What is Visual Messages?

Visual Messages

   It can be written or oral, and nonverbal. They reinforce written communication and are effective in engaging the audience. It help to present the most important information in a condensed and concise form. They have stronger impact on the minds of audience. We use them for immediacy, to emphasize important points, to bring data, location and even idea  to life in dynamic ways. They are used to show things, not just tell about them, and to convey complicated information. They are effective in illustration how thing work, in conveying change over time, and in making comparisons.They are simple to follow, such as in directions and instructions. They are flexible in reaching across demographics, cultures and geographic boundaries. They can be kept permanent, and depending on the communication situation, they may enable immediate feedback.The following are some key visual message used in business communication:

Signs, Signals and Symbols

Signs
     A sign tends have a singular meaning. It is a part of the human world of meaning and largely depends on culture. There are three types of signs.

Symbolic signs are those signs that have no obvious connection between the sign and the object it refers to. For examples, the word APPLE is not identical with its referent, the round, juicy fruit.

Iconic signs have a visual likeness to the think they represent, such as the icons of a home, an envelope, a door, a lock, a pair of scissors, a cross sign(x), traffic signs showing people crossing the road, etc. Icons are not elaborate and they focus on a single idea of the object or the action. More examples: A picture of skull with crossed bones (No Smoking), male or female images on toilet or restroom doors, a picture of explosion ( Explosive Device), electric wire and current ( Electric Shock), etc. Many traffic sign can also be considered icons.

Indexical signs show kind of direct connection to the real thing, such as burning torch, dark clouds, smoke, a tear running down someone's cheek, etc. A five-story pagoda in an old city skyline offers an indexical reference to Bhaktapur, and the eyes of Swayambhunath to Kathmandu. Signs also may includes finger, hand and gestural signs.

Signal
 Unlike signs,which are mostly statics, signals are dynamic and show movement or action. They may include gestures and sounds. However, for a successful communication, there must be a prior agreement between the sender and receiver on what a particular signal stands for. Examples: A man giving a flower to a woman signals his love for her. A traffic police officer pointing to the left signals drivers to turn left.


Symbols
 A symbol is something that represents or stands for something else, usually an abstract idea. Sometimes the world symbol and sign are used interchangeably. However, unlike signs and signals, symbols can have multiple meanings.Thus they can be ambiguous and varied, according to cultures. A symbol has to be visible, and its meaning should be agreeable to the people who are communication. The simplest forms of symbols are pictograms in which a concept or object is represented as it is.Ideograms tend to be slightly abstract, like the shape of a heart that represents  love, a pigeon that represents peace, or a white flag that represents surrender. Arbitrary symbols have no obvious visual connection to the idea or object they represent; they are abstract. Our non-quadrilateral national flag is a symbol of sovereignty and peace, and harmony. However, the flag itself is not those ideas.

Colors
 It can be used for symbolism, for examples, blue means peace, green stands for environmentally friendly, and red refers to power. Maps use various colors to help quickly spot a location. Colors are used to give structure to an object, to highlight certain things, to enhance meaning, to show association between things and to convey certain mood. Too much use of color, however, can become very distracting.

Nonverbal Visual Cues
   Our body language, such as facial expressions, eye movements, postures, and gestures are a form of visual communication. The way we appear, dress, touch others, and use physical space in relation with others helps communicate specific meanings to a viewer. A more detailed discussion is available on this in the section below under nonverbal message.

Typography
 It is the visual display of printed matter. It is the art of arranging type on paper or screen. It may include regular fonts, calligraphy, and increasingly digital type, type designing and even graphic designing. Designers usually choose between two types of typefaces (fonts); serif and sans-serif. A slight projection (feet) on the endpoints of a font is called serif, and any font that belongs to a class of typefaces with such a projection is also known as serif. Serif fonts, because they are distinctive with the projections, are easier to read on paper. However, serif fonts can be harder to read on webpages because they have lower resolution on the screen. Sans-serifs have no feet. The french word sans means "without".