Visual literacy

Visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an , extending the meaning of literacy, which commonly signifies interpretation of a written or printed text. Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be "read" and that meaning can be discovered through a process of reading. The notion of visual literacy has been around for quite some time. Classical and Medieval theories of memory and learning, for instance, placed a strong emphasis on how the visual format of words and lines affected the ordering of information in the mind. During the Enlightenment new emphasis was placed on training the senses through print and manuscript technologies in a way that benefitted the rising middle class. In addition to learning to read visual material like tables and figures, many schoolchildren learned how to write and draw in graphic patterns that made their notes more accessible and easier to access. By the nineteenth century visual literacy was a core component of the national educations systems that were emerging in Europe and North America, with educational reformers like Sir John Lubbock arguing for visual tools like diagrams and models to be used in the classroom. Although there are previous well documented uses of the term "visual literacy" between the late 30s and early 60s, the term it is usually credited to John Debes, co-founder of the International Visual Literacy Association. In 1969 Debes offered a tentative definition of the concept: "Visual literacy refers to a group of vision-competencies a human being can develop by seeing and at the same time having and integrating other sensory experiences." A white paper drawn up in January 2004, defines visual literacy as "understanding how people perceive objects, interpret what they see, and what they learn from them". However, because multiple disciplines such as visual literacy in education, art history and criticism, rhetoric, semiotics, philosophy, information design, and graphic design make use of the term visual literacy, arriving at a common definition of visual literacy has been contested since its first appearance in professional publications.