Visual+Literacy

 The image that is presented above makes use of several principles of visual literacy. The first is contrast; in the table the information in the different columns are darkened. This contrasts with the text that is printed on the top of the table which is written in white. Another visual literacy principle that is employed is the use of organization. Each column details a different piece of information about the food that is consumed in America, these details are organized into columns so they are easy to decipher. The use of tools such as color and space also separate the information into an organized manner. The use of color is also prevalent in the illustrations that are shown in the table. In Gestalt 5 the use of symbols to draw attention to a particular topic are effective in conveying information about the table; for example the illustration of the chick to demonstrate the amount of chicken eaten in the United States each year. The image can be improved by spacing the columns further apart to give each piece of information more weight. Another way to improve upon the information is to include the data source in the table. It is necessary to know how the creator of the image was able to come up with the data and statistics in the table. Overall the image is very effective in depicting the information that is displayed in the table. The use of color and organization make the image a success in terms of the PAT model for interpreting visual images.