According to the EME Web site, visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image. Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be “read” and that meaning can be communicated through a process of reading.
According to the link we were presented in class (http://museumca.org/picturethis/visual.html), visual literacy is defined as the ability to understand communications composed of visual images as well as being able to use visual imagery to communicate to others. Students (humans) become visually literate by the practice of visual encoding (expressing their thoughts and ideas in visual form) and visual decoding (translating and understanding the meaning of visual imagery).
Through the process of encoding and decoding images we are able to make sense out of and attach meaning to inanimate images. For example a sequence of circles could trigger the idea of a super store (Target) in some people, and it could remind others of hunting (an actual target used to practice). It all depends on each individual's process of encoding and decoding. There are many universal signs that trigger universal responses among humans. We see that in a video posted on the EME Web site. This is how why the term "literacy" is used.
In the field of public relations understanding how visual literacy works and the power of it is essential. As a public relations practitioner you must disseminate messages and make them suitable for your target publics. If a practitioner were to use a symbol similar to one that could be taken as offensive, he or she has a problem. The target public decodes the messages that were encoded by the PR practitioner, so when choosing how to present certain messages through images, one must be very careful.
In the following video, we see how a group of images placed in different orders can completely alter the audience's opinion of what the images mean.
No comments:
Post a Comment