The document discusses how to interpret and understand visual texts. It explains that visual texts contain various elements including images, words, typography and layout. These elements convey meaning and messages through composition and placement. The document provides guidance on analyzing images, words, fonts and layout to understand a visual text at literal, inferential and evaluative levels. It uses several examples to illustrate how to interpret these elements and their influence on meaning.

1. UNDERSTANDING
VISUAL TEXTS

2. ‘O’ Levels Examination
• Section A – Visual Text Comprehension (Paper 2)
• 5 marks
• Skills
• Understanding of visual texts at literal, inferential & evaluative
levels
• Personal engagement
• Engagement with visual impact of material
• Engagement with real concepts
• Engagement with familiar concepts
• Engagement with non-linear layout

3. Visual texts
• Texts that are created using still or
moving images
• May or may not contain words
• Television, film, radio, advertising,
billboards, the Internet, computer games
and programs, art works such as
paintings, drawings, sculptures,
architecture, book covers, illustrations

4. Visual Text Comprehension
• Understanding images & words in the context it
is being used
• Bring life experiences & background knowledge to
what is being read/viewed
• All visual texts are influenced by the cultures,
values, ideologies and world views in and
through which they are created & consumed.
• Eg. Family photo in your home vs. A family potrait in a
magazine or
• Artists’ impression vs. housing agent’s view of a HDB
estate

5. How to interpret visual texts?
• We need to first identify the different elements
that make up the text.
• These include:
• Images
• (Colour)
• words – includes title, headlines, captions
• Typographical features - type of font, font size
• Layout – spatial arrangement of different elements in a
text

6. Images…
• Images are mental représentations, pictures of
objects, people or animals or any diagram that
provides visual information.
• Images in a visual text may contain:
• People, animals or object participating in an action
• Flow charts, maps or labelled images showing a
concept or an idea
• Symbols or icons

7. What does this
image show?
-Concept/idea
-Desire to show
unity between
young & old
-Unity between
different races
also

8. What does this
image show?
-An action – ex –
offender trying to
remove the label
from his back
-Stereotype –
tattooed people are
offenders

9. More on images…
• Angles – looking down vs looking up
• Looking down at someone conveys a sense of
power or control
• Looking up at a person or object can make us
feel vulnerable
• Framing – determines amount of
information given to viewers
• Close-up shot – closer social relation, lesser
details
• Long shot – distant relation, more details

10. Framing
NDP poster
-Long shot – more details
-Focus on people in singapore

11. Framing
Election poster in 2006
-Close-up shot of Lee Hsieng Leong
-Focus on voting for him

12. Words (Includes titles, headlines,
captions)
• Who is the target audience when
something is said?
• Why are certain words used over others?
• What information is being conveyed in
words?
• Literal, Inferential, Evaluative
understanding of words in text

13. NEA Poster
-How are the words
being transposed with
the image in the poster?
-Why do you think the
words ‘Just Bin it’ was
used in this poster?
What effect is this
intended on the viewer?

14. Words (Includes titles, headlines,
captions)
• Title – main topic of the poster
• Headline – main statement that tells the
main message of the poster ; usually the
text in the largest and boldest font
• Captions – It is the typed text under
photographs explaining the image and
usually in one sentence

15. Typographical features - font type
and size
• Are the fonts in capital letters or non-
capitalised letters?
• Are some words intentionally larger or
smaller for any reason? Why?
• Usually determines the reading paths of
the reader/viewer.
• Reader/viewer will tend to be attracted to the
larger fonts used in the text.
• Usually for words that are meant for emphasis.

16. - What are the words
that are meant to
capture viewer’s
attention first?
- What is the next
thing that captures
your attention?
- With regards to the
typographical
features, why do you
think the poster is
created as such?

17. Layout
• Placement of elements in text can influence
the meaning of the image.
• Types of placement:
• Top/bottom – top contains the ‘attention-grabber’;
bottom contains new information
• Left/right – left side contains information that is
understood; right side presents new information
• Note: not all of these ‘codes’ apply to every
image – images are shaped according to
purpose and effect their creators wish to
achieve.

18. Top/bottom
• Top – attention-
grabber (Visual
+ words)
• Bottom – more
information
about the deal
that Burger King
is offering

19. • Left side –
reported
natural
disasters in
the country
• Right side
–
information
about the
services
they are

20. Remember
this?
• Advertorial by
Watsons
• Study the placement
of the image with the
products that
Watson’s is trying to
sell. Notice that the
testimonies of the
experts are placed
before the products
they are selling.
• Why do you think the
layout is as such?

21. Recap…
• Different elements of visual texts:
• Images
• (Colour)
• words – includes title, headlines, captions
• Typographical features - type of font, font size
• Layout – spatial arrangement of different elements
in a text

22. Task
• Kingsway Unit 3 Paper 2