4. Visual Literacy is…… 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.
13. THE LANGUAGE OF SIGNS AND SYMBOLS A sign is something that stands for something else . A symbol is a sign which has further layers of meaning. Personal : We all have associations with things in our experience. One person may have strong affection for dogs while another person may fear them intensely. Cultural : Different symbols may have quite different meanings in different cultures. In Chinese culture, dogs represent devotion and faithfulness; in Islamic culture, they represent impurity. Universal : Jungian psychology, along with other theories, argues that some symbols have universal meaning. Lions suggest deity in a variety of cultures, for instance. Trying to discern and express the universal meaning of a symbol is tricky. People read and interpret signs and symbols everyday and from them extract meaning and purpose.
17. Vectors Vectors are lines that can be drawn around a picture to represent what draws our eye.
18. The Reading Path A reading path is the movement of a viewers gaze around a visual text. The reading path determines whether we read the text top to bottom, or left to right etc.
19. Target Audience The Target Audience are the intended or “marketed” audience. Also known as a demographic , every text made should have a target audience in mind. Every effective text will display elements that will appeal to there target demographic.
20. Demand Demand is a technical term for visual texts, when a figure gazes directly out of the page at the reader, demanding a response .
21. Offer An Offer is a Technical term for visual text, used when a picture offers the reader something to do with a story.