DESIGN THINKING
Designing and Interpreting Visual Media
Places can convey messages. Chartres Cathedral, general view from northwest, Chartres, France. ©Davis Art Images.
Marty Rayala
On television, “messages” is sometimes a code word for “advertisements” as in, “We’ll be right back
after these messages.” This helps us
remember that messages are often
intended to persuade us rather than
inform us. Students need to learn that
all messages have a sender, and that it
is important to know the identity and
intent of that sender.
clothing or car, for example, sends a
message about him or her as a per-
son. Do they want to be seen as rich,
smart, sexy, sensible, thoughtful, or
caring? What messages do the people
intend to send and
do the messages
match the real-
ity? Designers are
experts at creating
products that send
messages we want to see.
Designers are experts at
creating products that send
messages we want to see.
Visual Media Contain Messages
The analysis of media messages is
called “media literacy” which, for art
teachers, can be thought of as being
included in the “criticism” domain
of Discipline-Based Art Education
(DBAE). The intent of media literacy
is to create critical viewers. In media
literacy, students learn that media
messages are constructions crafted
and selected for a particular purpose.
Students are taught to understand that
these messages construct the way we
look at the world—we are shaped by
the messages we see.
Objects Send Messages
Not all messages take the shape of
words or pictures. In design education,
students learn to understand, interpret, and create messages in the form
of images, objects, places, and experiences. A person’s choice of objects like
Continued on page 51.
Places Convey Messages
Places can also convey messages. A
bank or a government building often
conveys messages of power, importance, stability, tradition, or trustworthiness. Over time, the placement of
buildings has conveyed what is important in a culture. In some communities the tallest buildings were once
churches. Today they may be government buildings, and in other commu-
