Visual communication shapes our perceptions and experiences of the world. This is not only a question of photographs or video, but also the design of websites, the use of data visualization software, the branding of packaging, and even the design of buildings and furniture. Doing Visual Analysis: From Theory to Practices provides a concrete set of tools to research and analyse this wide range of visual data. Showing students how to apply the right mix of methods to their own research projects, it equips them with the skills to break down and analyse the range of contemporary visual communication. The book:  • Provides examples of how and where certain tools can be used in a project or dissertation  • Discusses the type of research questions best suited to different tools and methods  • Shows students how to mix approaches and use tools alongside other methods, such as content analysis or interviews Doing Visual Analysis is an essential companion for students and researchers of visual data across the social sciences.

Approaches to visual communication

Approaches to visual communication

Introduction

This chapter explains the social semiotic approach upon which this book is based. Doing Visual Analysis provides tools for breaking down different kinds of visual communication into parts. This is done in order to allow us to show 1) how they create social meaning and 2) what social meanings they create. Each chapter shows how this can be done for different kinds of visual communication in order to carry out systematic analysis that is required to answer concrete research questions. In this chapter we explain what such a form of analysis involves, what concepts we use overall and what is our view of visual communication.

In the first part of the chapter we place Doing Visual Analysis as ...

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