Visual communication and social change

Abstract

This chapter explores visual communication in the context of communication for social change with a major focus on the field of information and knowledge exchange in agriculture and rural development, formerly termed agricultural and rural extension. The specifics of visual communication, the appropriateness and effectiveness of visual communication in rural development, and social change processes are addressed proceeding from early understandings of visual communication to contemporary views. Reviewing work experiences, the authors searched for an analysis of the praxis and the very realities of visual communication and social change. The chapter concludes by arguing that, in contemporary visual communication, acknowledging diverse professionalisms, centralizing the importance of design thinking, and recognizing social imaginaries as options for visual communication in social dialogues are of crucial importance.