This primer is designed to teach students the interconnected arts of visual communication. The subject is presented, not as a foreign language, but as a native one that the student "knows" but cannot yet "read." Responding to the need she so clearly perceives, Ms. Dondis, a designer and teacher of broad experience, has provided a beginning text for art and design students and a basic text for all other students; those who do not intend to become artists or designers but who need to acquire the essential skills of understanding visual communication at a time when so much information is being studied and transmitted in non-verbal modes, especially through photography and film. Understanding through seeing only seems to be an obviously intuitive process. Actually, developing the visual sense is something like learning a language, with its own special alphabet, lexicon, and syntax. People find it necessary to be verbally literate whether they are "writers": or not; they should find it equally necessary to be visually literate, "artists" or not. This primer is designed to teach students the interconnected arts of visual communication. The subject is presented, not as a foreign language, but as a native one that the student "knows" but cannot yet "read." The analogy provides a useful teaching method, in part because it is not overworked or too rigorously applied. This method of learning to see and read visual data has already been proved in practice, in settings ranging from Harlem to suburbia. Appropriately, the book makes some of its most telling points through visual means. Numerous illustrated examples are employed to clarify the basic elements of design (teach an alphabet), to show how they are used in simple syntactic combinations ("See Jane run."), and finally, to present the meaningful synthesis of visual information that is a finished work of art (the apprehension of poetry...).

The authors' teaching methods focus on personal and innovative thought in visual problem solving with technical facility being achieved as a by-product.

Teaches educators how to help their students develop skills in interpreting photographs, charts, diagrams, figures, labels, and graphic symbols. --from publisher description

Preparing students to become informed, critical consumers of research, this accessible text builds essential skills for understanding research reports, evaluating the implications for evidence-based practice, and communicating findings to different audiences. It demystifies qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods designs and provides step-by-step procedures for judging the strengths and limitations of any study. Excerpts from real research reports are used as opportunities to develop methodological knowledge and practice analytic skills. Based on sound pedagogic principles, the text is structured for diverse learning styles: visual learners (concept maps, icons), active learners (building-block exercises and templates for writing), and story learners (examples, reading guides, and reflections). Pedagogical Features *Rubrics, checklists of steps to take, and reading guides that walk students through analyzing different types of research articles. *Journal abstracts with questions that home in on key aspects of a study. *Exemplars of each type of study, with descriptions of methodological and design choices. *End-of-chapter skills-building exercises that lead up to writing a research review essay. *Chapter appendices featuring sample responses to the exercises.

Rev. ed. of: How to see. Boston: Little, Brown, 1977.

Essentials of Visual Interpretation explains how to talk and write critically about visual media and to examine how evolving visual environments, media, and technologies affect human selfunderstanding and culture formation. Lively and accessibly written chapters provide a solid foundation in the tools and ideas of visual meaning, familiarizing readers with a growing, cross-cultural subfield, and preparing them to pursue thoughtful work in a variety of related disciplines. The authors include rich examples and illustrations—ranging from cave paintings to memes, from optical science to visual analytics, from ancient pictographs to smart phones—that engage students with the fascinating complexity of visual interpretation. Each chapter introduces students to key terms and concepts relevant to visual analysis, with ideas for short individual or group exercises to enhance understanding. The book is ideal as a primer in visual analysis and visual communication for students in courses within communication studies, cultural studies, digital humanities, semiotics, media studies, and visual anthropology. Online support materials include multimedia activities for students and links to additional resources for students and instructors.

'The Language of Graphic Design' provides graphic design students and practitioners with an in-depth understanding of the fundamental elements and principles of their language, what they are, why they are important and how to use them effectively.