Consider the intended purpose, audience, and context(s) for the image use. Is the visual need for central support, illustrative, or meant to critique? What or who is the target audience? Is the desired reach and audience narrow or broad? What is the intended setting or medium of delivery?

University of Colorado at Boulder

- Determine your intent and purpose
- Define your criteria
- Devise essential terms
- Examine relevant use practices
- Examine sources
- Examine a variety of visual works
- Explore visual communication and adaptation



How to Define a Visual Media Need

"ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education", American Library Association, October 27, 2011. http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/visualliteracy (Accessed July 13, 2021).

ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education

Defining a Visual Media Need: Determine Your Intent and Purpose

Consider your specific image criteria.  Do you require a particular resolution, size, color, subject, object, or medium?

Defining a Visual Media Need: Define Your Criteria

Articulate key words, ideas, and descriptions for your image need.

Defining a Visual Media Need: Devise Essential Terms

Examine existing practices for context appropriate image use, such as a particular field of study or industry, and consider how that may affect your visual media needs.

Defining a Visual Media Need: Examine Relevant Use Practices

Explore and determine suitability of a variety of sources and the formats they offer.  Are certain publications, databases, museum repositories, or web resources more fitting for your purposes?

Defining a Visual Media Need: Examine Sources

Explore and determine suitability of visual material types. Are paintings, prints, photos, graphs, born-digital media, or perhaps animation useful to your intent and purpose?

Defining a Visual Media Need: Examine a Variety of Visual Works

Consider and examine the variety of ways visual media can convey information, such as maps, models, and graphs.  Consider how visual media can be altered or combined to communicate something new.

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