Visualizations are being used to represent information that cannot be portrayed otherwise or is better organized in a visual form. Images express a certain idea that the creator is trying to convey. It catches the attention of people in a way that plain text just would not do. They are used in advertisements, business proposals, school and team logos, and in commercials. We have evolved to become people that like to SEE something in order to learn, or like to be read to while we look at its representation. It is easier, quicker, and keeps up with the fast-paced society that we live in.
A message is represented in a small icon or picture, and if the reader correctly links the icon to the message or idea behind it, it works. For example, the Windows logo and Nike check mark are each associated with the companies that they symbolize. As long as people recognize them, the corporations are making a profit. It is easier to get your business advertized if you use a symbol rather than a paragraph because it is better remembered.
We can understand the information a lot better through visualization. It helps to see the process of doing something or have it shown to us. We are a lot more likely to pick up on the action faster than we would have if directions were read. It is like when we all learned fractions, I know I did not understand just through speaking and writing. I had to use objects like pizza to represent the halves, thirds, fourths, and eighths of a whole.
In addition, images and visualization can be used for artistic purposes. An artist expresses a certain emotion through their work and leaves it up to his fans to interpret it as they want. In this way, text would ruin their objective. Also, comic books are primarily visual text, they provide pictures and the reader can follow the story by the actions of the characters through images and minimal text that they speak.
It is useful that we can understand complex ideas and concepts through simple images. For visual stimulation, we have created a website with tasteful images and colors in our project. It is appealing to see pictures because it breaks up the text. Sometimes it works out that by displaying a picture, it describes an idea better than words could attempt. We incorporated many pictures so that our readers can not only follow along with the story of the Magna Carta, but visualize the plot in their heads. The text can be better understood if we picture and imagine it through our own interpretations and therefore relate it to everyday life. Our project can be best displayed if we have a comic book style way of showing the events. We could have King John angering the barons, King John signing the Magna Carta, and then England after document is established. This way, novices can actually see what the story of the Magna Carta consists of without having to bore themselves with lengthy texts.