information. However,
in the past this instruction has typically prioritized text-based
sources. Gender diversity and power struggles, are deeply perti-
nent to today’s visual culture (Fullmer, 2019). Critical visual lit-
eracy instruction has the capacity to provoke critical inquiry into
issues of discrimination, equality, ethnicity, gender diversity, mi-
norities, race, sexual orientation, and social class. Here academic
libraries can improve diversity and inclusion in their communi-
ties through teaching visual literacy skills at all levels. By educat-
ing students in analysis and critical thinking they become not
only better scholars, but they can produce far more engaging and
digestible research. Furthermore, critical visual literacy instruc-
tions can help academic libraries advance student scholarship.
This can only be achieved if students are literate in all forms of
knowledge production.
For many years, individuals who are interested in Visual Lit-
eracy has tried hard to include this “field of knowledge” into their
own already established academic disciplines. A few examples of
such established academic disciplines are Aesthetics, Art, Com-
munication, Education, English Language, Instructional Design,
Teaching, and Visual communication.
For many different reasons there has been a lot of opposition
in established academic disciplines to include “anything new.”
Many individuals have tried hard to develop and offer academic
courses in Visual Literacy. Few have succeeded, and many have
failed to do so.
229
 It is interesting to see how The American Library Association
has taken such a great interest in Visual Literacy. Why did no
other professional organizations do the same? Now it seems that
many researchers of the discipline Library and Information Sci-
ence has been successful in creating space for Visual Literacy. I
can see a future natural base for Visual Literacy within Library
and Information Science. This seems to be a paradigm shift.
A course for in-service teachers
In-service teachers permanently construct and use visual mate-
rial. However, visual literacy skills are essential for improving
their visual communication skills. Huilcapi-Collantes, Hernán-
dez Martín, and Hernández-Ramos (2020) developed a 20-hour
blended learning visual literacy course for 51 in-service teachers
working in a private school in the north zone of Quito, Ecuador.
They based the content of this visual literacy course on the ACRL
(2011) Visual Literacy Competency Standards. The area of study
was Education.
The authors developed a test that measured the level of vis-
ual literacy knowledge before and after participation in the
course. Results showed that these in-service teachers improved
their level of visual literacy communication skills after attending
this well-structured training course.
Huilcapi-Collantes, Hernández Martín and Hernández-Ra-
mos (2020) concluded that it is crucial to offer in-service teach-
ers the opportunity to improve their visual communication skills
through a concrete learning process adapted to their life and
their schedules.
Increasing visual literacy skills
In one study Statton, Shemberger, and Wright (2018) showed
that it is possible to increase students’ visual literacy skills by
teaching specific creative and evaluative criteria for the design of
infographics. They asked students in two journalism classes
(9+11) about their understanding of the visual elements and tex-
tual contents of a few infographics. Students, who had received
230
instruction on specific evaluative criteria, evaluated infographics
at a higher rate than students who did not receive the instruction.
Furthermore, the students were also asked to create and de-
sign an infographic as a summative assessment. The objective of
the assignment was to represent and communicate a specific
concept with accurate and appropriate graphic representations
of data and information for a defined audience. Students who
had received instruction on creative criteria created more visu-
ally appealing and textually sound infographics than those who
did not receive the instruction.
In this study students used the CRAAP Test to evaluate the
textual information in the infographics (Blakeslee, 2010).
CRAAP stands for: 1) Currency (timeliness of information), 2)
Relevancy (the importance of the information to one’s needs), 3)
Authority (the source of the information), 4) Accuracy (the reli-
ability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content), and 5) Pur-
pose (the reason the information exists).
In this study students used a set of design principles to eval-
uate the visual information in the infographics: 1) Similarity and
contrast (dark, light, and line); 2) Dominance and emphasis (col-
our, highlighting, and size); 3) Balance and alignment (asym-
metry, and symmetry); 4) Proportion and scale (divisions, ratios,
and size); 5) Unity and harmony (continuation, proximity, repe-
tition, and rhythm); and also 6) Hierarchy (nests, trees, and
weight).
In one study, Fibriana, Pamelasari and Aulia (2017) meas-
ured the visual literacy skills on students' concept understanding
of genetic transfer material. They tested 46 students of Microbi-
ology before and after a lecture on visual literacy. After the lec-
ture students’ visual literacy abilities improved, and they were
able to understand visual representations of genetic transfer in
bacteria.
Carpenter, Witherby and Tauber (2020) argued that stu-
dents tend to over-endorse the effectiveness of images even when

231
they are only used for decorative purposes leading to them think-
ing they have learned more than they actually have.
The DIG Method
Thompson (2019a) addresses the pressing need to develop visual
pedagogies in the university classroom. She has developed and
introduced the Digital Image Guide Method (DIG). This is an in-
novative teaching idea for providing a technique for students to
critically read digital images.
Here Thompson (2019a) distinguishes between two types of
images on social media platforms, deep images and shallow im-
ages. Most “typical internet images” are shallow images. They
do not purport to do more than entertain, and they do not re-
quire any additional thought.
We all need to read deep images critically. With this method
students can learn to analyse, interpret, evaluate, and compre-
hend images found on social media sites and around the web.
Students will increase their visual literacy skills.

Library exhibitions
According to Gibbons and Carol (2021) library exhibitions show-
case collections and can be “laboratories” where users apply key
visual literacy skills, such as challenging assumptions, making
close observations, and practicing interpretation. Library exhibi-
tions facilitate self-directed inquiry, and they have a wide peda-
gogical range. At academic libraries, faculty include exhibition
curation and viewing in their curriculum to promote activism
and scholarship. Public libraries use exhibitions to cultivate civic
interest and encourage intergenerational and multi-cultural
learning.
Exhibition experiences prompt critical thinking, mobilize
change, and support visual learning. Gibbons and Carol (2021)
provides a brief overview of recommendations for partnering
with libraries to expand opportunities for visual learning. As ex-
hibition creation and development processes become more

232
diverse and sophisticated in deliveries and subjects, libraries are
creating exhibits that better engage and educate their audiences.
Libraries broaden the reach of their exhibition programs by
forming collaborative partnerships with exhibition constituents.
Collaboration, in turn, helps libraries increase their ability to ed-
ucate and impart visual literacy skills through their unique ex-
hibit experiences.

Developing communities
In South Africa Hugo and Skibbe (1991) found that health and
medical educators were facing many problems related to an ob-
vious lack of visual literacy skills. Communication and education
often failed because some groups were unable to interpret visual
messages correctly. In South Africa pictures can often be a hin-
drance rather than an advantage in teaching. However, the mis-
conception that any visual material has educational value still ex-
ists. Hugo and Skibbe found that visual literacy might be a key
factor in effective health and medical education. And later
Brouwer (1995) concluded that pictures are not always effective
as a means of communication with illiterates in rural Africa. Vis-
ual language and visual conventions need to be taught just as
much as a verbal language.
In South Africa de Lange (1996) proposed that adults in de-
veloping countries, that are not exposed to a visual culture as
found in North America and Western Europe, might never de-
velop a basic ability to read pictures. Their frame of reference and
their level of understanding could possibly extend only to the
limited number of visuals that they have actually been in contact
with. Thus, it may not be enough to merely modify visuals in
print media for these cultures. In many situations, new pictures
may be needed.
Schiffman (1996) studied information design guidelines for
designing and evaluating visual components of educational ma-
terials for ethnic populations within the USA. She concluded that
it is necessary to adopt visual messages to various ethnical
233
groups (p. 76): “Visually translating health educational materials
will be critical to the success of communication efforts, particu-
larly as our population continues to change ethnically and less
developed countries continue to develop.”
In Nigeria an emphasis on “art production” does not provide
students of art with the necessary analytical and conceptual tools
to deploy art as a mechanism for inquiry or framework for the
interpretation of their concepts and ideas (Akpang, 2018, p. 140).

