visual litercy in business

Visual Communication

Brianna Williams

Ashford University

Visual Communication

Communication is defined as a process of conveying ideas, emotions or information by use of symbols or channels. Communication can be carried out in a number of ways, for example we can communicate without talking or writing as the only common way of expressing ourselves as human. Visual communication is the form of communication which is mainly supported by visual concepts such that the information can be viewed and interpreted (Janet 2001). Visual communication can be carried out by the use of things like flip charts, signs, cartoons and projectors. There are other approaches whereby graphic are used as visual aids to pass messages, the most common used graphics include charts, maps and pictures.

In most times, visual communication is preferred to other conventional means of communication because it does not require people to read and right, unlike written and verbal communication that requires that someone understands a certain language, visual communication only requires that a person can be able to see, for example any person can be able to interpret the road signs and pictures. Certain pictures can also be used to show various aspects and any person can be able to tell what the pictures are saying (peter, 2000). Pictures can be used to communicate sensitive information that cannot be said by word of mouth. Cartoons as a form of visual communication have been used effective to portray political satire and other social evils that affect people.

Graphs and charts make the display of information to be attractive and pleasing to the eye apart from making it easy for a person to interpret the messages. Data presentation is one of the key areas of statistics, and therefore it deserves a lot of attention hence the need for graphs and charts. The use of charts and graphs as forms of data presentation facilitates the easy summary and interpretation of the said data which makes it easy for a person to analyze information and use it to make decision (Janet, 2001). Displaying information is very key in any process of information management; one of the most common uses of visual communication is to make it easy for people to view information. Visual communication is also used for enhancing verbal communication especially during presentation.

There are many challenges that are also related to the use of visual communication. One such challenges is that since the communication is solely based on the ability of a person to interpret signals, it becomes very subjective for an individual to give a wrong interpretation, this also means that one message can be interpreted in different ways by different people and this can lead to confusion. In cases where people are working as a team, there is need for them to have a common understanding of issues, unfortunately, this is not usually made easy, when people have different. The communication process is defined at the start and also at the end. Traditionally, the communication process cannot be said to be complete in the event that there is not feedback; this means that feedback as an element of communication has to be there for the process to be complete (Peter 2000). Visual communication does not have a very direct access to the element of feedback because the feedback would usually depend on how the message has been interpreted.

One of the biggest problems that people face in communication is barriers. Barriers interfere with communication such that the message does not achieve its objectives as initially intended. Visual communication is prone to more barriers because a person can misinterpret a sign and when this happens, it can lead to a chaotic situation. The challenges of visual communication are not just limited to the message but also to the effects that they cause of communication. A recent study indicated that a number of road accidents are caused by the distractions that come from billboards and other road signs. Motorists have been known to have the tendencies to stare at the signs which end up being fatal. There are also cases whereby people have concentrated on the aesthetic appeal of the visual aids instead of paying attention to the message.

Visual communication needs to be designed well so that it can help to avoid the confusion that come from misinterpretation, failure to prepare proper designs for visual communication is one of the major causes of communication breakdown. When visual designs are made, there are a number of factors to be considered, for example the color intensity and the size. Large neon screens have been blamed for causing traffic congestions in cities when drivers stop in order to read the advertisements. When visual communication is used for presenting information to large audiences, the size of screens and pictures should be considered because the ability to get the messages depends on visibility.

References

Peter, M. (2000). Introduction to visual communication. London: Macmillan

Janet, G. (2001). Introduction to business communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press