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Visual Literacy: Hands-On Help

A guide with information about what visual literacy is, and questions to ask yourself when viewing images

What Does It Mean to Be Visually Literate?

A visually literate person is someone who can:

  • Determine the nature and extent of the visual materials needed
  • Find and access needed images and visual media effectively and efficiently
  • Interpret and analyze the meanings of images and visual media
  • Evaluate images and their sources
  • Use images and visual media effectively
  • Design and create meaningful images and visual media
  • Understand many of the ethical, legal, social, and economic issues surrounding the creation and use of images and visual media, and access and use visual materials ethically.

ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards

Visual Media Needs & Discovery

  • Why do you need an image (is it decorative or does it make a point)?
  • Who is the audience for your work?
  • How will your work be used?
  • Where can you look to find the image(s) you need?
  • How will you search for the image(s) (what keywords will you use, etc.)?

Understanding Visual Media

  • Have you ensured that the image is necessary for your work?
  • Does the image meet your needs?
  • How and where did you find this image?
  • What questions does the image answer?
  • Are there limitations to the image or the source?

Describe what you see, then assign meaning to each element

  • What is your personal response to the image and what might be influencing your interpretation?
  • Does the creator seem to be looking for a specific response to the image?
  • Who is the intended audience?
  • Who created the image and why has it been shared?
  • Has the image been altered?

Visual Media Creation & Use

  • Is there information on how can you reuse the image?
  • Is there a license attached to the image and are you complying with its use?
  • What information does your citation of the image need to include?
  • Have you added your information to the image (via a watermark, embedded information, etc.)?
  • If you post the image online, have you added information about how your work can be reused, if at all (via a Creative Commons license, etc.)?
College for Creative Studies website