Articles on visual literacy

Displaying all articles

A student looks at different images, as eye-tracking technology monitors how she is visualizing the objects. Chris Necuze/FIU

Even before they can read, young children are visualizing letters and other objects with the same strategies adults use

Recent research shows that young children typically manipulate and rotate entire objects in their minds to understand challenges such as puzzles.
Two images that are complex, layered with meaning and scientifically accurate: ‘Still Life with Flowers on a Marble Tabletop,’ 1716 oil painting by Dutch artist Rachel Ruysch, next to a visual model of an enzyme (PDB 4KO1) bound to its substrate. (Rijksmuseum/Amanda Bongers)

For both artists and scientists, slow looking allows surprising connections to surface

This process of looking and asking questions about what you are looking at is needed at all levels of science, and science students can learn through arts-inspired visual analysis.

Top contributors

More