4 Visual Communication

Visual Communication
Enduring Understanding
What is Visual Communication?

 Visual communication refers to the use of any
image to communicate an idea. Visual
communication may take place through
pictures, graphs, and charts, as well as through
signs and symbols.
 These visual images inform, educate, or
persuade a person or an audience.
© Baradillo et al. (2018). Purposive
02/26/2024 communication. Malabon City, Philippines: 2
Mutya Publishing House, Inc.
 We communicate in a variety of ways.

 But we have to remember that our success
or failure in the communication process
may depend on which among these ways
to use at any given communicative context
to maximize our success.
 Among the most important

figures who explored visual
communication and sight-
related theories is Aldous
Huxley.

 He suffered from near

blindness when he was
young because of an illness,
but it set the stage for his
becoming one of the most
influential intellectuals to
have explored the field of
visual communication.
 For him, seeing is the sum

of sensing, selecting, and
perceiving. One of his most
famous quotes is “The
more you see, the more
you know.”

Tracing the History of Visual Communication

 Evidences that visual communication is the
oldest form of communication:
1. Cave paintings
 Cave paintings are believed to be a
primitive form of communication that were
etched or drawn on cave walls and ceilings.
 These paintings
include
representations of
animals, landscapes,
and religious images,
among others.
A painting in Chauvet Cave, Ardèche, France
2. Petroglyphs
 These are images carved on rocks
believed to have been originated by the
Neolithic people some 10,000 to 12,000
years ago.

 These images are

also believed to have
deep cultural and
religious significance
to the societies that
created them.
A petroglyph known as “Meerkatze”
found in Mesak, Settafet, Libya
3. Geoglyphs
 These are drawings or designs on the
ground produced by arranging gravel,
stones, or soil.

 The purpose of geoglyphs is

rather uncertain, although
some researchers believe
that they were built for
religious purposes.
 Some of the most widely
known geoglyphs are the
Nazca Lines in Peru.
The Nazca Lines in Peru, depicting the
Hummingbird. (Source: Google Images)
4. Pictograms, Ideograms, and Logograms

 Pictograms are images that represent
physical objects.
 Pictograms (pictures which resemble what
they signify) and ideograms (pictures
which represent ideas) were the basis of
early written symbols.
 They were used by

various ancient cultures
all over the world since
around 9000 BC and
began to develop into
logographic writing
The dog illustration is a pictogram. The systems around 5000 BC.
red circle and bar is an ideogram
meaning “not allowed.” © Baradillo et al. (2018). Purposive
5. Cuneiform
 One of the world’s earliest systems of
writing is the cuneiform script invented
by the Sumerians.
 They did so not to write stories or letters
but to organize labor and resources.
 Their population had

grown larger and
their society had
become complex,
hence the need for
accounting and
accountability. A cuneiform tablet showing a tally
of goats and sheep, from Tello,
02/26/2024
communication. Malabon City, Philippines:
Southern Iraq. 16
 The writing system

employed signs to
represent numbers,
things, words, and
the sounds of words.
A cuneiform tablet showing a tally

of goats and sheep, from Tello,
02/26/2024
Southern Iraq. © Baradillo et al. (2018). Purposive
communication. Malabon City, Philippines: 17
6. Hieroglyphics
 It contained a combination of logographic,
alphabetic, and ideographic elements used
by the Ancient Egyptians.
 It is said that hieroglyphs emerged from
the pre-literate artistic traditions of Egypt.

 As writing developed and

became more widespread,
simplified glyph forms
developed.
 They eventually became
the basis on which
Phoenicians structured the
modern alphabetic system.
Egyptian Hieroglyphs
 Indeed, visual communication has come a

long way, and it is now one of the most
common forms of transmitting ideas and
information.
 We are bombarded with a variety of signs
and symbols all around us which makes the
transfer of information readily available.
 In an academic context, the study of

symbols and visual communication is
called semiotics.
 Broadly, the purpose of semiotics is to
analyze how people make meaning out of
images and symbols, and how those images
and symbols are analyzed and interpreted.
Major Perspectives in Analyzing Visual Images

1. Personal Perspective
• This view posits that the analysis of an image
depends on the individual’s thoughts and
values and the way he or she looks at things
using his or her own personal lens.


2. Historical Perspective
• This perspective refers to the determination of
the importance of the work based on the
medium’s timeline.
• Historical perspective may be used to support a
personal perspective which may make it more
valid.

3. Technical Perspective
• This perspective takes into account how different
media convey messages differently based on the
platform used.
• The analysis of the image takes into consideration
its different technical aspects like lighting, focus,
tone, position, and presentation.

4. Ethical Perspective
• This perspective considers the moral and ethical
responsibilities shared by the artist or the
producer of the image, the subject, and the viewer.


5. Cultural Perspective
• This perspective brings to the fore the idea that
all cultures use symbols to communicate
meanings within groups.
• It involves the analysis of metaphors and symbols
used in the work that convey meaning within a
particular society at a particular time.

6. Critical Perspective
• This perspective allows the audience to look
at the larger issues associated with the
image, meaning, the issues transcend the
image and shape a reasoned personal
reaction.

4 Visual Communication

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Visual Communication

What is Visual Communication?

 We communicate in a variety of ways.

 Among the most important

© Baradillo et al. (2018). Purposive

 He suffered from near

 For him, seeing is the sum

© Baradillo et al. (2018). Purposive

Tracing the History of Visual Communication

© Baradillo et al. (2018). Purposive

 These images are

© Baradillo et al. (2018). Purposive

 The purpose of geoglyphs is

4. Pictograms, Ideograms, and Logograms

 They were used by

 Their population had

 The writing system

A cuneiform tablet showing a tally

© Baradillo et al. (2018). Purposive

 As writing developed and

 Indeed, visual communication has come a

 In an academic context, the study of

Major Perspectives in Analyzing Visual Images

© Baradillo et al. (2018). Purposive

Major Perspectives in Analyzing Visual Images

Major Perspectives in Analyzing Visual Images

Major Perspectives in Analyzing Visual Images

© Baradillo et al. (2018). Purposive

Major Perspectives in Analyzing Visual Images

Major Perspectives in Analyzing Visual Images

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