I have shared that Ringling College of Art and Design cultivates creativity, the one human skill that cannot be automated. I have asserted we provide students with the skills to apply technology in innovative ways to express their creativity, be it a painting, a movie or a business plan. I have described the ways we empower our community to relearn how to be creative. I have declared throughout this series Ringling College matters because we help our students and our community build these right-brain skills I believe will be so crucial to success in the fast-approaching Creative Age.

In this installment of the series, I will describe reason No. 4 Ringling College of Art and Design matters. Here it is: It is a visual, visual world.

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” “I am a visual learner.”  We have all heard people we know say these phrases; perhaps we have even said them ourselves. It turns out LOTS of people are visual learners and that is why a picture IS worth a thousand words.

Businesses have also learned about the importance of visual communication. We have seen a meteoric rise in the popularity of image-based platforms like Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat. We have seen businesses move to image-heavy advertising and websites.

What is the cause of this explosion of image-based communication? It is happening because businesses realized this vital fact about their consumers – they are indeed visual learners.

I know you are likely thinking: Of course the President of Ringling College of Art and Design would argue the world is heavily visual. After all, focusing on visual communication in its various forms is our bread-and-butter. We are among the top tier of art and design colleges exploring visual communications across our 13 different disciplines and with numerous kinds of media. Unsurprisingly, our college community is filled with visual learners and communicators.

The important point, however, is that those students pursuing an education in creative fields and their faculty are not the only visual learners. There is no way this relatively small population could drive the creation and sustain the success of so many image-heavy offerings or account for the 100-percent annual increase in mobile consumption of video content reported by Forbes. That kind of trend has to come from a larger community. And it does. According to the Social Science Research Network, 65 percent of us are visual learners.

Why does the fact that many of us learn visually matter? Why do I include it in my series about why Ringling College matters? It matters because understanding how people learn, retain and act on information helps us to communicate our messages more effectively and meaningfully to those viewing or listening to us. Knowing how the majority of our audience will best process our messages informs the ways we choose to present information.

Think about the impact of that realization. Sure, it can help us sell more products; but, it can also help us advance as a society. Imagine the progress that we can make in addressing societal challenges by using visual communications – a language that we now know is broadly understood - to frame discourse around difficult topics and concepts. Well-designed images and visuals can cross languages, cultures, perspectives and geographies in ways words and translations can never hope to do. In short, visual communicators are more effective communicators.

At Ringling College, we truly believe in the potential of visual communication, for business and entertainment and for social progress. We prepare our students for that world in which their creativity can have a bigger purpose. We teach them to speak a language many others understand – the language of images. We teach them to use their creativity to craft visuals that tell stories, convey intangible concepts, impart messages, spark discussion and help solve problems.

Once we are able to communicate in a way most people can understand, regardless of language, culture or perspective, well, then we can change the world.

Dr. Larry R. Thompson is president of Ringling College of Art and Design.