Advises that teachers help journalism and mass communication students learn to interpret and create clear, effective visual messages. Argues that each introductory journalism course should explore connotations of colors, shapes, and texture in print and broadcast media. (PA)

Investigates the changes in the nonverbal forms of written language, with specific attention to the art form of graffiti. Provides and analyzes data from a study of collected graffiti. Describes three phases of visible form in the historical development of graffiti. (HB)

Suggests an approach to a core course in visual literacy that draws on three theories: the teaching perspective of the visual literacy movement; the analytical system from art and aesthetics; and the cognitive understanding of images from Gestalt psychology. (MG)

Presents a 17-item annotated list of essential books on information design chosen by members of the InfoDesign e-mail list. Includes a 113-item unannotated bibliography of additional works, on topics of creativity and critical thinking; visual thinking; graphic design; infographics; information design; instructional design; interface design;…

Deconstruction is a critical literary theory which focuses on the unintentional meanings of a text and aims to achieve an unprejudiced, value-free vision of the social and political power structures in society that combine to produce the text. The development of such critical skills in advertising students will deepen their ability to judge the…

This investigation, based on the phenomenological philosophy of Alfred Schutz, was an attempt to determine how people view films by determining the meaning that the action has for them. Twenty college freshmen and sophomores and two seniors viewed the film "Tilt," a production of the National Film Board of Canada. All subjects were asked…

Maintains that museum learning should be an integral part of all school art programs and should not be treated as an enrichment, a supplement, or mere resource for the classroom-based art program. Describes the programs of 35 United States art museums which go beyond the standard "walk-and-gawk" tours of the past. (JDH)

The primary function of museums is to help museum visitors appreciate and understand what they see. Specific means and methods are suggested, e.g., informative and suggestive labels and a sales desk where the visitor can purchase reminders of what he or she has seen. (RM)

The clustering strategy increased the metaphoric nature of college students' written interpretations for realistic, abstract, and nonobjective paintings. Relaxed attention exercises significantly increased metaphoric interpretations of realistic paintings only. (Author/RM)

One educator's interdisciplinary interests in literature, film, and culture studies led him to the establishment of "Film Study," an upper school English course in which students develop a sense of "film literacy" through detailed "reading" of visual images; in addition, students evolve a working critical vocabulary…

Analyzes the persuasive techniques of advertisements and suggests strategies to promote students' critical reading of these ads. (MM)

Examines the influence of novelty of pose and facial expressions on college students determination of a photograph's artistic merit. Moderate novelty of poses and positive facial expressions received the greatest endorsement. However, some deviation occurred between considerations of artistic and photographic merit. (MJP)

Considers how visual literacy implies a poetics of technology, one rooted in basic human passion. Notes that most academic forms sanctioned for students to inhabit are as monumentally dull as the urban forms in which they pass an extra-academic portion of their lives. Concludes that technology is most useful when it allows the poetic spirit to…

This paper describes a faculty resource team in the Bradley University (Illinois) Department of Industrial Engineering that works with student project teams in an effort to improve their visualization and oral presentation skills. Students use state of the art technology to develop and display their visuals. In addition to technology, students are…

Provides the first installment of a two-part article about television: how it affects us, what it says about our lives, and how we can make it work better. (KS)