The process and effects of visual communication are examined in this paper. The first section, "Visual Literacy," discusses the need for a visual literacy involving an understanding of the instruments, materials, and techniques of visual communication media; it then presents and discusses a model illustrating factors involved in the visual communication process. The second section, "The Process of Visual Communication," poses research questions dealing with the process of visual communication; discusses such aspects of television messages as lighting and color, staging, acceleration and deceleration of time, motion, and audio and sound effects; and shows how these components are sometimes misused by television message constructors. The final section, "The Effects of Visual Communication," discusses psychological, sociological, and physiological effects stemming from viewers' lack of awareness of the power of the media, with special attention to the effects caused by the abuse of the television medium's individual components. (GW)