1Visual communication definition
The process of interpeting messages in visual forms alongside verbal language.
1Why does visual communication matter today?
In today’s media saturated world, we are more likely to watch than read. Images shape social consciousness.
1/78
Looks like no tags are added yet.
Name | Mastery | Learn | Test | Matching | Spaced |
---|
No study sessions yet.
1Visual communication definition
The process of interpeting messages in visual forms alongside verbal language.
1Why does visual communication matter today?
In today’s media saturated world, we are more likely to watch than read. Images shape social consciousness.
1Images are used to…
…inform, persuade and evoke emotions.
1Visual literacy
The ability to read and create meaning from images.
1Visual culture
How images represent and transform individuals and society.
1Polyvalence
Visuals evoke multiple and different emotions.
1Polysemy
Visuals can mean different things.
1Authorship
Who created the image and what that means for interpretation.
1Presence(Perelman, Olbrechts-Tyteca, 1958)
A rhetorical effect of making something feel immediate, real on an image.
1Vividness
Emotional, sensory rich visuals.
1Historical Perspective
Visual communication is not new, it dates back to cave paintings, hieroglyphics and stained glass windows——> to shape cultural identity
1Visuals and Persuasion
Images act rhetorically. They persuade by triggering emotions, reinforcing ideas and helping us build identity.
1Pictorial Turn
Major shift in how we think about communication. Shift from focusing on languages to images.
2Visual Semiotics definition
How meaning is created through images and signs and how visuals communicate beyond words. Helps us unpack the hidden codes.
2Ferdinand de Saussure
-Dyadic model- signifier (the form) and signifier (the idea)
-Denonation-literal meaning
-Connotation- cultural/emotional meaning
2Charles Sanders Pierce
-Triadic model: Sign= Representamen+Object+Interpretant
2Three types of signs
Icon(resembles what is represents)
Index(has a physical link)
Symbol (arbitrary, cultural)
2Roland Barthes
Extended Saussure’s work, added myth(connotation that feels natural)
2Color Semiotics
Colors carry meaning too, examples
2Three steps to a visual semiotic analysis
verbal signs: what is written or said
visual signs: what is seen(objects, color, design)
symbolic message: what meanings are conveyed
3Visual Rhetoric definition
The study of how images function persuasively, like language, a form of communication through images that argues, influences or persuades.
3Where is visual rhetoric used?
In ads, political posters, art memes, public campaigns.
3Why argue visually?
Images are not just for seeing, they’re for thinking, judging, interpreting. Visuals can be powerful arguments-they influence attitudes, beliefs and decisions.
4Visual Metaphor
Showing something as something else, based on similarity, ex.: a rhino as a car.
4Visual Metonymy
Showing a part to represent a whole, based on association ex.: a crown for royalty
4Philips and McQuarrie, 2004
3 visual structures, based on how two image elements are arranged. These structures create surprise, attention, interpretive reward——> increasing ad impact.
4Juxtaposition
2 elements placed side-by-side, not blended. Encourages viewers to compare them. ex: beer and lightbulb
4Fusion
2 elements are visually merged into one form. ex: headphones shaped like a woman’s body, sexy sounds
4Replacement
1 element is missing an the other one represents it. ex: chicken as a car, car is as quiet as a chicken.
4Why are visuals so persuasive?
They evoke involuntary reactions, “you can’t unsee it”
4Enthymemes
Leaving parts unsaid so the viewer completes meaning.
4Types of persuasion in ads
Convincing, manipulating, forcing
4Heuristics
How ads catch our attention. They are mental shortcuts ads use to influence us.
4Representativeness
Looks like quality, people believe it is.
4Halo effect
One positive trait influences others, ex: attractive influencer
4Bandwagon effect
Everyone else is using it, so you should too.
4Ingroup Bias
Creating an “us vs. them” identity
5Feminized Environments
Nature as passive, fertile, erotic, nurturing
Associated with flowers, butterflies, fruits, sunsets, smooth curves, soft focus
Color: Pastel, soft greens, yellows and gold
5How is the woman portrayed?
As one with the nature, objectified and idealized, reinforcing essentialist femininity.
5Masculine Environments
Nature as wild, rugged, powerful, a place to conquer
Associated with mountains, desert rocks, snowy peaks
Colors: Deep reds, browns, blues, high contrast, sharp focus.
5How is the man portrayed?
As a dominant agent over nature and self.
5Hope(2004)-Gendered Environments
Ads merge nature and gender to mask overconsumption and hide environmental degradation.
-feminine nature- consumption tied to beauty and romance
-masculinized nature- consumption tied to control, adventure, risk
5Gender neutral advertising
Many brands aim for inclusivity. Fluid and inclusive portrayals.
6News definition (Perloff, 2020)
A narrative account of new or recent matters of public interest, Perloff, 2020.
6News are not neutral…
…they construct reality. News frame events to shape perception.
6Visual rhetoric in news
Backdrops (flags, government buildings)
Photos evoke emotions, frame stories and enhance credibility.
