Visual Literacy Pedagogy Project

Why Do I Need to Be Visually Literate? 

Now that you've learned the definition of visual literacy, you may ask, "Why do I need to be visually literate anyway?" Well, the reasons are numerous, but Messaris and Moriarty (2005) present three good ones: 

• Picture-based media has gained growing prominence;
• Aesthetic understanding leads to an appreciation of visual artistry; and
• Frequent visual persuasion requires heightened consciousness to prevent cognitive manipulation (p. 482)

In addition, we might add that being visually literate build skills of investigation that can be required and well sought after, if finely honed, in the job market. 

To learn more about dispositions of a visually literate individual, see "Standards, Performance Indicators, and Learning Outcomes" in this resource.