Many definition problems

Terms such as art, communication, design, education, literacy,
and visual literacy, are all very broad in their meanings. It is hard
to define detailed theories in these areas. Many individual re-
searchers have placed emphasis on different aspects of visual lit-
eracy. There has been, and there still are considerable disagree-
ments among practitioners, as well as among researchers con-
cerning a precise definition of the concept “visual literacy.”
This main section includes the following sections: Early
days, IVLA, and Many definitions.

Early days
The first National Conference on Visual Literacy was held in
Rochester (NY) USA, in March 1969. John (Jack) Debes (1969),
a co-ordinator of education projects for Eastman Kodak com-
pany, agreed to write the first definition of visual literacy (p. 26):
Visual literacy refers to a group of vision competencies a hu-
man being can develop by seeing and at the same time hav-
ing and integrating other sensory experiences. The develop-
ment of these competencies is fundamental to normal hu-
man learning. When developed, they enable a visually lit-
erate person to discriminate and interpret the visible ac-
tions, objects, and symbols natural or man-made, that he en-
counters in his environment. Through the creative use of
these competencies, he is able to communicate with others.

234
 Through the appreciative use of these competencies, he is
able to comprehend and enjoy the masterworks of visual
communication.
Eastman Kodak had an interest to spread visual literacy as much
as possible. Debes wanted to elevate “visual skills to a place
alongside language skills in education” (Hutton, 1983, p. 150).
Debes’ definition of Visual Literacy was never “widely accepted”
(Braden and Hortin, 1982, p. 37). However, it was adopted by the
Association for Educational Communications and Technology
(AECT).
Since 1969 several researchers interested in visual literacy
have developed their own definitions, opinions, and viewpoints.
Many have discussed visual literacy with reference to their own,
personal background. Thus, individual researchers have placed
emphasis on many different aspects of visual literacy. Aristotle
provided a seminal notion, which the art and visual literacy the-
orists Arnheim (1969, 1986) and Dondis (1973) further refined.
Several researchers have defined visual literacy from various
theoretical standpoints. Dondis (1973) presented an early defini-
tion in her book A Primer of Visual Literacy (p. 182): “Visual lit-
eracy implies understanding, the means for seeing and sharing
meaning with some level of predictable universality. To accom-
plish this requires reaching beyond the innate visual powers of
the human organism, reaching beyond the intuitive capabilities
programmed into us for making visual decisions on a more or
less common basis, and reaching beyond personal preference
and individual taste.”
The “universality” Dondis called for is actually insight, which
is one of the highest goals of education. In an attempt to make
the concept of “visual literacy” more acceptable to scholars in the
disciplines of liberal arts and sciences Jonassen and Fork (1975,
p. 7) changed the term visual literacy to visuacy. This way visual
literacy was analogized to literacy, and numeracy. However, the

235
term visual literacy is still preferred by most people, and I have
used the term visuacy for a group of new literacies.
According to Ausburn and Ausburn (1978) a visually literate
person should be able to read and write visual language. They
defined literacy as a group of skills which enable an individual to
understand and use visuals for intentionally communicating
with others.

IVLA
The International Visual Literacy Association, IVLA, was a re-
sult of the first National Conference on Visual Literacy. It was es-
tablished as a non-profit association incorporated in the State of
New York in 1968 to provide a multi-disciplinary forum for the
exploration, presentation, and discussion of all aspects of visual
communication and their various applications through visual im-
ages, visual literacy, and literacy in general.
IVLA serves as the organizational base and communications
bond for professionals from various disciplines that are inter-
ested in visual literacy. Other concerns are to encourage the
funding of creative visual literacy projects, programs, and re-
search, and to promote and evaluate projects intended to in-
crease the use of visuals. IVLA is the most influential of all groups
concerned with the study and practice of visual literacy/visual
communication.
IVLA has published a large number of annual books of read-
ings. These proceedings include papers that have only one thing
in common: they all have something to do with seeing.
The Journal of Visual Verbal Languaging (JVVL) started in
1981 as the official scholarly journal of the International Visual
Literacy Association. The name changed to Journal of Visual Lit-
eracy (JVL) in 1989. Also, the logo was changed. All these years
dedicated members of IVLA worked hard to ensure the quality of
the journal. All articles published in this journal have undergone
rigorous peer review by at least two anonymous referees.

236
 Since 2016 the journal is published by the professional pub-
lishing company Routledge/Taylor and Francis. The articles
cover a wide range of disciplines including aesthetics, arts, busi-
ness, communication, education, graphic design, infographics,
information design, instructional technology, interactive techno-
logies, multimedia, science, visual communication, and visual
language. The Journal of Visual Literacy (JVL) is the oldest in-
ternational journal in the interdisciplinary field of visual literacy.
Now, there are four issues per year. All articles are published
online before they are printed. See Robinson et a. (2019) for more
information. The JVL reflects the eclectic nature of the member-
ship of IVLA.

There are many definitions

At a media leadership conference in 1976 Lida Cochran asked the
delegates to define the term “visual literacy.” The 62 definitions
indicated that the delegates used 52 different phrases to define
the adjective “visual.” Three major meanings evolved for the
word “literacy.” Literacy was seen as: 1) A group of competencies,
2) A process or method of teaching, and 3) A movement. All the
delegates agreed that the term “visual literacy” was used to refer
to three major categories: 1) Human abilities, 2) Teaching strat-
egies, and 3) Promotion of ideas. Over time, visual literacy defi-
nitions have varied from narrow to broad explanations of greater
or lesser complexity.
Contrary to popular and widespread misconceptions, being
visually literate does not at all require a person to be skilled in
any area of artistic visual work. Flory (1978) presented the fol-
lowing theory of visual literacy: 1) A visual language exists; 2)
People can and do think visually; 3) People can and do learn vis-
ually; and, 4) People can and should express themselves visually.
Ausburn and Ausburn (1978) focused their attention on de-
veloping skills and understandings. They provided this short def-
inition (p. 291): “Visual literacy can be defined as a group of skills

237
which enables an individual to understand and use visuals for in-
tentionally communicating with others.”

Some early definitions of Visual Literacy.

