visual metaphor
Image representing concept
A visual metaphor uses imagery to suggest likeness between unlike things—a picture of a lightbulb above someone's head representing an idea, or a heart pierced by an arrow representing romantic love.
Unlike verbal metaphors, visual metaphors communicate through pictures rather than words, though they work the same way conceptually.
Advertising, film, and political cartoons rely heavily on visual metaphors: The campaign poster showed a ship navigating stormy seas.
- photomontageCombined image artwork
- double exposureTwo photographs on one frame
- symbolismRepresenting concepts through images
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
- personificationAttributing humanity to non-humans
analogy · illustration · figurative · iconography · hidden meaning · conceptual art · surrealism · dream logic · juxtaposition · broken mirror · advertising · stock imagery · branding · simile · semiotics · storytelling · mental image · representation
- literary devicessimile, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia
- visual cultureiconography, semiotics, symbols, signs, image analysis
- artistic metaphorsymbolism, allegory, color symbolism, poetic imagery
- cartoon elementssingle panel, caption, punchline, sight gag, ink drawing
- editorial cartoonseditorial cartoon, political cartoon, political satire, caricature, cartoonist
- figurative languagesimile, figure of speech, analogy, personification, figures of speech