What is Visual Communication?

So, what exactly is visual communication? Visual communication to me is a way of conveying a message when words alone won’t suffice or can’t be heard. Take into consideration the explanation provided below.

While on the way to South Beach for spring break you drive past a motel with chipped paint. In fact, consider for a moment that this motel is painted in hues of neon pinks and greens. You know the colors I’m describing here. Dig deep back into your childhood to a time where going to an all-night skate at the roller rink was a BIG DEAL. Now, dig a little deeper and remember the glow in the dark necklaces you’d wear around your neck once the lights were dimmed. Are you enticed to stay the night at this motel or do you turn to your roommates and say “Considering the exterior of this hotel, I’m scared to see the sheets on the bed?” While waiting in a line at a local McDonald’s you notice that flies are all over the food. The floors are filthy and it reeks of trash. Do you then say to yourself “a little dirt is good for you, it improves the immune system” or do you step out of line and head next door to Sonic?

This train of thought doesn’t just apply to businesses. In fact, it applies to businesses and people alike. You see everything visible about a person and/or a business is communicating something. You could say, then, that while we can choose when to begin and end communicating verbally we can’t do so visually. In short, we are always communicating visually. Keeping this in mind one could argue that at the very least visual communication is on par with verbal and therefore should command the same diligence in study. Why you might ask? The answer is simple. We are visual beings. What we see affects us and our perceptions of other people, places and things. For this reason, I believe that the most effective means of communicating comes from marrying both verbal and visual communication.