Visual Literacy in Business - Essay Example

Visual Literacy in Business al Affiliation) Question One According to Brian Kennedy, the concept of visual literacy pertains to the ability of people to develop and construct the meaning of ideas, concepts and processes with images, a concept that is widely applied in businesses today. In today’s world, pictures/images hold a lot of meaning, which when presented in front of an audience conveys a lot of messages that words may not be able to fully address. Thus giving credence to the notion that images can be equated to a thousand words.

According to Howells, visual literacy is more concerned with the responsible development and use or sharing of visual cues and messages. Simply, Kennedy’s definition is more concerned with the action of seeing and deriving meaning from visual images while Howell’s definition is more concerned with the cognitive processes involved when people retrieve meaning from visual images and how experiences, sensory perception and critical thinking affect the process (Howells, 2009).Question TwoI am of the opinion that Howell’s definition offers a better and more comprehensive analysis of visual literacy since it not only analyses the physical action of seeing images, but also identifies that it encompasses other factors such as the cognitive processes specific to a person, such as their attention span, experiences, reception to external stimuli and their ability to think critically.

I find Kennedy’s evaluation limiting and lacking since it only emphasizes on the physical activity of seeing as the primary and sole factor in the process of retrieving meaning from images. Kennedy’s definition alludes to the fact that visual literacy is straight forward for everyone. However, this is not the case especially in today’s world where conditions such as attention deficit disorders may inhibit the ability of a person to accurately decipher the meaning of images and consequently impact on the visual literacy of a person.

In today’s world, the classroom offers an opportunity to study and recognize the different levels of visual literacy among people.Question ThreeAccording to Elkins, the most compelling argument in favor of visual literacy being considered as a universal language is its ability to communicate messages, concepts and ideas to people of varying cultural languages across the world. The use of one image may be used to convey a singular message to people of diverse cultures and languages across the globe and despite the differences, the people will still retrieve a singular meaning to the visual image presented.

Essentially, visual literacy is not confined to a specific set of people or their language and culture, but supersedes every physical and cultural barrier. It is a very effective form of communication that is discernible to everyone in the globe. Visual literary enables people to converse together despite their diversity and ensure that they are able to comprehend each other (Elkins, 2010).Question FourAccording to Riddle, visual literacy is an effective tool of communication that supersedes culture, language and other forms of diversity.

In today’s world, visual literacy plays a very important role in the media and communication in general. For instance, there are classes for teaching foreign languages that predominantly use visual aids to assists the learners. In addition, classes are emerging that are teaching students how to effectively employ visual literacy (visual aids and cues) in everyday life. An added advantage of such lessons is their ability to amplify the student’s awareness and response to visual stimuli as a tool for learning in school, while also identifying the learning techniques of others in a classroom environment.

The desired impact of these classes is that they will broaden people’s awareness to events occurring not only in their immediate surroundings, but on a global level. Therefore, visual literacy will affect how people understand the world (globe) and how they communicate with each other (Riddle, 2009). Reference ListElkins, J. (2010). Visual cultures. Westview Press.Howells, R. (2009). Using visual evidence. Open University Press: McGraw Hill.Riddle, J. (2009). Engaging the eye generation visual literacy strategies for the K-5 classroom.

Stenhouse Publishers. Print.