For most, seeing comes before words. Before you can read or write or speak, you can see--and just as your written and spoken language skills can be improved, so can your ability to look and see things. We call these skills "Visual Literacy".
The Association of College & Research Libraries defines Visual Literacy as:
Visual literacy is a set of abilities that enables an individual to effectively find, interpret, evaluate, use, and create images and visual media. Visual literacy skills equip a learner to understand and analyze the contextual, cultural, ethical, aesthetic, intellectual, and technical components involved in the production and use of visual materials. A visually literate individual is both a critical consumer of visual media and a competent contributor to a body of shared knowledge and culture.
In an interdisciplinary, higher education environment, a visually literate individual is able to: