A Picture is Worth One Thousand Words?

This is the original "Chinese proverb" from a streetcar advertisement. The quotation has wrongly been translated as: A Picture Is Worth One Thousand Words. In fact, the literal translation is: A Picture's Meaning Can Express Ten Thousand Words.

Somehow the phony Chinese proverb over the years has been given the literal meaning that a picture is equivalent to a thousand words setting up a clash between words and pictures in the minds of users of the two. With the correct interpretation of the proverb, words and pictures live in harmony as they are both used equally in order to understand the meaning of any work that uses them both.

This makes perfect sense for websites!  Some designers will use more visuals that cause an emotion and/or reaction while other designers love to use words with very little visuals.  Which is correct?  Well, as it states above, words and pictures should live in harmony for the best representation of your message or business. 

Here is an example:  Let's say I were to use a picture that best describes my personality, I would definitely use this image.  Some people would see this as a positive showing me as a person with a sense of humor and finding time to relax, while others would see it as a negative such as lazy or not smart enough to read something more educational (even though I have learned many life lessons from reading these).

I would have to use words with this image to explain that I have read the "funny pages" from the Sunday paper since I was 8 years old and making time for this long standing tradition keeps me smiling all week long.  Now, the words and the image are working together to create an emotion that will create a better understanding of the person behind MPower Plus ONE!