Year Author/s Year Author/s

1939 Davis 1973 Dondis
1960 Flemming 1974 Maccoby and Jacklin
Jonassen and Fork;
1967 Eastman Kodak Comp. 1975
Spitzer and McNerny
Cochran; Fork and
1968 Debes 1976
Jonassen

1969 Arnheim; Debes 1977 Lucas; Johnson

Ausburn and Ausburn;
Flory; Levie; Randhawa;
1970 Debes 1978
Williams; Zimmer and
Zimmer
1971 Chaplin ; Paivio
1979 Foster
1972 Fransecky and Debes

Some Visual Literacy definitions 1980–1989

Obviously, visual literacy requires an interest in developing one’s
communication skills using visual media, including body lan-
guage.
Visual Literacy and print literacy
Sless (1981) noted that fluency and visual literacy are skills, dis-
cernible and distinguishable from literacy and numeracy which
form the backbone of our educational system. However, these
skills are not subjected to anything like the intensity of teaching
that students are given in language (literacy), and mathematics
(numeracy).

238
 Hortin (1982) noted that while the concept “visual literacy”
had been popular since 1969, no substantial theory of visual lit-
eracy had yet been developed. So far most of the visual literacy
researchers had discussed various practical aspects of visual lit-
eracy and teaching of visual literacy. This is in fact still the case.
Heinich, Molenda, and Russel (1982) recognized that there
are different aspects of visual literacy. They compared visual lit-
eracy with print literacy and offered the following definition (p.
62): “Visual literacy is the learned ability to interpret visual mes-
sages accurately and to create such messages. Interpretation and
creation in visual literacy can be said to parallel reading and writ-
ing in print literacy.” In my opinion, this is a very good definition
of visual literacy. The definition reflects the perspective that vis-
ual literacy is a concept in which particular skills, knowledge, and
attitudes can be taught and learned which enhance our abilities
to communicate in a variety of visual forms. Several years ago, I
read and assimilated this definition, and later used the same def-
inition in one of my own books (Pettersson, 1989) without a
proper reference to these authors. I have apologised for this.
Understand and think
Braden and Hortin (1982) suggested a definition that avoids the
use of much potentially controversial terminology and intro-du-
ces the concept of thinking in images into the definition. They
wrote (p. 169): “Visual literacy is the ability to understand and
use images, including the ability to think, learn, and express one-
self in terms of images.”
The Braden and Hortin (1982) approach is similar to that of
McKim (1980a, 1980b). McKim suggested that visual thinking is
carried on through the employment of three types of visual im-
ages–those we see, those we imagine, and those we draw. Ac-
cording to McKim (1980, p, 8):
Visual thinking is constantly used by everybody. It directs
figures on a chessboard and designs global politics on the ge-
ographical map. Two dexterous moving men steering a piano
239
 along a winding staircase think visually in an intricate se-
quence of lifting, shifting, and turning.
The “McKim diagram,” consisting of three partly overlapping cir-
cles, explains the fluid dynamic that occurs without our con-
scious awareness or thought. The circles symbolize the idea that
visual thinking is experienced to the fullest when seeing, imagin-
ing, and drawing merge into active interplay. The visual thinker
utilizes seeing, imagining, and drawing in a fluid and dynamic
way, moving from one kind of imagery to another.

Practical applications
Griffin and Whiteside (1984) argued that visual literacy theory
should stimulate practical applications. They suggested that vis-
ual literacy should be approached from different perspectives.
Visual literacy should be approached from the theoretical per-
spective, which incorporates the philosophical, psychological,
and physiological aspects of learning. It should be approached
from the visual language perspective, which incorporates a re-
ceiver-oriented approach committed to helping people become
visually literate by effectively relating to visual stimuli. Visual lit-
eracy should also be approached from the presentational per-
spective, which incorporates a presenter-oriented approach, and
the improvement of the communications process through design
of visual stimuli.

Thinking, reading, and writing

Hortin (1983) defined visual literacy (p. 99): “Visual literacy is
the ability to understand (read) and use (write) images and to
think and learn in terms of images, i.e. to think visually.”
Sless (1984, p. 226) wrote: “If Visual Literacy is to be rescued
as a term (and I think it may still have some life in it), we need to
interpret it more generously … VL is any sustained activity that
treats visual material and its uses as worthy of intelligent consid-
eration. This is the heart of the matter and the reason for retain-
ing the metaphor.”

240
 On a theoretical basis Sinatra (1986) connected visual liter-
acy to thinking, reading, and writing. He pointed out that visual
literacy becomes the basic literacy in the thought processes of
comprehending and composing that underlie reading and writ-
ing. The non-verbal components of visual literacy are the real
“basics” in literacy learning. Sinatra suggested the following def-
inition of visual literacy (p. 5): “Visual literacy is the active recon-
struction of past visual experience with incoming visual mes-
sages to obtain meaning.” The active reconstructive nature of our
thought processes means that as visual information is presented
to our brains, it is modified and interpreted in the light of what
information already exists there.
Principles of Visual Literacy theory
Reynolds Myers (1985) named four “Principles of visual literacy
theory” (p. 48): 1) Visual languaging abilities develop prior to,
and serve as the foundation for, verbal language development. 2)
Development of visual languaging abilities is dependent upon
learner interaction with objects, images, and body language. 3)
The level of visual language development is dependent upon the
richness and diversity of the objects, images, and body language
with which the learner interacts and upon the degree of interac-
tion. 4) The level of visual language development is facilitated by
direct learner involvement in the process and equipment used to
create objects, visual images, and body language.
Comprehend and create
Considine (1986) argued that visual literacy attempts to account
for both an input and an output set of processes. Visual literacy
is said to refer “to the ability to comprehend and create images in
a variety of media in order to communicate more effectively.” (p.
86) Visually literate students should be able to produce and in-
terpret visual messages. Considine pointed out that since visual
literacy is a process requiring the ability to both send, receive,
and process visual messages effectively in order to participate in

241
two-way communications, visually literate individuals have to
develop a variety of proficiencies.
A communication skill
Lacy (1987) concluded that visual literacy is a communication
skill like verbal literacy. She defined visual literacy in the follow-
ing way (p. 46):
It (visual literacy) can be defined as the ability to identify,
analyze, interpret, evaluate, and produce visual messages. A
visually literate person has acquired skills in gathering infor-
mation from such straightforward visual messages as an-
other person’s body language. Or from complicated visual
images that are combinations of new technologies like video,
computer, and enhanced photography. And visually literate
persons can both mentally image and communicate to others
by producing a visual message themselves.
Three domains of Visual Literacy
Braden (1987) identified three “categories,” or “domains” of vis-
ual literacy:
1. Visualisation, described as “aspects of vision in the human
process of thinking and communication” (p. 7). In this do-
main Braden included elements such as visual syntax, visual
design, visual expression, and visual thinking.
2. Trilogy. The “theory–research–practice trilogy as it applies
to visual literacy” (p. 6). This includes elements such as in-
struction, design, communication, and persuasion.
3. Technology, including the effects of technological develop-
ments upon the other two domains of visual literacy. In this
category Braden included electronics and television, comput-
ers, and reprographics.
Schiller (1987) noted that all the different viewpoints of visual
literacy show that every visual medium has its own characteristic
form. Thus, there are clearly different visual literacies, and there

242
are different skills to be learned in terms of their characteristic
techniques and methods of expression. As a consequence, people
should concentrate on more limited concepts, such as computer
literacy, diagrammatic literacy, digital visual literacy, film liter-
acy, graphical literacy, television literacy, and video literacy. In-
deed, it might be impossible to create one single definition of the
broad concept of visual literacy.
Schiller offered the following definition of visual literacy
(1987, p. 276): “Visual literacy is an ability to interpret by means
of trained perceptual capacities feelings, ideas, and information
and to communicate them imaginatively with compositions cre-
ated via a diversity of visualising mediums.”
Curtiss (1987, p. 3) wrote: “Visual literacy is the ability to un-
derstand the communication of a visual statement in any me-
dium and the ability to express oneself with at least one visual
discipline. …”

Some definitions of Visual Literacy 1980–1989.

