ABSTRACT

This Handbook of Visual Communication explores the key theoretical areas and research methods of visual communication. With chapters contributed by many of the best-known and respected scholars in visual communication, this volume brings together significant and influential work in the discipline.

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. Thriteen major theories of communication are defined by the top experts in their fields: 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.

part Theory I|48 pages

Perception Theory

part Theory II|38 pages

Visual Cognition

chapter 3|20 pages

Visual Cognition

chapter 4|16 pages

Visual-Verbal Redundancy and College Choice

Does the Level of Redundancy in Student Recruitment Advertisements Affect High School Students’ Decision-Making Process?

part Theory III|36 pages

Aesthetics

chapter 5|20 pages

Aesthetics Theory

Aesthetic Experience as a Communicative Tool in the 21st Century

chapter 6|14 pages

Applying Aesthetic Principles to Tell Stories through Photojournalism

Taking a Look Back at My Memorable Images

part Theory IV|29 pages

Visual Rhetoric

chapter 7|14 pages

Visual Rhetoric

Theory, Method, and Application in the Modern World

chapter 8|13 pages

Trump as Global Spectacle

The Visual Rhetoric of Magazine Covers

part Theory V|48 pages

Visual Semiotics

chapter 9|16 pages

Visual Semiotics Theory

Introduction to the Science of Signs

chapter 10|14 pages

Jordanian Banknote Design

A Social Semiotic Analysis

chapter 11|16 pages

The Myth of the American Landscape

Photography and the Semiotics of Nature

part Theory VI|34 pages

Cultural Studies

chapter 12|16 pages

Cultural Studies Theory

The Production and Consumption of Meaning

chapter 13|16 pages

Altering the Body/Altering Communication

Using Cultural Studies Theory to Examine Interactions Related to Body Modification

part Theory VII|27 pages

Visual Ethnography

chapter 14|15 pages

Visual Ethnography

From Visual to Networked to Multimodal Practice

chapter 15|10 pages

Oppositional Articulations

An Ethnographic Study with Black Artists in Austin, Texas

part Theory VIII|22 pages

Visual Narrative

chapter 16|10 pages

Narrative Theory

Visual Storytelling

chapter 17|10 pages

Performing the Past in the Present

Prosperity Junction, Public Memory, and American Identity

part Theory IX|36 pages

Applied Media Aesthetics

chapter 18|17 pages

Applied Media Aesthetics

Encoding and Decoding Meta-Messages

chapter 19|17 pages

Understanding X-Ray Images

A Medi(c)a(l) Aesthetics Approach

part Theory X|43 pages

Digital Media

chapter 20|11 pages

Digital Media Theory

From One-Way to Multidirectional Communication

chapter 22|15 pages

Profile Pictures across Platforms

How Identity Visually Manifests Itself among Social Media Accounts

part Theory XI|30 pages

Visual Intertextuality

chapter 23|13 pages

Visual Intertextuality Theory

Exploring Political Communication and Visual Intertextuality through Meme Wars

part Theory XII|35 pages

Visual Ethics

chapter 25|17 pages

Visual Ethics

A Dynamic of Process and Meaning

part Theory XIII|50 pages

Visual Literacy

chapter 27|32 pages

Visual Literacy Theory

Moving Forward

chapter 28|16 pages

Fakes, Forgery, and Facebook

An Examination of Visual Literacy in the Era of Manipulated Images, Fake News, and Alternative Facts