Cover: The Essential Guide to Visual Communication, 1st Edition by Ryan McGeough
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The Essential Guide to Visual Communication

First Edition ©2019 Ryan McGeough

The Essential Guide to Visual Communication is a concise introduction to the evolution, theory, and principles of visual communication in contemporary society. This guide helps students develop the skills they need to become critical consumers of visual media by examining images through

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ISBN:9781319258672

ISBN:9781319094171

Cover: The Essential Guide to Visual Communication, 1st Edition by Ryan McGeough

Become a critical consumer of visual media

The Essential Guide to Visual Communication is a concise introduction to the evolution, theory, and principles of visual communication in contemporary society. This guide helps students develop the skills they need to become critical consumers of visual media by examining images through the lens of visual rhetoric. Students see how images influence and persuade audiences, and how iconic images can be repurposed to communicate particular messages. Images selected and discussed throughout the text highlight examples of visual communication from earlier generations and the current digital environment that students encounter in their everyday lives.

Features

A timely introduction to visual culture. The Essential Guide to Visual Communication offers an overview of the impact of visual communication on contemporary society and emphasizes the importance of studying it. Students learn how governments, corporations, and individuals use images to communicate messages— from propaganda to magazine covers to memes.

Emphasis on media literacy. With a scholarly specialization in visual rhetoric, McGeough emphasizes how visual communication can inform public memory and cultural values. Thorough coverage of design principles empowers students with the knowledge they need to become more savvy consumers of visual media, while checklists at the end of each chapter remind students to consider what images may exclude or how they might be altered.

Annotated images and figures aid in skill development. Dozens of images throughout the text help students understand how visual communication theory and principles are applied in the images they encounter every day. Three extended visual analyses demonstrate not only the steps students should take to analyze an image, but also the broad and deep messages they will likely find when doing so.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Communication
 “The More You Know, The More You See”
  Sensing
  Selecting
Perceiving
 Why Study Visual Communication?
 Checklist: Understanding Visual Communication

Chapter 2: Visual Composition and Design
 The Building Blocks of Visual Communication
  Dots
  Lines and Shapes
  Gestalt
  Color
  Depth
  Motion
 Checklist: Understanding Basic Design Principles
 Analyzing Visual Communication

Chapter 3: Visual Communication and Technology
 Past and Present Visual Communication Technologies
  The Printing Press
 Photography
Motion Pictures: Movies and Television
 Cinema/Movies
 Television
Internet and New Media
 New Media and Interactivity
 Political Effects of the Internet
Conclusion
Checklist: Understanding Visual Communication and Technology

Chapter 4: Visual Rhetoric
 Types of Visual Rhetoric
Iconic Images
  Image Events
  Monuments and Public Memory
  Propaganda
 Checklist: Understanding Visual Rhetoric
Analyzing Visual Rhetoric

Chapter 5: Visual Culture
 Interpreting Visual Communication
Three Types of Signs
Decoding Images
 Producing Visual Communication
  Framing Images with Words
  Altering Symbols
Memes
 Checklist: Interpreting Images
 Analyzing Visual Culture

References

Index

Headshot of Ryan McGeough

Ryan McGeough