The encyclopedia defines visual rhetoric as “a theoretical framework describing how visual images communicate, as opposed to aural or verbal messages.”  It goes on to say that ”the study of visual rhetoric is different from that of visual or graphic design, in that it emphasizes images as rational expressions of cultural meaning, as opposed to mere aesthetic consideration.”

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Sanford University defines visual rhetoric as “the way the images work on their own and collaborate with written text to create an argument designed to move a specific audience.”

Pomona College in California has an on-line visual literacy project in which they stress the importance of visual literacy as a key element in communication. They also say, “To be verbally literate, one must possess and be able to manipulate the basic components of written language: the letters, words, spelling, grammar, syntax. With a mastery of these elements of written communication, the possibilities of verbal expression are endless. Visual literacy must operate within the same boundaries. Just as there are components and common meaning for the elements of verbal literacy, elements and common meaning exist for the elements of visual literacy.”

Check out their website for more information.

 http://www.pomona.edu/Academics/courserelated/classprojects/Visual-lit/intro/intro.html