Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Wadsworth Publishing (1998), Edition: 1, 500 pages
Description
Visual communication is just as important as verbal communication, if not more important. VISUAL COMMUNICATION: IMAGES WITH MESSAGES shows you how visual perception is used in all forms of communication, whether it's graphic design, photography, television, video, or interactive media. And because it's packed with study and review tools, this communications textbook not only clearly explains the theories you need to know, it helps you prepare for tests and will help you succeed in the class.
User reviews
LibraryThing member booktsunami
I think that this is the first time since I was at University that I have actually read a text book on a specific subject from cover to cover. And I did this because I was unfamiliar with the discipline of communication....although I knew many of the elements. In fact, I found as I worked my way
Obviously, one huge limitation in reading this book is that it is really dated. It was printed in 1995 and there have been massive advances since that time. I recall that around 1992/3 I was working on a project for my organisation and we were looking at ways to increase the availability of information throughout the organisation. (This was pre-internet). So we were working with the same kind of limitations and promises of future technological developments as the author of this book. Amazingly enough, the author gets most of his predictions right ...although the terminology might have changed a bit.
I was impressed that throughout, there is a section about the ethical implications of working in this field ...and these are quite insightful and thoughtful sections.
There is, however, a very USA bias throughout....especially notable with the section on movies. The roles of European movie makers ...especially in the UK and France seem to be underplayed as far as I understand the development of the movie industry. (Also the penetration of US movies into Europe post war when the local industries had collapsed). I guess, the bias is to be expected: this is a text book clearly written for US students.
Was it worth my while investing so much time in an out of date text book? On balance, I think so. First of all it only cost me $4 whereas a new version probably sells for about $100.......and I wouldn't pay this much. Second, although the information in many cases is outdated it seems to me to be accurate up to the time of publication ...and so is interesting history apart from anything else. It was also interesting to see the predictions that were being made and to compare them to what has actually happened.....and mostly the predictions were fairly accurate. And some of the sections ...such as on light and the physiology of seeing and the psychology of seeing are all still relevant..though knowledge might have increased somewhat.
Overall, an interesting exercise. If I was reviewing the book when it was printed (1995) I would give it five stars but hard to justify more than 3.5 stars at this timer of reviewing (when the book is 25 years old).
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through the book (and it took significant time) that I already knew most of what they covered. It starts off with sections about light and the eye and how we see ...relating to pathways in the brain etc. I was impressed by the depth of the coverage in each of its sections given that they were really just snapshots and I've read whole books just devoted to the physiology of seeing. Obviously, one huge limitation in reading this book is that it is really dated. It was printed in 1995 and there have been massive advances since that time. I recall that around 1992/3 I was working on a project for my organisation and we were looking at ways to increase the availability of information throughout the organisation. (This was pre-internet). So we were working with the same kind of limitations and promises of future technological developments as the author of this book. Amazingly enough, the author gets most of his predictions right ...although the terminology might have changed a bit.
I was impressed that throughout, there is a section about the ethical implications of working in this field ...and these are quite insightful and thoughtful sections.
There is, however, a very USA bias throughout....especially notable with the section on movies. The roles of European movie makers ...especially in the UK and France seem to be underplayed as far as I understand the development of the movie industry. (Also the penetration of US movies into Europe post war when the local industries had collapsed). I guess, the bias is to be expected: this is a text book clearly written for US students.
Was it worth my while investing so much time in an out of date text book? On balance, I think so. First of all it only cost me $4 whereas a new version probably sells for about $100.......and I wouldn't pay this much. Second, although the information in many cases is outdated it seems to me to be accurate up to the time of publication ...and so is interesting history apart from anything else. It was also interesting to see the predictions that were being made and to compare them to what has actually happened.....and mostly the predictions were fairly accurate. And some of the sections ...such as on light and the physiology of seeing and the psychology of seeing are all still relevant..though knowledge might have increased somewhat.
Overall, an interesting exercise. If I was reviewing the book when it was printed (1995) I would give it five stars but hard to justify more than 3.5 stars at this timer of reviewing (when the book is 25 years old).
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Subjects
ISBN
053419530X / 9780534195304