Visual journalism is the practice of strategically combining words and images to convey information.
Overview
Visual journalism is premised upon the idea that at a time of accelerating change, often words cannot keep pace with concepts. Visual journalism incorporates ancient
symbol
A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...
s that resonate with humans across cultures and time and conveys meaning instantaneously at a deep level.
Visual journalism is an outgrowth of the practice of graphic facilitation and recording that began entering corporate board rooms, conferences, and think tank meetings in the 1970s with the leadership of David Sibbet, founder of The Grove Consultants International. But its roots date back to ancient
cave paintings and carry forward in the work of designers, architects, and engineers. Only recently has
interactive visualization of this sort moved out into common use in a variety of group engagements. The scholarly father of this visual form of communication is Robert Horn,
Ph.D., a fellow at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
and author of the book ''Visual Language''.
Visual journalism is not a series of symbols with precise meanings but rather images that suggest complex meanings and, in the
Egyptian tradition of the
cartouche, contain words. The symbols do not simply represent but participate in the meaning and, in combination with evocative phrases, are designed to provoke creative thinking. Visual language is one tool described by author
Daniel Pink in his book ''A Whole New Mind'' for the emerging "conceptual age" where people must tolerate ambiguity and communicate quickly, often before concepts are ready to be captured in traditional writing.
Projects
* 2015
People's Republic of Bolzano,
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
* 2016
Europa Dreaming,
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
* 2021
Glocal Climate ChangeEuropean Data Journalism Networkan
Sheldon.studio* 2023
Mapping DiversityEuropean Data Journalism Networkan
Sheldon.studio
Further reading
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See also
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Broadcast journalism
Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...
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Comics journalism
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Photojournalism
Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...
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Video journalism
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News design
External links
Visual Editors- A social network of visual journalists
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Society for News Design - A trade organization for newspaper designers
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National Press Photographers Association - Industry trade group for photojournalists
Visual Journalism platform-
Free university of Bozen-Bolzano
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