Curriculum Unit
Nancy Ventresca
Visual Communication: Do You See What I See?
Title Author
KEY LEARNING, ENDURING UNDERSTANDING, ETC.
Students will understand that there are basic elements of art and design and although they may be good readers of text, critical reading of images can provide a great deal more information that can increase comprehension. They will understand that authors and artists often convey messages and themes that are not easily interpreted and that careful analysis of the partnered images can reveal clues for interpretation. Finally, students will understand that signs are not just pictures, but include gestures, facial expressions, slogans, photography, graffiti, etc., and that signs (which more or less have a specific meaning) are different from codes (which can be changeable and culturally specific).
ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S) for the UNIT
“How can visual images communicate a message or theme?
Why do people respond differently to the same visual image?
How do advertisers use images to send a message and urge consumers to buy their products or services?”
CONCEPT A CONCEPT B CONCEPT C
Advertisers use visual imagery to convey messages andpromote their their messagesbranding message.
Readers of print and visual images may read the stimulus differently
Visual images are not just pictures
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS A ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS B ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS C
How do advertisers use images to urge us to buy their products or services?”
Why do people respond differently to the same visual image?
“How can visual images communicate a message or theme?
VOCABULARY A VOCABULARY A VOCABULARY A
Economics, advertising, media, intention, message, representation, subjective, objective, subconscious, past, present, future, branding, logo
Perception, prior experiences, media, symbol, sender, signifier, signified
Semiotics, sign, icon, index, metaphor, metonymy, symbol, sender, receiver, synecdoche, foreground, background
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/MATERIAL/TEXT/FILM/RESOURCES
Bang, Molly. Picture this: how pictures work. Chronicle Books, 2016.
Berger, Arthur Asa. Making sense of media: key texts in media and cultural studies. Oxford: Blackwell, 2008.
Berger, Arthur Asa. Seeing is believing: an introduction to visual communication. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2012.
Hall, Sean. This Means This, This Means That Second Edition. Laurence King, 2012.