6News values(Harcup and O’Neill+Bednarek and Caple)
These guide what becomes newsworthy
Power Elite, Celebrity, Surprise, Negativity, Timeliness, Personalization, Aesthetic Appeal, Impact, Proximity, Superlativeness, Entertainment
6News Images
Affect us emotionally and fast, shape what we consider important, urgent or real
6Cartoon definition
A visual parody that exaggerates reality. May be humorous or savage, included political cartoons and animated media.
6Cartoon functions
Use fantasy and exaggeration to reflect reality
Combine precision of meaning with symbolic shortcuts
Often express opinions, challenge norms or satirize authority.
6Disney and Looney Tunes
Created a fantasy world that blurred the line between fiction and social critique
They contained racist and censored content, now banned.
6How do films persuade
Through credible narratives and emotional immersion. Use of cinematic tools to construct meaning.
6History of films
First film: Roundhay Garden Scene 1888
First colored motion picture: Flowers and trees 1937
Snow white: first full length animated Disney film
6Seeing is believing
Film is more than storytelling, it feels real due to visual illusion. It constructs belief systems, identities and values through emotional engagement.
6Visual argumentation in different genres
Visual argumentation doesn’t belong to one form-it crosses genres. Each genre uses visuals in a specific way to inform, influence and entertain. They build narratives, shape opinions, and argue through emotion, framing and symbolism.
7Film rhetoric
Is about how movies persuade, evoke emotion, shape meaning and reflect ideology using visual and auditory language.
7Film language
Treats film as a grammar of visual signs. Focuses on how the movie is made: camera angles, editing, sound, color, POV.
Key question: How do visual techniques shape meaning?
example: in psycho the shower scene: using close ups, fast cuts and music to create terror, without showing the actual stabbing.
7Film ideology
Sees film as a carrier of cultural values or critiques. Analyzes what the film says about power, gender, race, capitalism,etc.
Key question: What ideologies are reinforced or challenged?
example: in psycho,explores gender roles, mental illness and control
7Film interpretation
Is a rhetorical situation involving director, viewer and text. Meaning is open and created in the act of viewing.
Key question: How do different audiences interpret the same film?
example: psycho-normans house has three floors, interpreted as Freud’s psyche (id,ego,superego)
7Film Identification
Rhetoric as emotional engagement and character alignment.
Key question: How does the fulm create or block our identification?
example: psycho, our sympathy is constantly manipulated. feeling uncomfortable with identifying with a killer.
7MacGuffin
A plot device that seems important in ths early story turns out to be not important at all.
7Voyeurism
Watching someone without them knowing.
7Camera work
70angles, slow motion, editing instead of gore
7Music
Violins by Bernand Hermann—→audio horror, music=rhetoric
Leitmotif-repeating melody tied to a character
7Leitmotif
Functions: emotive, informative, descriptive, guiding, temporal, rhetorical.
8Political Image making
A candidate’s image is a carefully constructed visual identity. Visuals often merge the identity of the candidate with the nation.
8Convention Films
Replaced speeches with short, emotional, patriotic films.
8Tactics of Convention films
Patriotic music+montage of the ideal America
Focus on values, community, empathy
Show human side of the candidatez
8Recurring rhetorical patterns
Ideal american man-military,sports,politics
empathetic individualist-connects with the public
visionary-introduces hope filled future
no conflict shown-creates unity illusion.
8Modern Political Visuals
Branding and Identity-Obama’s hope poster, iconic campaign symbol
Memes and Remix Culture ex:Bernie Sanders mittens or kamala harris brat meme
Official Photography ex Obama-candid, warm, Trump-dramatic,dominant
Deepfakes and Disinformation-ex Zelensky deepfake calling for surrender
10Visuality in Sports
Uses symbolic images, national narratives and emotional rhetoric to shape public perception. Sports media is not just about reporting events but also about contructing shared meaning, pride and spectacle.
10What is sports communication?
“A process by which people in sport, in a sport setting, or through a sport endeavor, share symbols to create meaning through interaction.” (Pedersen, 2007)
10Topics in Sports Communication Research
Social media, sport magazine covers, sports photography, gender portrayal, visual framing, objectification and bias, visual analysis
10History of Sport and Media
Sports were visual and symbolic:
-egyptian pharaohs ran to show strength
-ancient greek olympic winners-epinikia
-achievements were carved in stone inscriptions
-media of the past-epics,sculptures, public rituals
10Olympics as a Media event
The olympics are a media spectacle and economic tool.
Since 1984 Los Angeles-profit driven
The games create emotional, national and heroic narratives.
10Rhetorical Narratives
Heroes vs. Villains
National pride, unity, identity
10Visual Frames
Athletes are shown as ideal bodies, icons, patriots.
10Case Examples
Sydney 2000-boosted economy and tourism, framed as national celebration
Athens 2004- beautiful visual campaign, long term effect: debt
Rio 2016- great scenery, hospitality, issues: empty seats, security, inequality
10Olympic Promotion Videos(1988-2024)
First video: Seoul, 1988.
Videos use: emotional music, rich visuals, cultural pride and identity, targeting global audiences not just nationals