Year Author/s
1980 Griffin and Butt; Hortin
1981 Szabo; Dwyer and DeMelo; Sless
Braden and Hortin; Esdale and Robinson; Heinich,
1982
Molenda, and Russel; Hortin
1983 Earl; Hortin; Lampe
1984 Griffin and Whiteside; Hortin; Sless
1985 Reynolds Myers; Whiteside
1986 Arnheim; Considine; Sinatra
1987 Braden; Curtiss; Lacy; Levie; Schiller
1988 Hanson; Hanson, Silver, and Strong; Ragan
1989 Hansen; IVLA; Kissick and Grob; Pettersson

243
IVLA definitions
In 1989 IVLA provided the following four “official definitions” of
Visual Literacy printed on a leaflet. Visual literacy is:
• A group of vision competencies a human being can develop
by seeing and at the same time having and integrating other
sensory experiences.
• The learned ability to interpret the communication of visual
symbols (images), and to create messages using visual sym-
bols.
• The ability to translate visual images into verbal language and
vice versa.
• The ability to search for and evaluate visual information in
visual media.
By the end of the 1980s, the definitions and understandings of
visual literacy were dispersed and very diverse.
Some Visual Literacy definitions 1990–1999
During this period people continued to present new definitions
of visual literacy, more or less at every visual literacy conference.
Here are some examples.
Delphi Study 1990
Clark-Baca (1990), Clark-Baca and Braden (1990), and Braden
and Clark-Baca (1991) dealt with the complexity of various defi-
nitions of visual literacy.
Clark-Baca’s Delphi Study (1990) involved input from 52 ex-
perts in the field of visual literacy. The final round yielded 167
statements that were identified as constructs that define, de-
scribe, or elaborate upon visual literacy. These statements can be
seen as an “index to the field.” Braden and Clark-Baca (1991) pro-
posed “a conceptual map which would serve as a graphic organ-
izer of visual literacy constructs” (p. 156).

244
Information Literacy
Sutton (1992) compared information literacy, media literacy, and
visual literacy. In the USA, a National Forum on Information Lit-
eracy was established in 1989. The background was that infor-
mation is expanding at a very rapid rate. The American Library
Association defined information literacy as follows: “To be infor-
mation-literate, a person must be able to recognize when infor-
mation is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use
effectively the needed information.”
Wileman (1993, p. 114) defined visual literacy as “the ability
to read, interpret, and understand information presented in pic-
torial or graphic images.”

Some definitions of Visual Literacy 1990–1999.

Year Author/s
1990 Clark-Baca; Clark-Baca and Braden; Schallert-Lawrie
Braden and Clark-Baca; Cook; Hugo and Skibbe; Leahy;
1991
Messaris; Miller
1992 Sutton
1993 Messaris; Pettersson; Wileman
1994 Bopry; Hortin; Messaris; Moore and Dwyer; Seels
1995 Box and Cochenaur; Brouwer; Messaris; Velders
Avgerinou and Ericson; Braden; deLange; Kress and van
1996
Leeuwen; Schiffman
1997 Avgerinou and Ericson; Stewig
1998 Allmendinger
1999 Avgerinou and Ericson; Heinich et al.; Paquin

Learning and instruction

Bopry (1994) summarized that the visually literate people are
those capable of applying “grammar and syntax of visual
245
language” and translating “visual language to verbal language
and vice versa.” The bulk of all visual literacy research has been
done with learning and instruction in mind.
Moore and Dwyer (1994) compiled a text covering twenty-
two aspects of visual literacy. Their particular definitional bias is
learning, and the ways that visuals will affect the learning pro-
cesses.
Seels (1994) regarded: 1) Visual thinking; 2) Visual learning;
and 3) Visual communication; as three theoretical constructs
forming a continuum.
Workings of the visual media
Messaris (1995) defined visual literacy as the gaining of
knowledge and experience about the workings of the visual me-
dia coupled with a heightened conscious awareness of those
workings. Velders (1995) said: “Visual Literacy is the ability to
read and write images.” According to Braden (1996, p. 9) there
are two major impediments to research on visual literacy. “The
first is a lack of a widely accepted definition of the term Visual
Literacy itself. The second, perhaps a consequence of the first, is
a lack of a cohesive theory.”
Far from an easy task
Avgerinou and Ericson (1997) concluded that many have tried to
define the concept of visual literacy, but so far, they had found no
consensus. They remarked (p. 282–283): “it should be apparent
that defining Visual Literacy is far from an easy task.” Over time,
definitions have varied from very narrow to very broad explana-
tions of greater or lesser complexity. In accordance with Avgeri-
nou and Ericson (1999, p. 22) there seem to be as many defini-
tions as there are visual literacists. There has been, and there still
are considerable disagreements concerning a common definition
of visual literacy.

246
Some later Visual Literacy definitions
While there has been considerable disagreement among re-
searchers and practitioners concerning a common definition of
visual litercy, Avgerinou (2003) found that what the various def-
initions share in common is greater than what separates them.
Her close examination of visual literacy definitions revealed that
visual literacy was referred to as either an ability, a competency,
or a skill. During this new millennium we have learned about
even more definitions of visual literacy. Here are some of them.
An operational definition
Avgerinou (2000) used the following operational definition of
visual literacy (p. 26): “In the context of human, intentional vis-
ual communication, visual literacy refers to a group of largely
acquired abilities, i.e. the abilities to understand (read), and use
(write) images, as well as to think and learn in terms of images.”
Points of convergence
Avgerinou (2001) identified the following points of convergence
among the multitude of the definitions referred to the concept
visual literacy:
• A visual language exists;
• Visual language parallels verbal language;
• Visual literacy is a cognitive ability but also draws on the af-
fective domain;
• The terms ability, competency, and skill have been invariably
and interchangeably used to describe visual literacy;
• The visual literacy skills have been specified as a) to read/de-
code/ interpret visual statements, b) to write/encode/create
visual statements, and c) to think visually;
• The visual literacy skills are a) learnable, b) teachable, c) ca-
pable of development and improvement;
• The visual literacy skills are not isolated from other sensory
skills;

247
• Visual communication, visual thinking, and visual learning
are inextricably linked to visual literacy;
• Visual literacy has accepted and incorporated theoretical con-
tributions from other disciplines;
• Visual literacy’s main focus is intentional communication in
an instructional context.
Semantics and syntax
Some authors have discussed visual semantics and visual syn-
tax. According to Stokes (2002, p.12): “Visual literacy, like lan-
guage literacy, is culturally specific although there are universal
symbols or visual images that are globally understood.” For Bam-
ford (2003) being visually literate is a combination of syntax and
semantics.
Visual syntax is the building blocks of an image. The syntax
of an image can be regarded as the organisation and pictorial
structure. Visual syntax includes components like background,
balance, colour, contrast, depth, direction, foreground, light, lo-
cation, movement, perspective, relationship with text, and more.
Visual semantics refers to the way images relate more
broadly to issues in the world to gain meaning (Bamford, 2003).
In practice, visual semantics refers to how images fit into the cul-
tural processes of communication. This includes the relationship
between form and meaning.

