English 1201, 2201 & 3201 Visuals and Media Literacy Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards defining media literacy terms, advertising strategies, visual design principles, and artistic forms as presented in the lecture notes.

Advertisement

A communication form that employs sophisticated, often subtle methods of persuasion to not only get you to part with your money or win your support, but to play on your desires, emotions, and biases to change the way you think.

Agenda

A plan or goals to be achieved through advertising.

Bias

A mental leaning or inclination; partiality; prejudice; bent.

Blog

A Web site on which an individual or group of users record opinions, information, etc. on a regular basis.

Brochure

A small booklet or pamphlet containing pictures and information about a product or service.

Caption

A title or brief explanation appended to an article, illustration, poster etc., appearing below the photo/visual.

Deconstruct

To break a media text down into its components to see what messages and assumptions it carries.

Demographic

The group of people pull to whom a message is directed, defined by characteristics such as age and gender.

Endorsement

A testimonial strategy where a famous person or organization publicly supports or endorses a product.

Format/Form

Refers to the media format (e.g., web, print) and design dimensions such as $8 \times 11$ or $11 \times 17$.

Headline

The heading, title or caption of a newspaper article, usually designed to be very attention-grabbing.

Icon

A person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something, such as an "icon of manhood".

Image

A representation of the external form of a person or thing in sculpture, painting, etc.

Lead

The introductory sentence in an article meant to grab the reader’s interest.

Logo

An identifying symbol used to advertise and promote an organization, event, product or service, often combining pictorial and textual elements.

Mass Media

Media methods used to communicate to thousands of people at the same time.

Subliminal Message

Promotional messages the recipient is not aware of, such as those played at very low volume or flashed on a screen for less than a second.

Subtext

An underlying and often distinct theme or message in a piece of writing, conversation, or advertisement.

White Space

Margins and gutters that create balanced documents in desktop publishing, emphasizing the gap between columns or text and art.

Media

Forms of public communication such as newspaper, radio, television, information network, poster, or brochure designed to reach large numbers of people.

Message

Any thought, idea, or information prepared in a form suitable for transmission by any means of communication.

Product Placement

An advertising strategy in which commercial products or brands, such as Heinz Ketchup, are placed within a play, film, broadcast program, video game or print medium for financial gain.

Propaganda

An attempt to sway popular opinion and beliefs through distortions of the truth or outright lies.

Target Audience

The consumer group most likely to buy a specific product, identified by region, age, demographics, or economic status.

Bandwagon

An advertising strategy suggesting everyone is using or doing something, such as "Gatorade: Canada’s #1 bestseller".

Facts and Figures

The implication that figures and statistics prove a point beyond dispute, such as a guaranteed $100\,mg$ of pain relief.

Plain Folks

A propaganda device attempting to convince the public that the speaker's views reflect those of the common person by "talking down" to viewers.

Shock Appeal

A method of advertising that purposely offends and startles viewers to gain attention and encourage cognitive processing.

Snob Appeal

The association of a product with a desirable lifestyle or status symbols like Prince Royal, the Swiss Alps, or a Luxuriant.

Testimonials

Quotations or endorsements that attempt to connect a famous or respectable person with a product or item.

Balance

A principle of design where elements are arranged symmetrically, asymmetrically, or radially to create visual stability.

Colour (Hue)

An element used to create mood or contrast; for example, Purple and gold represent Royalty, while Green represents ecology or money.

Composition

The bringing together of parts or elements to form a unified, harmonious whole in a work of art.

Contrast

The juxtaposition of opposing elements, such as opposite colours on the colour wheel (red / green) or different directions (horizontal / vertical).

Focal Point

The main element in a composition that draws the viewer's attention first.

Line

Linear marks or meeting edges that communicate emotion; for example, Horizontal suggests rest, Vertical suggests spirituality, and Diagonal suggests movement.

Panel

A single section of a comic, showing one moment in a story; also called a frame.

Perspective

The illusion of creating dimensional views or depth in a picture through intersecting lines and object spacing.

Shadow

The use of values (shades of gray between white and black) to translate light into shading, creating the illusion of a third dimension.

Caricature

A form of art employed by cartoonists involving the exaggerated facial features of subjects.

Storyboard

Rough sketches that show the content, sequence, and type of camera shots for a video production, with each frame representing a few seconds of time.