Visual Literacy Today is an ongoing conversation about visual literacy, a field of study and practice that explores how we see and interpret images, how we use visuals to convey meaning and what it means to be literate in a digital age.

This website is home to Dana Statton Thompson’s Recommended Reads, an extensive, annotated bibliography of visual literacy. Whether you are new to visual literacy or a seasoned expert, this reading list gives an excellent snapshot of research across the breadth of the field.

We welcome contributions from readers, academics, artists and practitioners – feel free to contact the editor, Kristen Harrison, at kristen@thecurvedhouse.com.

About the Publishers

The Curved House is a European publishing company specializing in projects that bring together the arts, literacy and education. The Curved House publish the online ekphrastic writing anthology, Visual Verse, for artists and writers, and they design engaging STEM-literacy programmes for children in collaboration with museums and organisations.
Find out more about The Curved House

The International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA) is a not-for-profit association of researchers, educators, designers, media specialists, and artists dedicated to the principles of visual literacy. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in visual literacy and the annual conference of the IVLA is a unique event exploring visual literacy in all its forms.
Find out more about the IVLA >
Become an IVLA member today >

About the Editors

Kristen Harrison is the founder and Publisher at The Curved House and a former board member at the International Visual Literacy Association. She worked in both production and editorial for Penguin UK before founding the Curved House in 2011. In 2013, Kristen started a children’s publishing arm, Curved House Kids, which focusses entirely on education using visual tools and methodologies. Her primary interest is looking at ways to improve education that align it with the experiences of digital-native children.

Dana Statton Thompson is a research and instruction librarian and assistant professor at Murray State University where she teaches courses on information literacy. Her research and teaching interests focus on the intersection of visual literacy and news literacy, the integration of visual literacy instruction into higher education, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She serves as a member of the board of directors for the International Visual Literacy Association and is an Institute for Research Design in Librarianship scholar.