Visual metaphor
A visual metaphor uses an image or visual element to represent an idea through an implied comparison, without stating that comparison in words.
Metaphor: A figure of speech that describes one thing in terms of another to suggest a meaningful comparison. Visual metaphor transfers metaphorical comparison from words to visible forms.
Advertising: The paid communication of messages intended to promote products, services, or ideas. Advertisers use compressed visual comparisons to make product claims memorable.
Visual semiotics: The study of how images, signs, and visual conventions produce meaning. It explains how visual elements acquire meanings that metaphors can redirect.
Pictogram: A simplified picture used to represent an object, action, or instruction. A pictogram usually depicts its subject directly rather than comparing it with another idea.
Metonymy: A figure of speech that names something through an associated person, place, object, or attribute. It uses association rather than the cross-domain comparison central to visual metaphor.
Editorial cartoon: A drawing that comments on current events or public affairs, often using caricature and symbolism. Cartoonists use visual metaphors to turn political arguments into instantly legible scenes.
Iconicity: The resemblance between a sign and what it represents. Resemblance helps viewers recognize the image that supplies a metaphor’s source.
Visual pun: An image that exploits two meanings or interpretations of a word, form, or symbol. Visual puns create double readings through ambiguity, while metaphors center on comparison.
Visual analogy: A visual comparison that shows a relationship between two subjects through corresponding features or structures. It can make the comparison explicit by showing parallel structures rather than substituting one image for another.
Infographic: A visual presentation that combines graphics and text to communicate information or data. Infographics use visual substitutions to make abstract quantities and relationships easier to grasp.