illustrativitet

Illustrativitet is a term used in Scandinavian humanities to describe the quality or degree to which something functions as an illustration—clarifying, exemplifying, or making an idea visible through images, examples, or metaphor. It encompasses how effectively a depiction or example makes a concept concrete and intelligible. The concept is applied across disciplines such as pedagogy, visual culture, journalism, design, literature, and film studies. In analysis, illustrativitet is not mere decoration; it concerns the communicative power of text and image and how well the illustration supports argument, understanding, or memory.

Assessing illustrativitet involves several criteria: relevance to the concept or claim, accuracy of representation, clarity of the illustration, accessibility to the intended audience, and proportionality between illustration and argument. The aim is to determine how effectively the illustration aids comprehension without oversimplifying or distorting the issue.

Examples and techniques that enhance illustrativitet include diagrams and charts, concrete exempla, vivid metaphors, and well-chosen imagery that maps abstract ideas to familiar referents. Conversely, high abstraction without illustration tends to reduce illustrativitet, especially for audiences requiring concrete grounding.

Illustrativitet is related to broader concepts in visual culture and communication, including intermediality, visual rhetoric, and exemplification. In scholarly writing and design practice, it is often analyzed to understand how text and image reinforce each other to improve comprehension, retention, or engagement.

See also: intermediality, visual rhetoric, exemplification, pedagogy.