A well-rounded education in the 21st century requires not just verbal and mathematical proficiency, but also the ability to interpret, critique, create, and use visual communication on sophisticated levels. In today’s visual world, it is critically important to hold an appreciation for the profound effects imagery has on individuals and the communities in which they live.
Visual Communication focuses on cultivating visual and media literacy from both consumption and production points of view and introduces students to the application of intuitive intelligence to a visual context. Innovative in its field, it provides a solid theoretical overview of the most advanced thinking and research about visual communication, teaching readers how to apply theory to enhance their understanding of and work with images.
This book is intended for students in visual literacy and communication courses. It can also be used in photojournalism courses and other coursework with a visual component. Individuals interested in mass media studies will likewise find the book to be a worthwhile read.
Table of Contents:
PREFACE. Knowing Before Words
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION. The Integrative Mind
Clarifying Terms
Visual Intelligence
Musical Intelligence
Psychological Intelligence
Physiological Intelligence
Understanding a Key Point
PART I. Vision and Intelligence.
Understanding Intelligence as Intuitive and Rational
CHAPTER ONE. Seeking Dynamic Balance: The Shaman, The Scientist, and the Theologian
She-Bear: The Power of Integrating Visual and Verbal Communication
A Theory of Integrative Mind
Table 1. Key Terms
Table 2. Key Ideas
Table 3. Primary Intuitive & Rational Cognitive Processes
CREATIVE ONE. The Intimate Eye: Accessing Your Inner Vision Through Creative Visualization
The Goal: Enhancing Your Creative Abilities
CHAPTER TWO. Abu Rocks: Integrating Perceptual and Conceptual Realities
CREATIVE TWO. Visualizing a Personal Symbolic Portrait
The Goal: Creative Problem Solving
CHAPTER THREE. Art and Personal Development: The Quest for Balance
Art and the Integrated Individual
The Stages of Artistic Development
CREATIVE THREE. The Perceptual to Conceptual Leap: First Drawings
The Goal: Creative Decision Making
CHAPTER FOUR. Overcoming Intuitive Illiteracy: Accessing Your Whole Mind
Repetition Techniques & Perception
Rational Bias & Visual Response
The Second Nature of Consciousness
CREATIVE FOUR. The Yin/Yang of Drawing: Drawing Contours, Not Features
The Goal: Integrating Ways of Seeing and Knowing
CHAPTER FIVE. Ulysses in His Right Mind: The Historical Intuitive Mind
Julian Jaynes: The Bicameral Mind & the Ancient Intuitive Mind
Bogen & Sperry and Distinctive Cognitive Processing
CREATIVE FIVE. Drawing the Figure: One Contour, One Space at a Time
The Goal: Drawing What You See
CHAPTER SIX. Multiple Intelligences and Nonconscious Biases: The Contemporary Intuitive Mind
Howard Gardner:Multiple Intelligence Theory
Table 4. Comparison of Integrative Mind and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
The Nature of Holistic Processing
Damasio: Nonconscious Mind and Behavior
Table 5. Visual/Spatial Intelligence
Table 6. Intrapersonal Intelligence
Table 7. Interpersonal Intelligences
Table 8. Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence
Table 9. Musical Intelligence
Table 10. Naturalist Intelligence
Table 11. Complementary/Parallel Systems of Knowing
Bringing It All Together
CREATIVE SIX. Bringing It All Together: Drawing for Real
The Goal: Seeing Results of Cognitive Balance
PART II. Visual Illiteracy and Education. What We Don’t Learn
CHAPTER SEVEN. The Square Peg and the Round Hole: Education and Intuitive Intelligence
The Contemporary Vision
Cultivating the Intuitive
The Rational Side of Visual Literacy
