I SEE What you MEAN

The main point that I took away from Kress and Leeuwen's article "Reading Images" was the importance of composition of images in order to derive meaning. Meaning is derived from images through three interrelated systems:

1. Information value - The placement of elements gives specific informational value attached to the various "zones."
2. Salience - The elements are made to attract the viewer's attention to different degrees, as realized by such factors as placement in the foreground or background, relative size, contacts in tonal value, differences in sharpness, etc.
3. Framing - The presence or absence of framing devices disconnects or connects elements of the image, signifying that they belong or do not belong together in some sequence.

These three principles of composition apply to not just single pictures, but also to composite visuals, which combine text and images and perhaps, other graphic elements.

This article made me think of the term "visual literacy", which has been used a lot in my mass communications class on a daily basis. Office of the Chief Information Officer lists the "7 Things You Would Know About Visual Literacy."

The main take aways that I got from this website were:

• The definition of visual literacy: the ability to interpret, and make meaning from information presented in an image, communicate effectively through principles of design, produce visual messages and use visual thinking to conceptualize solutions to problems. 
• Who visual literacy affects: everyone - on a daily basis. We start making meaning from images at a very young age, interpreting facial expressions and making meaning from things that can only be explained (ie: senses such as taste and feeling). 

Today's world is becoming more and more visual - 90% of what we take in today is taken in visually. While basic texts still very much exist (ie: newspapers) there has been more emphasis on the addition to images and graphics in what is seen to be as traditional forms of information sources. Alternatives to traditional text sources are becoming more popular today with the boom of the digital world.

We live in a fast-pace world where people don't have the time to sit down and read word for word. Instead we rely on pictures to help communicate messages and more broken down text that allows us to scan for information that we are seeking. With new technologies becoming more accessible, images, video, audio and words can now be used together to communicate. Image combined with text gives deeper meanings and new ways to interact with information. Educators are beginning to promote visual literacy and help students develop skills in order to survive and communicate in a highly complex world.

Below is a Ted Talk about the importance of visual literacy, and why we need it. What I found most interesting about Brian Kennedy's Ted Talk is the fact that visual literacy is a form of critical thinking that enhances one's intellectual capacity, not a skill. This isn't a new concept, it's just becoming more important due to the rise in digital media - which provides us with infinite amounts of images.

Visual images have the power to bring our senses together simultaneously and evoke our emotions. It is important to be visual literate in today's world to not only see, but to understand all that is going on around us, in order to promote communication throughout the world.

Look at 40 of the Most Powerful Pictures Ever Taken and decide what is is in these images that make them so powerful. Is it the information value, the salience, or the framing? How do these systems give meaning to images?