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Analyzing Visuals

Analyzing Visuals. March 9 th , 2011. Three Primary uses of visuals. Visual as f ocus Visual as support Visual alone & No visual. Visual as Focus. Visual as Support. Visual Alone. No Visual. Why Take Different Approaches?. Some Background. Plato’s Problem. Images > Language.

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Analyzing Visuals

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  1. Analyzing Visuals March 9th, 2011

  2. Three Primary uses of visuals • Visual as focus • Visual as support • Visual alone & • No visual

  3. Visual as Focus

  4. Visual as Support

  5. Visual Alone

  6. No Visual

  7. Why Take Different Approaches? Some Background

  8. Plato’s Problem Images > Language Language > Writing • Visuals/sight/images are always True • Language could hide Truth • Refined/educated language ≈ the sign of wit and wisdom, but also dangerous power

  9. Sorry Plato… Not everyone sees things the same way… Yes, those are painted. How ironic is this guy?

  10. Language as Arguments

  11. Some Similarities • Visuals are interpreted through language • Language (and visuals) • show value • “other” • have a certain literacy attached to them

  12. Show Value

  13. Othering

  14. Visual Literacy

  15. More Similarities • Visuals and text share terms: • composition • subject • object • action • tension • figures • Some people are “visual people” & can’t help but pair language and visuals

  16. Visualizing Language

  17. Visuals as Arguments • Verbal & visual arguments have requirements • Topic • Sources • Tone • Position • Internal cohesion (consistent terms/position/tone) • Anchored evidence • introduced • referenced • synthesized

  18. Visual ≈ Verbal Arguments

  19. 2 Most Common Visual Arguments

  20. Visual as Support vs No Visual Visual as Support No Visual • Concepts are difficult to imagine • Concepts are best served with visual evidence • Audience (maybe) reading quickly • Audience (maybe) more attracted to visuals • There is no space for visuals • The concepts are simple or easy to visualize • The concepts are too abstract for visuals

  21. Visuals of Support: 2 types Anchored Unanchored • Visuals are integrated into the text • Visuals are discussed • e.g. “As the chart in Figure 1 shows…” or “Republicans are known for conservative spending practices (Figure 1)” • Visuals are not discussed in text • Language and visuals, although focused on same topic/subject, are not explicitly linked • Visuals can be more difficult to connect to text

  22. Concepts Are Difficult to Imagine “Black holes are avaricious negative spaces, in outer space” Black holes, avaricious, and negative space can be confusing if not entirely impossible to imagine

  23. Concepts are best served with visual evidence “Yakuza are Japanese gang members that have their entire bodies tattooed” “Their entire bodies” isn’t 100% accurate, the visual here shows the full meaning and how it is a symbol of belonging.

  24. Audience Has Limited Attention… You have 7 seconds (that’s pretty standard) to analyze the next visual...ready?...

  25. So? • What is the title? • What is the purpose? • What are the major symbols? • What is the ideological framework?

  26. Audience More Attracted to Visuals... Some audiences simply gravitate more toward (meaning they want more) visuals than text…

  27. No Visual is an Argument too

  28. No Place for Visuals • No space for visuals • Publishers or standards won’t allow visuals • Medium does not support visuals

  29. Simple or Easily Imagined Concept • Simple concepts • Eating • Sleeping • Walking • Running • Sitting • Easily Imagined Concepts • Flying • Sailing • Cycling

  30. Too Abstract of a Concept • When explaining the visual would take more time then explaining the concept itself or when the visual would be too complex to realistically process • Evolution • Making a difficult decision • Succeeding on a test • Facebook connections in Lubbock

  31. How Would You Analyze These?

  32. Our Old Friend Banksy

  33. Map of Time in Inception Good? Bad? What is your analysis?

  34. GOOD article on Scrabble Appropriate? Too much? What do you think?

  35. How Important is That Visual? Does it lend to your understanding of the article? How does it contribute to the author’s argument?

  36. Measuring the Information Society Let’s see how the technical communicators do…

  37. Cognitive Strategies for Learning from Static andDynamic Visuals Another tech comm text

  38. Fun Ones Making the fun, funner!

  39. Brief Assignment 6 Due Tuesday, March22th

  40. Answer one of the following in a 300-500 word essay • Read "The Politics of Cohabitation" on pg. 411-418 of First-Year Writing. • Joy Van Marion uses four visuals, which are intended to provide strong support for her argument. Which visual is most strongly "anchored" in the text: Table 1, 2, 3, or 4? • In other words, which visual does Van Marion provide the most reference to in the text in using it to support her argument? • How might she have better anchored the other visuals to provide stronger support that is clear to the reader, rather than a vague implication which is left up to the reader to draw for himself or herself? • Be sure to support your decision with solid, logical evidence from the text. • Read "Unmarried with Children" on pg. 422-426 of First-Year Writing. • Though this article details the results of a study, Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas do not use any visuals to explain their findings. • Why might they have chosen this rhetorical effect? • What effect does their decision not to use visuals have on the reader? • Be sure to support your discussion with solid, logical evidence from the text.

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