Visual Literacy

Visual Literacy can be defined as the ability to understand and produce visual messages

Young people learn more than half of what they know from visual information

The development of visual skills prepares students for successful and satisfying lives.

Uses structural elements within the picture's composition,

such as:

foreground and background,

symmetry and asymmetry, motion and tone.

Structure of an image

Glossary of Terms1. Foreground - the part of the picture that

is nearest to the viewer2. Background - the scenery behind

something (usually whatever is in the foreground)3. Symmetry - an exact correspondence

of form on two sides of a plane resulting in balance4. Asymmetry - lack of balance or

symmetry5. Tone - the intensity of light and dark6. Shape - the basic geometric shapes,

such as triangles, squares, and circles, that are apparent in a visual image's composition

7. Motion - the illusion of motion within a visual image

8. Focal Point – the centre point of an image. The first point that catches your attention.

9. Vector Line – a real or imagined line in an image that is created to encourage the viewer to move his/her eyes to a new image or information

10. Contrast – use of different colours that help to reinforce an idea eg black and white

11. Symbolism – eg white suggests pure or innocent; black suggests evil or sad; red suggests passion or excitement etc.

centre

top centretop left right top

centre left centre right

bottom left bottom centre bottom right

Light and ShadowValue FocusSpaceShapeScaleColourTextureAngleFramingDominanceContrastRepetitionVarietyBalance

Feelings/Mood

Movie posters