Creativity and the Development of New Ideas: The Generative Potential of Visual Literacy
Brad Hokanson
University of Minnesota, USA
Abstract. The goal of this writing is to expand our understanding of visual literacy to include the capability to create and think using visual media. It begins with a reference to the way we ourselves work, think, and create. Following a brief examination of historical and contemporary descriptions of visual literacy, the current understanding of creativity is reviewed. How we create, whether internally through visualization or externally through distributed means is discussed. The use of external media to examine and develop ideas is mapped onto visual methods such as informal drawing, sketching, and thinking drawings. An examination of our own visual practices extend the scope of visual literacy to include thinking and creation.
Keywords: Creativity, distributed cognition, visual media, visual thinking