Visual Literacy

Visual literacy is a skill that helps people interpret the world around them through images. The term was first coined by John Debes, cofounder of the International Visual Literacy Association, in 1969, and he used it to describe how people perceive, evaluate, apply, and create conceptual visual representations. Visual literacy means the ability to see and interpret symbols, actions, and objects and understand how they are related to written text. Strong visual literacy is correlated with a person’s enhanced ability to interact and communicate with the rest of the world.

Overview

Debes defined visual literacy, as quoted by M. Avgerinou and J. Ericson, as “a group of vision-competencies a human being can develop by seeing and, at the same time having and integrating other sensory experiences.” Debes further explained that visual literacy and the development of the competencies associated with visual literacy, such as interpreting an environment by distinguishing between actions, symbols, and objects, is fundamental to the process of learning and essential to a person’s ability to communicate. The study of visual literacy is multidisciplinary, involving education, art history, criticism, philosophy, information design, and graphic design. Over the years, scholars of the subject have developed varying definitions and interpretations of visual literacy as it applies to their respective disciplines. Despite the varying interpretations, each scholar is concerned with understanding the way visual items communicate information, data, and context to those who view them.

In basic terms, if a person can read and interpret a map, draw a diagram, or interpret street signs to traverse a neighborhood, then that person is considered visually literate. Visual literacy is also the primary way humans learn to communicate by associating images with letters and relating them to something they know and understand. For example, when a child is learning to read, a letter is typically associated with an object that is recognizable to the child. For example, “A” is associated with an apple. This visual association allows the child not only the opportunity to learn the letter and sound but also to associate the text with an object, which provides greater context and knowledge to the world around them.

These concepts have become increasingly important in the age of digital communications and social media, where people are inundated with a steady stream of maps, pictures, diagrams, charts, videos, icons, and graphics throughout the day. Additionally, the concepts associated with visual literacy ultimately help people communicate concepts more effectively when they take into account an audience’s need to understand an image itself and the context in which it appears. While both visual and textual misinformation had already existed for some time, when integration and accessibility of artificial intelligence (AI) technology had increased by the 2020s, many experts advocated for greater visual literacy understanding and education among the public. As concerns had grown around the proliferation of AI-created imagery and deepfakes, proponents of visual literacy argued that mastery of this skill had only become more important to distinguish between authentic and fake, misleading images. Methods for improving and promoting visual literacy in the era of AI, such as the Artificial Intelligence Citizenship Framework for schools and libraries, were being created and introduced in response.

Bibliography

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Wolfson, Kasia. "Seeing Is Not Believing: Visual Literacy in the Age of AI." Dawson AI, Dawson College, 8 Sept. 2022, www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/ai/portfolios/seeing-is-not-believing-visual-literacy-in-the-age-of-ai/. Accessed 12 Aug. 2025.