Our culture is based on visual imagery — even oversaturated with it. In the most general terms, your visual literacy is the ability to interact and understand visual communication — or, in other words, bits of information expressed in the form of images rather than written words and numbers. Colors, forms and shapes can also be parts of visual communication, expressing certain feelings or evoking associations.
Over the centuries, symbols and concepts constructing visual culture and the means of interacting with it have changed drastically. A seventeenth-century Dutch still-life with fruit and flowers may look like a nice decoration today, but the audiences read it like an open book at its creation. They knew that some symbols — like lilies or fish — represented religious symbols and others, like a half-peeled lemon, expressed the high status of the painting’s owner, celebrating their piety and abundance in their household. More complex and multilayered messages were coded into history paintings or portraits – sometimes up to a point when only a small amount of highly educated noblemen could decipher them.
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The present age has such symbols, too, although most are much more accessible to the public. Think of road signs or brand logos or icons on your smartphone: most of them were designed to be almost universally understandable. Yet, not all symbols mean the same in different cultures: for instance, white, often associated with mourning in China, would likely confuse a Western European funeral.
Understanding symbols could help an entrepreneur construct a clear and successful image for your brand and product. So, how can visual literacy help an entrepreneur?
Formulate your message
A good product design can express much more than written text pages. Form, shape and color can formulate associations with the brand. References to Classical art are usually associated with stability, if not conservatism and work great for financial institutions, while a frivolous hot pink logo would rather help a lingerie brand.
Pay attention to symbols and their migrating meanings and contexts, and avoid overcomplicating things. Remember that some images do not age well: the hand salute from Jacques-Louis David’s Oath of the Horatii now evokes associations with Nazism and not Roman patriotism.
Related: Before Spending Thousands on Custom Designs, Prioritize This to Elevate Your Brand Instead
Attract your customer’s niche
Just like in the case of a Dutch still-life, you want your audience to understand and react to your message. If you are looking for customers who share your values and ideas, you must send them a personalized message! Think of your audience, their habits, hobbies, dreams, aspirations and expectations of your brand.
Remember your target audience’s cultural and religious background to avoid misunderstandings — some symbols originating in Christian culture would not make sense for Muslim or Hindu customers.
Related: How to Thrive in Niche Markets
Recognize trends and react to them
Some brands choose to interact with the latest trends in their niche, while others prefer to keep in their lane and do what they do best. Both approaches are valid and understandable, yet recognizing and understanding trends and tendencies within your sector could be a life-saving tip.
Instead of simply replicating the aesthetic of a trend, analyze it from the position of values.
Think of a trend like cottagecore: under its mass-marketed surface, it offered something more than just floral dresses; it offered a more sustainable lifestyle, closeness to nature and value of artisanal labor.
Related: 5 Ways to Spot and Capitalize on Trends
How to develop visual literacy
Visual literacy is not a skill to learn overnight; unfortunately, it has no shortcuts. Watching and learning is the main strategy to develop your understanding of the visual culture around you. Yet, simply wandering through museums and scrolling through feeds will not help. You need to think, analyze and ask the right questions.
- Pay attention to the world around you. Although this advice sounds pretty obvious, most of us skim through the masses of visual information without a second thought. We are so used to interacting with images daily that we barely pay attention to how they work and make us feel. Think and ask questions. How does a particular design make you feel? Is it understandable? Do you feel the designer’s intent to make it as it is, or is it a random combination?
- Go to art museums and galleries. Studying art history is your next fundamental step in developing your visual literacy. Once again, pay attention to your feelings, notice recurring symbols and compare contexts. Instead of turning away from a painting you genuinely hate, ask yourself what exactly provokes such a strong emotional response. Is it a personal association or a more or less universal thing? Every art movement had a philosophy and message behind it. Exploring art movements and their ideas could help you formulate your visual language so your customers can associate their needs and desires with your brand.
- Take breaks! Last but not least, give your brain a rest. In the age of social media, the ubiquity of images and meanings is suffocating and overbearing. To make sense of things and take them seriously, sometimes you have to physically stop the flow of visual information. Turn your attention away from the screen to a printed book, a homecooked meal, or nature — sometimes, it offers the best solutions.
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