Visual+Literacy

Visual Literacy

The message that this graphic is trying to convey is that Americans consume far too much unhealthy food. There are four statistics on the graphic and each one tells a disturbing fact about American food consumption. The overall design of the graphic is mediocre at best. The title, “Overproteined” tells only a small side of what the actual text describes. The four boxes of text seem to be overshadowed by the four visuals above and below each of the boxes. The actual text is in the background of the image and the four representative pictures stand out the most. The proximity of each of the statistics and pictures is too close. This makes it hard to focus on one aspect of the image. The image also lacks contrast between the texts and the pictures. The background colors of each text box are too similar for me to be drawn more to a specific box. The image does have ample repetition though, as all of the boxes and pictures describe similar things. The alignment of the texts seems to be varied throughout the image. Some texts seem to be aligned on the left, while others seem to be centered. Once again the proximity of the texts and the pictures makes this visual jumbled and too close to be effective. The tools used to convey the message were probably the best things about the image. The bold type at the top of each box made it easy to see what the main point was. The colors of each box did not make one stand out over another. The shape was a simple rectangular box that added nothing to the texts. The pictures on the outside of the boxes created bad depth in the image. The text seemed far back in the image and the pictures were what my eyes were drawn to. The lack of space within the image also made the image a hard one to interpret. There needed to be more space between each box and image. Overall the image was only mediocre at conveying its message. I feel that the only good thing that was in the image was the bolded text that drew your eye to a statistic. To improve this image I would take out a few images surrounding the box and then space the individual boxes out so you can read the text better.

Reflection ?'s

The passage above is a critique on a graphic and how it does and does not convey visual literacy. Visual literacy is how we view images and how we interpret those images based on some simple rules that Dr. Yeh provided for us.

I think that having visual literacy is an important skill to have. It allows you to digest the information quicker and get a better feel for what someone is trying to convey. By having visual literacy, we can increase our understanding of things.

I plan on using visual literacy in my teaching to help those visual learners in my classroom. Many people learn more visually and be teaching visual literacy, my students may have a better chance of learning something they might not have understood by only talking about it.