Visual+Literacy

This short essay is about whether or not a specific visual message follows all of the guidelines for a PAT Model, or a visual that has all the right components for delivering a message. It was useful to know how to create a visual message that wasn’t overwhelming but still got the message across loud and clear. This can be used in more than education, but in this instance, I would use it for posters to comparing information for my students.

The visual message displays the amount of meat consumed in America over periods of time. It says that America is overproteined. It uses statistics in graphics and text to describe the amounts. Basically it says that Americans eat too much meat, even though it has no information to support this claim. The PAT model is followed very well in this visual message. This model uses the Gestalt type of principle. It uses gestalt proximity to display the information. In regard to action, contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity are used. There is contrast between the title and the rest of the text. Repetition is used in the formatting of the text. All of the informational text is aligned to the left while the titles are center aligned. Proximity is addressed in that the information is grouped together relatively. Four of the five PAT tools are used. The type is uncomplicated and uses a sans serif font. All of the type is black except for the title so it has contrast. Squares are used for comparison and focusing information. There is not a lot of empty space in the visual. Spacing is used to group the information so that it is not overwhelming. I’m not particularly enthralled with the placement of the visuals. I believe that they should be more in line with the corresponding text.

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