"The second edition of this already-classic text has been completely revised to reflect the metamorphosis of communication in the last 15 years and the ubiquity of visual communication in our modern mediated lifestyle. 13 major theories of communication are defined by the top experts in their fields
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: perception, cognition, aesthetics, visual rhetoric, semiotics, cultural studies, ethnography, narrative, media aesthetics, digital media, intertextuality, ethics, and visual literacy. Each of these theory chapters is followed by an exemplar study or two in the area, demonstrating the various methods used in visual communication research as well as the research approaches applicable for specific media types. The Handbook of Visual Communication is a theoretical and methodological handbook for visual communication researchers and a compilation for much of the theoretical background necessary to understand visual communication. It is required reading for scholars, researchers, and advanced students in visual communication, and it will be influential in other disciplines such as advertising, persuasion, and media studies. The volume will also be essential to media practitioners seeking to understand the visual aspects of how audiences use media to contribute to more effective use of each specific medium." (Publisher description)
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"This book aims to provide a brief account of some of the ways in which social scientists can incorporate visual images (of various kinds) into their research, together with a discussion of why they might wish to. The emphasis is very much on the use of visual materials as one among several research
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methods that may be employed by a social researcher during the course of an investigation, rather than a focus on the visual for its own sake. I assume that readers already have or are acquiring the skills to devise a research project that is valid within the context of their discipline, but may not have thought of adding a visual dimension. Those who are already experienced visual researchers and are seeking to add a sociological dimension to their work should probably look elsewhere, as they will probably find what I have to say basic or naive with regard to the visual and opaque or elliptical with regard to the sociological. While basic, and intended as a simple and practical guide for students, academic and non-academic researchers new to the fields of visual anthropology and visual sociology, this is not a technical guide to button-pressing on video cameras and the like." (Preface)
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"The first part of this book is concerned mainly with theoretical issues, and deals with the use of images in anthropology, sociology and psychology. The second section focuses on image-oriented qualitative research methodology, while the final part of the book is devoted to more practical concerns,
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presenting discussions of how researchers in different academic contexts have used and applied images in their own work." (European Journal of Communication 14:1, 1999)
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"Visual literacy is a characteristic all human beings inherently possess. Yet because of our cultural and social differences, we interpret visual symbols and representations, such as drawings, pictures, and artefacts, in different ways. How and why people use visual images to represent complex ideas
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and processes is the focus of How People use Pictures. It is the first comprehensive review of the literature on visual literacy in over a decade, and offers new insights into this complicated issue. Written for practitioners interested in communicating with local people using pictures and visual symbols and for researchers interested in gaining a deeper appreciation of the 'language of the visual', this book provides detailed annotations of over 100 key references, as well as an extensive list of useful institutions and resources." (Publisher description)
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"Gives practical guidelines to enable non-artists to make their own visual aids such as discussion starters, picture cards, flannelborads and community maps. Includes sections on common pictorial conventions; how to draw and use colour, how to copy and adapt pictures, how to make and use a range of
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people-Centred visual aids; and how to plan and conduct training workshops on visual communication. Also examines the failure of one-way 'message' driven communications, the neo-Colonial assumptions of research on visual literacy and promotes a 'people-Centred' alternative to building visual literacy skills and capacity." (Catalogue Intermediate Technology Publications 2000)
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"Ein Bild sagt mehr als 1000 Worte. Das stimmt, aber leider nur in ganz wenigen Bereichen, wo die Gestalt, die oberflächliche Beschaffenheit der Dinge im Brennpunkt der Betrachtung steht. Meist ist es aber andersherum, Worte sind viel aussagekräftiger und als Kommunikationsmittel viel universeller
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als Bilder. Und erst die richtige Kombination von Wort und Bild ist dem einzelnen Medium überlegen, und das gilt in Schriftkulturen ebenso wie in der Kommunikation mit Analphabeten. Die wahren Potentiale der Bildkommunikation werden meistens überschätzt und andererseits nur selten voll ausgeschöpft. Hier setzt dieses Buch an, und versucht Aufklärung in historischer und universeller Sichtweise. Das Verständnis der europäischen Mediengeschichte soll es leichter machen, sich in die noch überwiegend orale Welt Afrikas zu versetzen und eine systematische Beschreibung der Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Bildkommunikation setzt den allgemeinen theoretischen Rahmen. Entsprechend einer situationsfunktionalen Herangehensweise werden danach Grundfragen der Kommunikation mit Analphabeten angesprochen und die Rahmenbedingungen der Kommunikationssituation von Programmen und Projekten der ländlichen Entwicklung in Afrika beschrieben. Darauf aufbauend folgen zwei zentrale Beispiele, wie bildgestützte Kommunikation schon erfolgreich in Afrika entwickelt und eingesetzt wurde. Deren kritische Betrachtung und vergleichende Analyse führt dann zusammen mit den angewandten Grundlagen zu praktischen Empfehlungen." (Verlagsbeschreibung für die zweite Aufl. 2000)
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