Chapter IV

Conclusions and Suggestions

The author began the study of visual communication with certain expectations about the discoveries to be made and certain assumptions about pictures in print that were, for the most part, confirmed. The primary goals of the research—the development of an understanding of the use of pictures and graphic design in print and the establishment of criteria for judging the communicative potential of a picture—were met. In fitting together the puzzle of visual communication, the following conclusions were reached:

1. Pictures can convey information, but that information cannot always be verbalized because of certain basic functional differences between pictures and words.

2. Pictures and words can complement each other in print because of these basic differences.

3. Visual communication appears by nature to be somewhat equivocal, but by learning the basics of visual language, ambiguity in pictures can be effectively reduced.

4. Print journalists can benefit from study of visual communication regardless of whether they are directly responsible for the visual message or for a complementary verbal message.

5. A poorly composed picture or page can detract from the overall communications process by introducing conflicting and confusing signals.

Few journalists today would deny the importance of knowing and using proper spelling and grammar in their verbal messages, but many of those same journalists fail to recognize the importance of using proper “spelling and grammar” in visual messages. Currently in the field of journalism, photojournalists seem to be concerned with the communicative potential of pictures while other journalists appear to be primarily word-oriented. Since print journalists most often have both words and pictures at their disposal, it seems that the bulk of future research should concentrate on answering questions about how words and pictures work together. How much redundancy should there be between the visual and the verbal messages? When pictures and words contradict each other, which message is believed? Which kinds of information are best conveyed visually and which kinds verbally? How much do verbal suggestions related to picture content influence the reaction to the picture.

In addition to studying pictures as they interact with words, journalists must also consider how pictures work on their own. How closely does the intended meaning of the picture-maker correspond to the meaning derived from a picture by the audience? How much does environmental stress affect picture perception and interpretation? How do pictures interact with each other? How much does the use of color influence picture perception? How does cropping influence the interpretation of a picture? What are the differences between meaning derived from a photograph and that derived from a drawing of the same subject matter?

Since today’s journalists appear to know relatively little about visual communication, perhaps the most important suggestion the author can make is to recommend the addition to journalism curricula of basic courses in visual communication in print. Borrowing from graphic design, photojournalism and other related disciplines, educators should plan such courses to include basic design principles, rules of composition and other relevant material. The visual communication skills of journalists already working in the field could be improved through study in seminars and other basic courses.

“To claim that light and pictures can be informative is not to deny that light and pictures can puzzle, too,” writes psychologist John Kennedy. “Just as verbal language is systematic and yet capable of puzzling ambiguity, so is light and outline drawing.”¹ Pictures in print can inform and confuse, delight and disgust, excite and depress. They can be ignored completely or subjected to closest scrutiny, remembered for years or forgotten in an instant. That pictures will continue to be an important part of print communication is beyond reasonable doubt, but whether that use will be based on sound knowledge and understanding of the visual language depends on journalists’ recognizing the need to be visually literate.

Note from Chapter IV

¹Kennedy, p. 134.

© 1980 by Gretchen Kerry Nesbit