How to Become a Visual Thinker

An expression coined by psychologist Rudolf Arnheim in his 1969 book of the same name, visual thinking allows an individual to translate words into images. In his book Arnheim argued that images, not words, are the primary tool for thinking, and that perception precedes language, according to an article from Ryerson University. Learning how to become a visual thinker requires you to train your mind to freely associate words with images by using such aspects of cognition as personal association, questioning, speculating, analyzing, fact-finding and categorizing, explains researcher Philip Yenawine in his article "Thoughts on Visual Literacy."

Instructions

    • 1

      Examine different works of art, and practice commenting on them using stream-of-consciousness dialogue. Free associating what you see in the art will help train your mind to express images as words. The better you become at translating images into words, the easier it will become to translate words into images.

    • 2

      Form a narrative around the work of art you are examining. Storytelling requires the use of your senses, memories and personal connections, argues researcher Abigail Housen in her essay "Eye of the Beholder." By forming a narrative you begin training your mind to associate personal experiences with visual images.

    • 3

      Decode the art work by examining the how, when and where of what you are seeing. By classifying the work into these basic components, you begin training your mind to visualize the basic elements of time and place. For example, by examining a painting of children on a playground in this manner, you can begin using this image to visualize such terms as school, play and recess.

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