A color-illustrated introduction to the basic principles of visual language that every content creator and consumer needs to know
The right images capture attention, pique curiosity, and inspire viewers to stick around long enough to read any accompanying text. Nearly everyone today needs to use or understand images in communications of all kinds, from the most formal professional publication to the most casual social media post, and knowing the basics of visual language is essential for content creators and consumers alike. However, most people aren't taught visual grammar unless they go into art- or design-related fields. The Elements of Visual Grammar explains image use in any media in practical terms for writers, scholars, and other professionals. Award-winning art director and design professor Angela Riechers offers a flexible set of principles and best practices for selecting images that work-and using them in the most persuasive way. The result is an indispensable guide for anyone who wants to learn how to work more successfully with images and words.
• Features more than 200 color illustrations-drawn from a wide range of styles, media, and eras-that demonstrate the principles of visual grammar and how images can support and enhance written content
• Defines and illustrates the basic elements of images, describes how images function within text regardless of media, and explains how to choose images and integrate them with text
• Introduces the practical, cultural, conceptual, and scientific factors that influence image use
• Analyzes images by function and describes ways to employ symbolism, synecdoche, allegory, metaphor, analogy, and iconography Angela Riechers is Program Director of Graphic Design at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. As an art director, she has created everything from page layouts for Harper's Magazine to iPad apps for O, The Oprah Magazine. Riechers received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts. "Intelligent, easy to understand, and beautifully designed, with crisp writing and exceptional examples from a wide range of media-including graphic design, painting, photography, screen-based media, and products-The Elements of Visual Grammar opens the world of visual content to everyone. It should be on the desk of every creative person."-Sean Adams, author of How Design Makes Us Think: And Feel and Do Things
"A fresh, comprehensive guide, The Elements of Visual Grammar makes the basics of graphic design, visual communication, and image creation accessible to a wide audience. It provides clear instructions, tips, and ideas and is written in a friendly way, making it an ideal handbook for anyone, even those with no visual expertise, to pick up and understand."-Jarrett Fuller, designer, writer, design professor, and host of the design podcast Scratching the Surface
"Accessible, inviting, and fun to read, The Elements of Visual Grammar is a great introduction to visual language and storytelling. Full of rich material, it feels like a conversation with a smart friend who is taking you by the hand and letting you make discoveries along the way. One of the book's strongest features is its wealth of visual examples and detailed captions. I don't think I've ever learned so much just from a book's captions."-Perrin Drumm, head of publishing for A24 Films and founder of Eye on Design, the blog of the American Institute of Graphic Design
