Chapter 3. test

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Tutorials on Reading Visuals

Reading Visuals: Element

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Reading Visuals: Element

Authors:

Cheryl E. Ball, Wayne State University, and Kristin L. Arola, Michigan Technological University

Activity Objective:

In this tutorial, you will explore how the placement and relation of elements in a text creates meaning for the whole.

Click the forward and backward arrows to navigate through the slides. You may also click the above outline button to skip to certain slides.

A photo shows a trash can filled with garbage placed in the middle of a beach. The text written on the bin reads, Please leave only your footprints.

A cropped photo of the sandy beach and the sea. The trash is not visible.

A cropped photo of the garbage littered around the trash can.

A cropped photo of the trash can on the beach.

A cropped photo of the sign on the trash can, which reads Please leave only your footprints.

Every text is made up of individual elements. Elements in a text might include specific words or phrases, colors, and individual images that are used—all of which audiences can read individually—to form an overall, cohesive meaning for the text. Although element doesn’t seem much more specific than thing, it is the placement and relation of the elements in a text that offers meaning for the whole.

This photograph can be split into individual elements: the background, the trash on the beach, the garbage can, the spray-painted words on the side of the can. Click the thumbnails below the photograph to examine them more closely. Each of these elements can be broken down and categorized to add up to one ironic whole.

Credit: sdominick/Getty Images

Although this is a static photo, it is also easy to imagine adding sound to this image. As an element, sound can play an important role in guiding our reading of a text. If this photo were set to the sound of a cheering crowd, it would read differently than if it were accompanied by the sound of chirping birds.

The word 'earth' is written in a graffiti typeface and lush green color.

When we break down texts into their individual elements, our analysis involves thinking about all the choices the designer, artist, or photographer had to make about these elements. Here we’ve taken an individual element—a single word—out of its larger context to help you practice thinking about the difference that seemingly simple choices like color and font make.

A graffiti typeface and lush green color give this word a human, earthy feel.

The word 'earth' is repeated in blue, black, red, and brown fonts one below the other.

How do these different colors change the way you read this word?

The word 'earth' is written in various forms of serif fonts. The fonts used are 'CASTELLAR, Courier, Lucinda, ENGRAVERS MT, and Goudy.'

“Serif” means “feet” and these typefaces have little feet at the top and bottom of each character. Serif fonts are considered more traditional than fonts without serifs.

The word 'earth' is written in various forms of Sans serif fonts. The fonts used are 'Comic Sans MS, Impact, orator, Tahoma, and Tekton.'

“Sans” means “without,” signifying that these typefaces do not have the feet that serif fonts have. In the history of typefaces, sans serif fonts have not been around for as long, so they appear less formal than serif fonts.

A stop sign with the word stop written on it in italics.

Credit: Thana Panthupakorn/Shutterstock

If you don’t think choices about typeface and color make a difference, check out the impact they have in the context of the familiar “Stop” sign.

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Credit: Thomas Ryan Red Corn

There are numerous elements that compose a multimodal text. Work through the following questions to consider this short film in which a group of Native Americans read Thomas Ryan Red Corn’s poem, “Bad Indians.”

As you work through these questions, you will be analyzing the impact of basic design choices—how different elements come together to create a text—and you will evaluate these choices and their effectiveness.

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Credit: Thomas Ryan Red Corn

Use the space below to answer the following questions.

Watch the first twenty-five seconds of this film (00:00–00:25) and write down all of the major elements you see and hear. Why do you think the author chose this particular font for the opening credits? What effect would it have if the title were set in, say, a black stencil font?
The phrase „BAD INDIANS“ is written in thick capital letters in a bold font.