Adobe Systems Inc

In 2003 Adobe Systems Inc. offered a “Visual Literacy White Pa-
per.” Here, Bamford (2003) presented a revised comprehensive
definition: "Visual literacy is about interpreting images of the
present and past and producing images that effectively com-
municate the message to an audience." Visual literacy involves
developing a set of competencies and skills. A person should be
able to interpret the content of visual images, examine their so-
cial impact, and discuss audience, ownership, and purpose. Fur-
thermore, visual literacy involves making judgments of the accu-
racy, trustworthiness, and Visual literacy also involves making
248
judgments of the accuracy, trustworthiness, and validity of visual
images.
Delphi Study 2007
A large Delphi study in 2007 showed that the visual literacy
scholarly community had not been able to agree on a definition
of visual literacy (Brill and Kim, 2007; Brill, Kim, and Branch,
2007). However, Avgerinou (2003) found that what the various
definitions share in common is greater than what separates
them. Her close examination of visual literacy definitions showed
that visual literacy is referred to ability, competency, or skill.
Creating visual materials
Many current definitions of the term visual literacy have an em-
phasis on creating visual materials, not just interpreting visual
messages (Brumberger 2011; Hattwig et al. 2013; Felten 2008).
In accordance with Mayall and Robinson (2009a, p. 49) in-ser-
vice teachers’ failure to incorporate visual literacy tools in in-
struction stem from a lack of knowledge of the “theoretical prin-
ciples and guidelines.” For Felten (2008) visual literacy involves
the ability to understand, produce, and use culturally significant
images, objects, and visible actions. In accordance with
Brumberger (2011, p. 21) the best definitions of visual literacy
contain “both an interpretative and a productive component.”
More definitions
Metros (2008) defined visual literacy as the ability to decode and
interpret (make meaning from) visual messages and also to be
able to encode and compose meaningful visual communications.
According to Alter (2009) visual literacy describes our ability to
“read”, interpret and make meaning from images. This definition
put emphasis on the varying level of processing that occurs when
we are presented with visual imagery and are able to appreciate
contextual, metaphorical and philosophical meanings.
According to Yenawine (2015) visual literacy can be defined
to be the skill of finding the meaning in images. For Šupšáková

249
(2016) visual literacy is the ability to develop meanings from eve-
rything we can see, to find the sense in everything we can per-
ceive. According to Uyan Dur (2018) visual literacy can be de-
fined as the abilities to define visuals, solve their messages, use a
visual language and create new meanings.
Considerable disagreements
Like the area “visual communication,” also “visual literacy” is
multidimensional and multidisciplinary. Here this “rich mélange
of viewpoints” should be seen as “an asset because of the insights
that come from cross-fertilization” (Moriarty, 1996, p. 379).
Messaris (1994) proposed that visual literacy is largely a nat-
ural process. He argued that visual literacy is unlikely to lead to
any cognitive advantages analogous to those that result from
learning a (verbal) language. Messaris (p. 165) does not see im-
ages as a language. Images are distinguished from language and
from other modes of communication by the fact that they repro-
duce many of the informational cues that people make use of in
their perception of physical and social reality. According to Mes-
saris our ability to infer what is represented in an image is based
on this reproductive property, rather than on familiarity with any
arbitrary conventions. Arbitrary conventions play a major role in
the interpretation of language, mathematics, and so on.
Media literacy and visual literacy do overlap, yet as Chauvin
(2003) explains (p. 124): “the major difference being media lit-
eracy’s focus on the mass media and visual literacy’s focus on all
media.”

250
Some later definitions of Visual Literacy.

Year Author/s
2000 Avgerinou; Lowe; Velders
2001 Avgerinou
2002 Stokes
2003 Avgerinou; Bamford; Chauvin; Elkins
2004 Rezabek
2005 Bleed; Messaris and Moriarty
2006 Burns; Metros and Woolsey
Avgerinou; Brill and Dohun; Brill and Kim; Brill, Kim, and
2007
Branch; Machin; Norris
2008 Felten; Metros
Alter; Avgerinou; Falihi and Wason-Ellam; Mayall and
2009
Robinson; Pettersson; Santas and Eaker; Sosa

Elkins (2003), Machin (2007) and other researchers have

practically rejected the concept of “visual literacy” and search for
another term, such as communication design, information de-
sign, or message design.
Sosa (2009, p. 55) noted: “the term ‘visual’ is evolving and
intuitive and has different meanings for different people so, too,
‘visual literacy’ also may have a variety of meanings.” Connors
(2011) defined visual literacy as the ability to interpret (read) and
produce (write) images. It is very clear that it is difficult to de-
scribe verbally a concept that is primarily nonverbal (Avgerinou
and Pettersson, 2011; Messaris and Moriarty, 2005). As previ-
ously noted Avgerinou and Pettersson (2011) proposed that a
theory of visual literacy should be grounded on the following
conceptual components: 1) Visual communication, 2) Visual lan-
guage, 3) Visual learning, 4) Visual thinking, and 5) Visual per-
ception.

251
 Visual literacy is “the active reading, interpreting and under-
standing images and visual media.” (Stafford, 2011, p. 1). And
Eilam (2012) discussed teaching, learning, and visual literacy,
and made the following definition (p. 88): “Visual literacy as de-
fined in this book pertains to all cognitive abilities related to deal-
ing with visual representations, those promoting teachers’ abili-
ties as both learners and teachers as well as students’ abilities to
learn and develop cognitively. This term is slightly different and
broader than the overlapping but not identical concepts like
meta-representational competence, multiliteracies, or visual cul-
ture.”
Visual literacy and related terms such as media literacy, dig-
ital literacy, multimodal literacy, and metaliteracy, have many
definitions (Hattwig et al., 2013). Blummer (2015) added aspects
of the processing of pictorial meaning, such as creativity, manip-
ulation, production, and understanding. In the evolution of the
concept of visual literacy the construction and the interpretation
of meaning from images are two essential notions.
In the context of geography education Behnke (2017b) de-
scribed visual literacy as a culture-specific and learnable group
of skills. These skills allow learners to analyse, decode, interpret,
and reflect critically on images. Learners integrate and interre-
late pictorial and verbal information meaningfully.
Serafini (2017) defined visual literacy as a process of gener-
ating meanings in transaction with multimodal ensembles that
include written text, visual images, and design elements from a
variety of perspectives to meet the requirements of particular so-
cial contexts.
According to Peña Alonso (2018, p. 142) the term visual lit-
eracy should stand for the broad notion of meaning-making from
visuals in compliance with the current understandings of literacy
within literacy education (e.g. Flood, Heath, and Lapp, 2015),
and that the specific contextual conventions be referred to as
“visual genres.”

