VISUAL+LITERACY

=== In the field of education, visual messages as part of teaching and learning materials can be seen in textbooks, video, pictures, and the Internet. Teachers and students are exposed to visual messages every day. Although the use of visuals is increasing, it does not necessarily increase the effectiveness of learning. Any kind of information should be well-designed to be readable and worth reading for readers. Poor design can inadvertently confuse learners, and learners may end up less competent than before. It is important to design visuals that do not mislead or confuse people.To enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning requires both the well-designed visual instructional materials and the ability to perceive and interpret the visual messages. ===

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1) My interpretation of the over all visual design is that it gets the point across. The point being that the American society has a problem with being “overproteined”. Moreover the design is taking a stab at the fest food industry. They many be implying that because of fast food chains the U.S. population is eating to much protein. I was able to come to this conclusion because of the classic double cheeseburger on the left of the design. Next the little chick on the bottom of the design represents that being “overproteined” is not humane. Nest to the eye is drawn to the point the KFC (a fast food joint) is helping this problem and is in line to be blamed as well. The last illustration on the bottom right of the design is a hot dog. This really shows the diversity in the protein consumed by Americans. Fist the Big Mac represents cows, second the KFC represent the chicken, and thirdly, the hot dog represents the pigs. Hitting all of the major industries producing meat. I believe the point was not for education but to drive the point home that we as Americans should cut back on our protein consumption. 2) As for the design, the table/chart presents clear information that is to the point. Showing the figures in bold to catch more attention with the pictures represented. Even with out the follow up explanation the chart could be understood just with the illustration through pictures and the figure number. The cool colors do not distract the info. For the eye to catch this design is through the images. 3) I would not change the over all designs principle. However, it could also be shown through the images of animals that represent that kind of food like the chicken. I think that the design is very effective to a passer by simply because of its simplicity.