Pictorial Communication – The Best Alternative to the Written Word?

Abstract

There is a universal consensus amongst visual communication researchers and primary health workers that in the face of the illiteracy and cross-cultural factors, pictorial communication often provides the best alternative to the written word in the design of health campaign messages. Pictures used in the design of these health messages for example for an Oral Rehydration therapy project should be explicit and not abstract, and the audience should understand it without difficulty. Images used are tested with representatives of the target audience to ensure that they are understandable, appropriate and attractive. Audience research is necessary for the design of health campaign messages as it provides proper dissemination of the message intended for the target audience. Pictorial literacy that is the ability to read pictures is the result of an informal educational process. This skill probably develops in proportion to the amount of visual stimulation to which the individual is exposed to his environment. Pictures used should be those familiar to the target audience. Pictorial communication helps to stimulate imagination, motivate action and give a clearer understanding of the campaign message. This paper looks at the significance of pictures as it relates to the dissemination of health campaign message to rural mothers and non – literate patients.

Keywords: Pictorial, Symbols, Village people