252
 There has been, and there still are considerable disagree-
ments among practitioners as well as among researchers con-
cerning a precise definition of the concept “visual literacy.” The
many discipline specific versions of definitions make it difficult
to find one unanimous statement about visual literacy. Visual lit-
eracy scholarship still lacks an agreed-upon definition of visual
literacy and it lacks empirical research.
Fullmer (2019, p. 29) felt that “the term visual literacy is a
contested one, and many argue definitions should be customized
to specific subject disciplines.” At its most basic level visual liter-
acy refers to the ability to comprehend, evaluate, and use images
(Statton, Shemberger, and Wright, 2018). It seems that a clear
and distinct identity of visual literacy remains elusive since the
field of visual literacy is so varied (Brumberger, 2019).
Brumberger (2019) concluded that a unified definition of visual
literacy continues to elude scholars.
Kędra and Žakevičiūtė (2019, p. 2) offer three categories of
VL skills: 1) Visual reading, 2) Visual writing, and 3) Other visual
literacy skills. The category Visual reading covers skills of image
interpretation/analysis, evaluation, visual perception, know-
ledge of visual grammar and syntax and learned ability in visual-
verbal translation. The category Visual writing covers skills in
visual creation, image production and use, and in effective visual
communication. The category Other visual literacy skills in-
cludes visual thinking and learning skills and applied use (such
as using images ethically).
According to Hokanson (2019, p. 173) visual literacy in-
cludes the abilities of analysis, communication, comprehension,
and handling of visual materials. The ability to visually concep-
tualize and represent new ideas is one of the most valuable capa-
bilities of a visually literate individual. Visual literacy can be
viewed as a field which is both observational and reflective, but
at the same tie it must also be creative and generative.
Savic (2020) defined visual literacy as the ability to make
meaning from interpreting visual images; it involves effective-
253
ness in finding, interpreting, evaluating, using, and creating vis-
ual images as well as understanding contextual, cultural, aes-
thetic, ethical, intellectual, and technical elements of producing
and using visual images.
As a multidisciplinary field, visual literacy remains challeng-
ing to analyse (Thompson and Beene, 2020). Some of these chal-
lenges include widespread disagreements on definitions, meas-
urements, scopes, and terms.

Some recent definitions of Visual Literacy, 2010–2020.

Year Author/s
2010 Elkins; Yeh and Lohr
ACRL; Avgerinou and Pettersson; Brumberger; Connors;
2011
Stafford
2012 Eliam
2013 Hattwig et al.
2014 Baylen and Lucas
2015 Blummer; Flood, Heath, and Lapp; Yenawine
2016 Šupšáková
2017 Behnke (2017b); Michelson; Serafini
Matusiak and Heinbach; Peña Alonso; Uyan Dur; Statton,
2018
Shemberger, and Wright
2019 Fullmer; Hokanson; Kędra and Žakevičiūtė
2020 Savic

254
 Personally, I still favour the definition provided by
Heinich, Molenda and Russell (1982, p. 62):
“Visual literacy is the learned ability to interpret visual
messages accurately and to create such messages. Thus,
interpretation and creation in visual literacy can be said to
parallel reading and writing in print literacy.”
This definition is “future proof” and it will be valid
for new media, and new technologies.

255
 ID Library
At the beginning of this millennium there was a huge lack of text-
books for the new academic discipline Information Design. At
that time, I wrote some research papers, and also some basic
texts about communication, design, and information. Already in
2002 John Benjamins Publishing Company published my book
Information Design, An introduction in Amsterdam and Phila-
delphia. This was useful, but it was not enough. Of course, also,
other people contributed with research papers, and after some
time also with textbooks.
Since I retired, 1 January 2009, I have continued working
with research at the Institute for Infology. I have developed an
Information Design Library with 12 e-books. These e-books in-
clude 3 650 pages, and together they constitute my digital Infor-
mation Design Library, something I really wanted to have for my
own teaching many years ago.
• Message Design.
• ID Theories.
• Text Design.
• Image Design.
• Using Images.
• Reuse in Art and Design.
• Graphic Design.
• Cognition.
• Learning.
• Predecessors and Pioneers.
• It Depends.
• ID Concepts.
All these books are available at ResearchGate at:
< https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rune_Pettersson >

256
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 Appendix: Main concepts
Many concepts may have diffused and sometimes even multiple
meanings. For the purpose of this book I have used the following
brief descriptions of main concepts related to languages and text
design. Here these concepts are sorted in alphabetical order:
Animation include different methods to make still pictures ap-
pear as moving images. Today, most animations are made with
computer-generated imagery.
Areas belong to the simplest components in visual language. An
area can be varied with respect to brightness, colour, colour com-
binations, context, emptiness, grain, grey scale, shaded or non-
shaded parts, shape, size, texture, and value. See Basic elements.
Basic elements, or graphic elements, are dots, lines, areas and
volumes. These elements can be varied and put together in many
ways. Basic elements are sometimes meaningful, sometimes not.
Brightness constancy is our tendency to judge the brightness
of objects to be constant, even though changes in illumination
make the objects appear brighter or darker.
Central perspective, one-point perspective, or Renaissance
perspective is a Line perspective. In a central perspective, lines
in the picture converge at a common point of intersection–the
limit or main point–even though they are parallel in reality. Cen-
tral perspective is a “one-point perspective.” All lines vanish in a
single point in the picture. See Bird’s-eye perspective, Eye-level
perspective, Gentleman’s perspective, Line-based positional
perspectives, Military perspective and Worm’s-eye perspective.
Colour blindness is a condition in which certain colour dis-
tinctions cannot be made. This is more common among men
than women.
Colour coding is a good way to show that something is espe-
cially important and interesting. It can be used to improve atten-
tion in documents, in signs and in symbols and increase learning.
It is important that colour be used consistently. Inconsistent and
improper use of colour can be distracting, fatiguing and
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upsetting and it can actually produce negative results and reduce
learning.
Colour constancy is our tendency to judge the colour of an ob-
ject as the same despite changes in distance, viewing angle, and
illumination. See Perceptual constancy.
Colour description systems. Colour can be described in aes-
thetical, physical, physiological, psychological and technical
terms. Hue, value and saturation describe what we see. Intensity,
purity and wavelength are physical dimensions. The relationship
between brightness, hue, lightness and saturation is very compli-
cated. For practical use in art and in industry several different
systems providing numerical indexes for colour have been devel-
oped.
Colour perspective, colours and hues gradually change from
being clear in the picture’s foreground into being blurred in its
background.
Colour triangle is any vertical sector through half of the NCS
Colour Solid. It is used to describe the nuance of a colour.
Complete meanings. Basic elements form shapes that form
visual syntagms, or sub-meanings. These components interact to
form complete meanings in still pictures and in moving pictures.
Constancy is our tendency to judge colour, contrast, shape and
size as the same despite changes in distance, illumination, and
viewing angle. See Perceptual constancy.
Contrast constancy is our tendency to judge contrasts as the
same despite changes in distance, viewing angle, and illumina-
tion. See Perceptual constancy.
Cropping. An original picture can often be improved by removal
of irrelevant or distracting elements. Usually pictures can be
cropped a little bit from all sides. In practice, the photographer
always performs some “initial cropping” while taking the actual
photograph. When composing or taking a photograph, the pho-
tographer sets the boundaries or “frame” of the picture.

