The interactive multimedia application described here attempts to provide learners and teachers with a common frame of reference for communicating about visual media. The system is based on a list of concepts related to composition, and illustrates those concepts with photographs, paintings, graphic designs, and motion picture scenes. The ability to read the meaning of a picture is valuable. Familiarity with pictorial composition and the vocabulary used to communicate about it will increase our awareness as consumers of information, preventing victimization and manipulation by visual imagery. As illustrated through this project, attention to composition provides visual literacy educators with a starting point for guiding learners of all ages toward the necessary skills of reading and writing visual images. Through the analysis of compositional elements, students can evaluate the choices made by professional visual designers. Students capable of integrating these analytical skills into their own work will be more effective visual communicators. (Contains 11 references.) (MAS)