Imageryimages

Imageryimages is a neologism used in some approaches to media studies and cognitive science to describe the interplay between external images and the internal mental imagery they evoke. The term denotes a conceptual space in which pictures, scenes, and visual symbols trigger sensory representations, feelings, and associations in viewers, while language and culture influence how those representations are constructed and interpreted.

The concept is not widely standardized and appears mainly in niche discussions or authorial attempts to capture bidirectional relations between outward imagery and internal imagery processes. It is distinct from purely literary notions of imagery in that it foregrounds the interactive loop between what is seen and what is imagined, as well as how context modulates that loop.

Scope and components include visual art, photography, film, advertising, and digital media. Imageryimages investigates how image features such as color, composition, texture, motion cues, and narrative framing contribute to vivid mental pictures. It also considers viewer differences—age, culture, prior knowledge—that shape imagery vividness and emotional resonance.

Applications span education, design, and communication. In education, it supports visual literacy by teaching how images convey multimodal meaning and how to interpret implied sensory content. In design and advertising, it informs strategies to maximize recall and emotional impact. In accessibility, it emphasizes alternative cues so imagery communicates to individuals who rely on non-visual channels. Methods include perceptual experiments, eye-tracking, memory tests, and qualitative interviews. See also mental imagery, visual rhetoric, imageability, iconography.