Links: Visual Communication

Visual communication is a broad field, with a variety of approaches to the topic. One place where you can find information about many of them is:

VizThink

A community of visual thinkers, online and in local groups.

It’s difficult to put visual work in strict categories, since many of the approaches serve multiple purposes. For the sake of helping to guide you to what you are looking for, we are dividing this list into the basic function the approach serves.

Eliciting Meaning: Using images to spark associations and think differently
Organizing Meaning: Using visual tools to see your information in new ways
Conveying Meaning: Using images to get your ideas across more effectively

Eliciting Meaning

This is the area that VisualsSpeak specializes in: using images to start conversations, spark insights, and see things differently.

Gerald and Lindsay Zaltman

Visual Anthropology

There are a number of approaches to using visuals with verbal information in the field of anthropology. The photo-elicitation process has been used since the 1950’s to deepen understanding across cultures. Some of the references to this work include:

Clark-Ibanez, M. (2004). Framing the social world with photo-elicitation interviews. American Behavioral Scientist, 47(12), 1507 – 1527.
Collier, J. J. (1957). Photography in anthropology: A report on two experiments. American Anthropologist, 59(5), 843 – 859.
Collier, J. J., & Collier, M. (1986). Visual anthropology: Photography as a research method (revised and expanded edition ed.). Albuquerque: University of New Mexico.
Harper, D. (2002). Talking about pictures: A case for photo-elicitation. Visual Studies, 17(1), 13 – 26.
Samuels, J. (2004). Breaking the ethnographer’s frames: Reflections on the use of photo elicitation in understanding Sri Lankan monastic culture. American Behavioral Scientist, 47(12), 1528 – 1550.