Visual Literacy & Instructional Aesthetics
This course treats design as pedagogy. Educators learn to construct clarity through hierarchy, layout, visual rhythm, and diagrammatic thinking—so that learners can see complex ideas, navigate them calmly, and remember them longer.
ADTL Fit: AICI 201 operationalizes ADTL’s Aesthetic Experience and Cognitive Design domains—turning visual choices into defensible learning architecture.
Define visual literacy in the classroom and identify how design choices shape attention, comprehension, and memory.
- Explain visual literacy as the ability to read, evaluate, and produce meaning through visual structure.
- Describe how visuals design attention (what is seen first) and interpretation (what is understood).
- Artifact Autopsy: analyze a slide/handout for hierarchy, clutter, and navigability.
- 3-Second Test: peer review what viewers notice first and what they miss.
- Visual Literacy Baseline: one annotated “before” artifact + diagnosis notes.
ADTL Connection: Builds Cognitive Design awareness through visual architecture.
Demonstrate mastery by defending your diagnosis of an artifact’s visual problems and proposing targeted redesign moves.
- Present 3 visual problems and 3 evidence points (where viewers get lost, overload, or misread priority).
- Propose 3 design moves that correct the problems without adding “visual noise.”
- What is the intended first-read? Is it happening?
- What is competing for attention?
- What could be removed without losing meaning?
Outcome: Revised diagnosis notes + redesign plan (no redesign yet—just precision).
Use hierarchy to establish priority, reduce cognitive load, and guide the learner through a clean thinking pathway.
- Apply 4 hierarchy controls: size, contrast, spacing, and placement.
- Create a “first-read → second-read → deep-read” pathway.
- One Slide, Three Hierarchies: redesign the same slide for (a) overview, (b) directions, (c) analysis.
- Attention Map: peers mark where the eye travels; revise for calmer flow.
- Hierarchy Pass Portfolio: original + 3 redesigned variations with rationale notes.
ADTL Connection: Hierarchy is Cognitive Design made visible.
Exhibit mastery by defending your hierarchy choices as learning supports, then revising through critique.
- Explain what each hierarchy move designs: attention, navigation, memory, or task clarity.
- Use evidence: peer attention maps + before/after comprehension checks.
- Revised hierarchy version + “Design Rationale Ledger” (5 decisions, 5 purposes).
Build reliable layout systems that create consistency, predictability, and calm navigation across instruction.
- Use grids and alignment to reduce noise and increase readability.
- Apply spacing as a “meaning tool” (grouping, separation, emphasis).
- Grid Retrofit: rebuild a cluttered page using a simple 2–3 column grid.
- Alignment Audit: correct misalignment patterns that break trust and clarity.
- Layout System Sheet: a repeatable template (title zone, directions zone, content zone, evidence zone).
ADTL Connection: Predictable layouts reduce cognitive load and stabilize attention.
Demonstrate mastery by critiquing your layout template for readability, accessibility, and navigational calm.
- Run a “navigation test” with peers: can they locate directions, content, and evidence within 5 seconds?
- Identify one accessibility improvement (contrast, font size, spacing, scanning).
- Revised template + short memo describing what changed and why it improves learning.
Use diagrams and concept maps to externalize thinking and make relationships visible and teachable.
- Distinguish decorative visuals from explanatory visuals.
- Build an annotated model that shows components and relationships.
- Diagram Upgrade: convert a paragraph into a labeled model.
- Concept Map Build: design a map that supports recall and synthesis.
- Diagram Pack: one annotated model + one concept map + rationale notes.
ADTL Connection: Diagramming is cognitive architecture turned into a visible interface.
Exhibit mastery by defending your diagram as an explanatory tool and revising it to increase teachability.
- Run a “teach test”: a peer uses your diagram to explain the concept back to you.
- Revise based on confusion points (labels, arrows, grouping, sequence).
- Final diagram + short reflection: “What my diagram makes possible for learners.”
Design pacing through visual rhythm: chunking, repetition, and calm transitions that reduce overload.
- Use repetition + pattern to increase predictability and ease.
- Redesign a sequence to stabilize attention across transitions.
- Slide Sequence Rhythm Pass: apply consistent headers, spacing, and “next step” cues.
- Chunk-to-Check: insert micro-checkpoints and reduce overlong blocks.
- Rhythm Sequence Pack: 6-slide mini-sequence or 2-page handout sequence with rationale.
ADTL Connection: Rhythm supports cognitive stamina and improves the feel of learning.
Demonstrate mastery by proving your sequence is navigable, calm, and instructionally coherent through critique evidence.
- Run a “student path test”: peers follow the sequence as if they are students—note confusion points.
- Revise to reduce friction using spacing, cues, and consistent patterning.
- Final sequence + navigation reflection: “Where learners got stuck and how I fixed it.”
Design an aesthetic that supports learning—calm, readable, and trustworthy—without turning instruction into decoration.
- Explain how tone is constructed through typography, spacing, color restraint, and consistency.
- Apply an aesthetic rule set that improves clarity and learner trust.
- Tone Dial Studio: set a tone (safe/curious/serene) and redesign to match it.
- Restraint Pass: remove clutter, reduce color noise, and increase whitespace intentionally.
- AICI 201 Visual Redesign Portfolio: curated before/after set + rationale + brief style rules.
ADTL Connection: Aesthetic Experience becomes measurable through defensible design choices and critique evidence.
Exhibit full course mastery through a critique defense of your redesign portfolio, revisions, and evidence of learner impact.
- Present your portfolio as a sequence of design decisions: problem → move → purpose → evidence → revision.
- Defend at least 8 design choices with cognitive/aesthetic rationale.
- Does the redesign reduce confusion and increase navigability?
- Is the aesthetic calm, consistent, and purpose-aligned?
- Is the rationale defensible (not preference-based)?
- Final revised portfolio + “Visual Design Rule Set” (5–7 rules you will reuse across instruction).
Mastery check: The final defense must connect design decisions to learner clarity and instructional effectiveness.