This is the first topic in a series about visual language. The posts are intended to provide a basic understanding about some of the foundational elements that go into visual language, so you can communicate more effectively with visuals.
Starting to explore visuals
Visual language is complex. You can’t really separate one aspect out, since visuals contain multiple elements. However, we can focus more attention on one aspect than another. So for example, we are going to talk about lines in this post, but you could also talk about shapes in many of the images. The goal is to train your eyes to be able to notice the details, and to be able to discern which elements are important to what you are trying to communicate.
I don’t think it is possible to create visuals if you can’t see its elements. I suggested beginning to explore a common everyday object, and I chose my keychain. I’ve been doing this two ways. I sketch while I’m doing other things at my desk like listening to webinars and conference calls. I’ve also been photographing and using Photoshop to call out various elements. While I can show you pictures of things, you’ll get more out of it if you are also exploring an object of your own. Where is your key chain?
Line
You may have noticed that many of the people who use visuals to explain concepts or help others in their thinking or communication use line drawings to do so. Info-graphics, graphic facilitation, and even mind mapping all use line as a key element to get ideas across. Therefor, it is an important element to not only understand, but to develop the skills to use it effectively.
Line is a very versatile and important part of visual language. If you can see it and work with it, you can utilize it for a whole range of expression. This is the realm of the cartoonist, a mastery of line brings the work to life. Yet it is quite challenging to figure out just which line, how much of it, and what quality of line will get across the essence of what you want to say.
Here is a screencast showing some of the ways you can start to explore line.
The parts
You can spend more time looking at the photographs of the process I went through to explore line on the computer by clicking on the image to enlarge it. I will note that it took quite a bit more time to do this on the computer than it would have taken to draw with a pen on paper. Of course, now that it is in digital format I can make versions and alterations much quicker. For me that’s why I often draw on the computer after doing a few preliminary sketches on paper to make sure I have a general understanding of what I am looking at. Once I have done the basic work of getting the image in digital format, I find I am more willing to try a number of different variations.
Practice drawing something simple. At first you may not be aware of what the important lines are that need capturing. A bit of practice will help you and soon you will begin to see how emphasizing one line over another changes the focus or meaning of your drawing.
I wrote another post on a different aspect of line, Are your visuals saying what you want? Part 1
Do you have other ways of exploring visual language? Some other way that has given you insight?
