What is verbal description?

Also known as “audio description” or “visual description,” verbal description is the practice of interpreting key visual content into words. Descriptions can be spoken aloud or provided in writing, including for use with assistive technology. It is essential for people who are blind, and may communicate vital information to people with colorblindness or limited visual acuity.

Verbal description may also support comprehension for some people with cognitive or intellectual disabilities, such as people with attention and processing differences. It may also provide useful context for people who bring cultural experiences or expectations different from the assumed mainstream.

We all benefit when the implicit (what is only suggested, understood, or implied) is made explicit (directly expressed or clearly stated).

So then… what is “everyday” description?

Not all description happens in a gallery or a recording booth. “Everyday description” is how I think about the informal, low-stakes opportunity for verbal description that comes up naturally — telling a friend what's in a photo, narrating a meme, describing an outfit, or explaining why everyone’s laughing at a cat video. It doesn't call for the same level of preparation you’d expect for a museum audio guide, but it calls for a habit of mind you can reach for on the spot. The best practices I present here help you develop a mental framework to more easily build that habit.

Everyday description is often spontaneous, with little or no opportunity to prepare — consider it a mental muscle you build with practice!

Steps to consider

Focus on what is essential for the listener to understand about the visual, presented in terms of its function.

Why is the image present?

• What information does the visual present?

• What would be lost if that image weren't there?

What key details help the listener understand the visual qualities of the image related to its function?

• Is there a title or caption?

• What is the subject of the image? What do you notice first?

• What are the most basic parts of the visual element that are needed to convey information?

• Remain objective — the visual is not its interpretation (but you may provide both).

What is a succinct way to present that information?

• Consider providing a description scaled to the visual itself and the importance of that visual.

Some Best Practices

• Avoid “we see” and instead prefer declarative statements (such as “There is…” or “The photograph shows…”).

• Go from the general to the specific.

• Describe yourself when appropriate, including race, gender, age range, hair, clothing, and interesting visual details like tattoos or jewelry, if it seems relevant.

• Identity matters: describing race, gender, and/or disabilities is often important information, but consider the impact of revealing, assuming, or ascribing descriptions to others.

  • Unless you know how someone identifies in race or ethnicity, generally use “dark skin,” “brown skin,” or “light skin.”

• Describe gestures, including emotional gestures, when appropriate (e.g. “in air quotes”).

• Decorative elements generally don't need description if they aren't serving a function or providing additional information.

  • Consider whether an image's function is to provide a “visual break” or to reinforce a concept.

• Graphs and charts can be summarized.

  • Include the title and relevant axes.

  • Summarize the data's findings, not every data point — what does the chart show?

  • Note: presenting what the data shows and interpreting the graph are two different things.

• Neutrality: In theory, a description will give a neutral account of the image that allows the viewer to ascribe their own meaning. However, all awareness is situational – consider what we bring with us as we see something – or what is revealed by what we don’t see.

  • Consider personal preferences and contextual understandings where it may make sense to be less neutral. Sometimes we need poetry.