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Curvilinear perspective is a line perspective and includes
Four-point perspective and Five-point perspective.
Dark values of colour with black pigment added are called
“shades” of the given hue name.
Data visualisation, or data visualization, dataviz, and DV, is
the creation of visual representations of data in a graphical or
pictorial format. Data are primarily, but not solely, numeric. The
main goal of data visualisation is its ability to communicate com-
plex data clearly and effectively. In many disciplines, it is viewed
as a modern equivalent of visual communication.
Data-ink-ratio is the proportion of ink that is used to present
the data, compared to the total amount of ink used in the whole
visual display.
Dataviz, data visualisations, and DV, are graphical representa-
tions of data which are primarily, but not solely, numeric. Data
visualisations are abstractions and reductions of the world.
Decorative pictures are intended to give relief to learning sit-
uations and make material aesthetically appealing and pleasing.
Diagonal lines are unstable and attract the eye. They give the
impression of movement, creating visual stress. Artists may use
this implied motion when they wish to convey energy or action in
their works. Lines that reach out from one point in different di-
rections may be perceived as aggressive or violent.
Dots in visual language. A dot is the smallest graphic element
in visual language. The dot is usually a meaningless, or non-sig-
nificant image element, such as one of many halftone dots, but it
could also be a syntagm, such as an eye in a cartoon-face. It may
even have a complete meaning, such as a ball in mid-air.
Elementary colours, black, white, yellow, red, blue, green.
Emphasis is used to attract or direct attention or dramatize cer-
tain points within a visual. A dark dot in a light field, and a jog in
a straight line are two good examples of emphasis. These con-
trasts attract attention. Emphasis may also be used to direct

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attention, and to keep attention, or dramatize certain points
within information materials.
Emphasise. In order, not to confuse the readers, it is important
to establish a consistent system for how to signal emphasis. Use
bold and italics for emphasis sparingly; too many emphasised
words may reduce the emphasis.
Eye-level perspective, or normal perspective, is a level per-
spective. Objects are usually viewed straight from the front and
at the same level as the viewer. This “normal picture angle” and
the normal way of viewing is the least obtrusive angle. See Line-
based positional perspectives.
Forced perspective is a line perspective. It is a form of optical
illusion. Forced perspective is used in architecture, film, photog-
raphy and video to manipulate human visual perception. It is
used to make an object appear to be larger or smaller, to be closer
or farther away than it actually is. Producers use scaled objects
and manipulate the correlation between them, the camera or
viewer and the vantage point.
FTF is often short for “Face-To-Face” (in person), and also for
many other terms.
Gentleman’s perspective is a level perspective. It is higher
than eye-level perspective but lower than military perspective.
Grapheme. A grapheme is the smallest semantically distin-
guishing unit in a written language. It is analogous to the pho-
neme in a spoken language. A grapheme may or it may not carry
any meaning by itself, and it may or it may not correspond to a
single phoneme. There are six families of graphemes: 1) Colour,
2) Form, 3) Grain, 4) Orientation, 5) Tallness, and 6) Value.
Graphic elements. In computerized image processing graphic
elements can be defined in one of two systems: either mathemat-
ically as points and vectors, or in the form of pixels.
Horizontal balance is the “visual balancing” of the left and the
right sides of two pages in, for example, a book or a magazine.

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Horizontal lines are restful and relaxing. They create a strong
sense of equilibrium in any composition. Horizontal lines that
are parallel to the borders of the picture give the impression of
calm and stability. A horizontal line can serve, e.g., as a horizon,
a street, or a sea. Horizontal lines are perceived as being shorter
than equally long vertical lines.
Hue is the basic component of colour corresponding to different
wavelengths. Most people are familiar with hue through our la-
belling of colours such as yellow, orange, red, violet, blue, and
green. In colour description systems hues are usually placed in a
band around a centre, in a colour-circle. Hue is expressed as a
value between 0 and 360 on the colour wheel. All of the colours
in the rainbow are hues in the visible spectrum of light. Changing
the hue values will dramatically alter the colour of an image.
Image content variables are amount of detail, degree of real-
ism, objects, time, place, space, events such as action, humour,
drama, violence, etc., time displacement, parallel action, meta-
phoric descriptions (symbolic actions), the relevance and credi-
bility of the contents, comparisons and statistics, motion, sounds
such as speech, music, sound effects, and emotions.
Image contexts. Factors inside a medium are inner/internal
contexts, such as interplay between text and illustrations in a
book. External context includes the communications situation.
Image execution. Variables related to an image’s graphic exe-
cution are image factors and image components. Examples are
colour (hue, value, saturation), shape (external shape, external
contour), and size (image, subject, depth).
Infographics, information graphics, are visualisations of com-
plex data. A designer may combine drawings, graphs, headings,
images, photos, tables, and text segments on a very restricted
area. Modern infographics contain digital images and text that
communicate information in a way that is easy to disseminate.
Digital infographics can be easily shared through social media
platforms, and reach large audiences for transfer of information.

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Information design comprises analysis, planning, presenta-
tion and understanding of a message, its content, language and
form. The main objective is to provide information needed by the
receivers in order to perform specific tasks. Information design
is a process (verb) as well as a result (noun) of that process.
Information graphics, or infographics, are visualisations of
complex data. See Infographics.
Instructional pictures are primarily informative. They show
the appearance of an object, the cause-effect relations within nat-
ural phenomena, or the functioning of a technical device.
Language dimensions. Spoken and written languages are lin-
ear. Visual language is two-, three-, or four-dimensional.
Legibility of pictures is how easy it is to read a visual message.
Pictures must have good legibility in all kinds of information and
learning materials. Images shall be bold and large enough to see.
They shall only contain essential information and have a good
contrast between figure and ground and be appropriate for the
intended audience. Graphics can help readers see and compre-
hend complex patterns. A picture can be rated according to legi-
bility and reading value.
Level perspectives. Starting from the highest level these per-
spectives are called bird’s-eye perspective, military perspective,
gentleman’s perspective, eye-level perspective, and worm’s-eye
perspective.
Light values of colour with white pigment added are called
“tints” of “the name of the hue”.
Line. A line may vary with respect to its starting point, its bright-
ness, colour, context, curvature, direction, evenness, grain,
length, orientation, positions of change, printing, shape, thick-
ness, value, and terminus. Lines can direct attention to specific
picture elements.
Line perspectives. In a line perspective, or linear perspective,
objects are conceived as being placed behind a picture plane onto
which straight beams of light are projected. All line perspectives
are based on the idea that an object appears to grow larger in size
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as the distance between it and the observer decreases and vice
versa get smaller in size as the distance between it and the ob-
server increases.
Linear perspective uses the principle that parallel lines seem
to converge or meet at a distant point.
Lines in visual language. A line may be varied with respect to
its starting point, brightness, colour, context, curvature, direc-
tion, evenness, grain, length, orientation and points of change,
printing, shape, thickness, value and terminus. The line is a pow-
erful graphic element. Readers tend to follow a line along its way.
As a result, lines can be used to direct attention to specific picture
elements. The line provides the essential elements for perception
of motion in a visual.
Media literacy is the ability to access, analyse, create, evaluate,
experience and produce messages in a wide variety of media
forms. A media literate person can comprehend, read, recognize
and question ideas and information, whether conveyed through
printed media or other media formats. The main principle of me-
dia literacy is that media represent actual events. Journalists se-
lect which stories to tell, what to tell and how to tell them. There
are always one or more persons with their subjective views be-
hind all representations.
Military perspective is higher than the Gentleman’s perspec-
tive and used in several historical paintings of troops and battles.
Motion graphics are animations or digital segments which cre-
ate the illusion of motion. Any kind of abstract animation can be
called motion graphics.
Moving pictures can be affective and provide readers with en-
tertainment and reinforce an experience both positively and neg-
atively. They can trigger associations and influence emotions and
attitudes.
Multimodal literacy is the ability to combine different modes
a text uses to narrate a story in order to understand the text ho-
listically.