The Intuitive Side of Visual Literacy
The Need for an Integrative New Approach
Table 12. Omniphasic Visual Literacy
Beyond Visual Literacy: A Holistic Approach to Being, Seeing, Knowing, and Creating
In Conclusion
Table 13. Summary of Theories Relevant to Omniphasism
CREATIVE SEVEN. Designing Shapes: Concept in Visual Form
The Goal: Communicating Concepts Visually
CHAPTER EIGHT. Visions in Voice: Language and the Intuitive Mind
Visions in Voice
Written Language
On Sounds and Signs
Words as Balanced Ways of Knowing
The Sounds of Words
The Form of the Presentation
Conclusion
CREATIVE EIGHT . The Visual Word: Giving Vision to Voice
The Goal: Integrating Visual and Verbal
CHAPTER NINE. Insight Out: Dreams and the Nonconscious Mind
An Example
The Role of Dreams in Human Knowing
Miguel de Cervantes: Another Great Dreamer
What Science Has to Say
Historical Foundations of Dreams
Contemporary Research about Dreams
CREATIVE NINE. Dream Visions: Insight Out
The Goal: Understanding Mental Imagery
CHAPTER TEN. Sharing the Vision:Photography as a Medium of Balance
Photographic Truth
Technique in Photography
The Still Camera
Film, Film Speed, and Digital Ratings
Photography and Light
Contrast
Direction
Color
Camera Controls
Shutter Speed Controls Light and Motion
F/Stop Controls Light and Depth of Field
Working Shutter Speed and F/Stop Together
Lenses
Adding Light
Tripods
Constantly Changing Technology
CREATIVE TEN. Image Insights: Photography from the Inside Out
The Goal: Translating Seeing into Images
CHAPTER ELEVEN. Designing for Meaning
The Basic Elements
Point
Line
Plane/Shape
Volume
Frame
Summary of Key Points
The Core Principles
Contrast
Rhythm
Balance
Proportion
Additional Terms of Graphic Structure
Movement
Center of Interest
Rule of Thirds
Scale
Spatiality
Perspective
Light and Color
Context
Tying it All Together
Principles of the Gestalt
Unity
Cultural Biases
CREATIVE ELEVEN. Graphic Visions: Looking for Meaning
The Goal: Understanding the Frame
CHAPTER TWELVE. Embedded Meanings: Learning to Look Behind the Mirrors and Beyond the Windows
Culture and Making Sense of What We See
Traditional Ways to Study Visuals
Other Methods to Study Visuals
Six Perspectives
Conclusion
CREATIVE TWELVE. Thinking Systematically about Images
The Goal: Focusing on the Rational
PART III. The Public as Art and Image. The Academy, The Media, and Visual Persuasion
CHAPTER THIRTEEN. Stopping Time and Framing Space
Still Media Defined
Formats of the Frame
Designing Well Within the Frame
Characteristics of Type
Parts of a Letterform
Type Groups
Other Terms
Practical Guidelines for Effective Design
More than Appearances
CREATIVE THIRTEEN. Personal Impact Assessment: Understanding Images from Intuitive and Rational Perspectives
The Goal: Understanding How Still Images Communicate
CHAPTER FOURTEEN. Images That Move and Sound
Moving Media: Transcending Time & Space
The Body as Moving Image
Technological History
Basic Elements of Moving Images
Light and Color
Two-Dimensional Space
Three-Dimensional Space
Time and Motion
Sound
Returning to Content
CREATIVE FOURTEEN. Film Clip Analysis
The Goal: Understanding How Moving Images Communicate
CHAPTER FIFTEEN. Living at the Speed of Mind: Old Media–New Media
What Does All This Mean?
What Do We Know?
Layout
Images
Ads
Multimedia
Reconceptualizing Media Studies
CREATIVE FIFTEEN. Communicating the Story of a Person
The Goal: To tell a story visually with supporting words
CHAPTER SIXTEEN. The Thousand Year Project
Synthesis
The Larger Problem
From Ulysses to Artificial Intelligence
The Other Side of the Problem
The Plan
Table 14: The Key Ideas
An Eye to the Future
Conclusion
AFTERWORD. Ecology in Paradise
CONTRIBUTORS
REFERENCES
SUGGESTED READINGS
INDEX OF TERMS BY CHAPTER/CREATIVE
ALPHABETICAL INDEX
COLOR PLATES
