Text or Graphic: An Information Processing Perspective on Choosing the More Effective Medium

<jats:p>While the written word is usually an exceptionally efficient medium of expression, visual media may offer a superior alternative to prose for the communication of some kinds of information. Writers and editors will be best equipped to choose the appropriate medium if their decisions are informed by an understanding of the differences in information processing demands that their choices impose on their readers. The following article examines the kinds of cognitive challenges verbal and visual media present to readers in their efforts to extract meaning from a message.</jats:p>