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Multimodal texts communicate meaning through more than
one mode, e.g., comics and novels that include photographs.
These texts use verbal and visual modes to narrate a story.
Negative space, or passive space is the part of a visual that is
not filled with picture elements. It is usually the background.
Empty space has no meaning in itself.
Parallel perspective, the distance is endless, and parallel lines
of an object are parallel in the picture too.
Passive space, or negative space, in a visual is the part that is
not filled with picture elements. The negative space is usually the
background. Active space or positive space in a visual is the part
representing different objects. Space has no meaning in itself,
but it may be used to separate or bring together different picture
elements.
Perceptual constancy. We can view a picture, a symbol, and a
text from various distances and angles and get the same percep-
tion of the content. Our minds constantly fill in missing details
and complete images, without our realizing that it has happened.
Photograph readability index, PRI, refers to the success of
the image as defined by its objective or caption. It may be used to
evaluate photos in textbooks. The initial phase gathers infor-
mation on how a viewer perceives a photograph during an initial
brief period, that is, at a first glance. The latter phase entails ex-
tended exposure to the photograph and endeavours to reveal how
a viewer encodes information while being influenced by a cap-
tion.
Pixel is a minute rectangular picture element used in “building
blocks,” defined by raster coordinates in digital images. The pixel
can vary with respect to colour.
Presbyopia. At about age 40 the tissues of the eyes get stiffer.
It makes it harder for us to shift the distance of our focus.
Readability of pictures is the ability to understand visual
messages. The style of illustration is decided by the choice of
drawings, photographs, schematic pictures, as well as con-
sistency, expressions, picture elements and symbols. A drawing
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style that includes different kinds of lines, patterns, shadings,
and inconsistent use of symbols may obstruct the reading and
understanding of the picture content.
Scientific visualisation is a concept used in specialized, ex-
pert-to-expert contexts, often within biology and medicine.
Shape constancy is our tendency to judge shapes as the same
despite changes in distance, illumination, and viewing angle.
This is one reason why circles, ovals, rectangles, squares and tri-
angles are used in symbols and icons. See Perceptual constancy.
Shapes. The basic elements form shapes that form visual syn-
tagms, or sub-meanings. These components interact to form
complete meanings.
Size constancy is our tendency to judge sizes as the same de-
spite changes in distance, viewing angle, and illumination. See
Perceptual constancy.
STEM is often short for “Science, Technology, Engineering and
Medicine,” for “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathe-
matics,” and also for many other terms.
Structure of visual language is formed by image variables
that influence our interpretation of images.
Subtractive colour combination, the dyes, inks, and pig-
ments printed on paper function like filters for the white light
and present colour to the eye by reflection. The wavelengths of
light are absorbed (subtracted) in different ways.
Syntagm. 1) In verbal language a syntagm, or a sub-meaning, is
a word, a phrase, a sentence, or a complete text, formed by com-
bined morphemes. 2) In visual language syntagms, or sub-mean-
ings, form shapes that form visual syntagms, or sub-meanings.
These components interact to form complete meanings. Here a
key syntagm is the “meaning nucleus” of the visual.
Texture is the visual equivalent of the sense of touch and the
feel of an object’s surface.
Time perspective is a line perspective. Using a time line makes
it easier for the viewer to see the time perspective.
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Tint is a base colour with white pigment added.
Tonal perspective. Light tones appear to advance, and dark
tones appear to recede.
Tone, see Value.
Types of visuals. Generally speaking it is not possible to rank
the different types of visuals.
Value, tone, is the apparent darkness or lightness of a colour in
anything that is visible. It ranges from black to white.
Vertical lines are perceived as being longer than equally long
horizontal lines. They are symbols of power, and often stop the
eye movements.
Vislet. When a visual story is published on a blog or on a web
page, it becomes a Vislet, a short, visualized story. It may be used
as educational material on any computer. A vislet may also be an
interactive data visualisation.
Visual analytics combines automated analysis techniques with
interactive visualisations for effective understanding, reasoning
and decision making on the basis of large and complex data sets.
Visual analytics applications, visual media offering interac-
tive diagrams and graphs. When data change, these diagrams
and graphs change immediately, and they move when displayed
on an interactive digital screen.
Visual fusion. Our minds combine minute parts of a picture by
blending and organizing the patterns into correct images.
Visual languages attempt equivalence with reality. Visuals are
iconic and normally resemble the thing they represent. It may
take only a few seconds to recognize the content in an image.
Meaning is apparent on a basic level, but the visual language
must be learned for true comprehension.
Visual literacy is the learned ability to interpret visual mes-
sages accurately, and to create such messages. Interpretation and
creation parallel reading and writing in print literacy.

348
Visual literacy abilities have been specified as 1) To read/de-
code/interpret visual statements, 2) To write/encode/ create vis-
ual statements, and 3) To think visually.
Visual literacy competencies are defined as reading, plan-
ning and creating visuals and combining visuals and verbal in-
formation for intentional communication.
Visual literacy objectives. A visually literate individual
should be able to create, plan and read visuals made for commu-
nication, and also be able to combine visuals with verbal infor-
mation.
Visual literacy skills range from the ability to distinguish light
from dark to the ability to read and express a sequence of body
language arranged to express a personal emotion.
Visual literacy theory is grounded on the following five con-
ceptual components: visual communication, visual language, vis-
ual learning, visual perception, and visual thinking.
Visual memory is superior to memory for words. This is called
the “pictorial superiority effect.”
Visual messages are superior to verbal messages when content
is emotional, holistic, immediate, spatial and visual. They stimu-
late both emotional and intellectual responses and make us feel
as well as think.
Visual signs do not retain their meaning in the same way as
verbal signs when rotated and turned in different directions
Visual variables are colour, density (or greyness), directions,
form (of symbols), granularity (or texture), position and place,
and size (of symbols).
Visualisation, or visualization, is any technique for creating
animations, diagrams, images, and sketches to communicate
messages. It is used education, engineering, medicine, science,
technology, etcetera.
Visualising, or visualizing, a message means that you attempt
to materialize it in an effective synthesis of words and pictures.

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Volume. A volume has a three-dimensional form with various
depth planes, or grounds, a foreground, a middle ground, and a
background.
Worm’s-eye view, or frog perspective, of an object means that
it is viewed from below.
x-axis is the horizontal scale to frame a chart or a graph. The
vertical scale is the y-axis.
y-axis is the vertical scale to frame a chart or a graph. The hori-
zontal scale is the x-axis.

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