The aim of the study is to identify the qualitative features in the development of speech and expressive activity in children with various kinds of visual design. The notion of visual design in psychology lacks operational application. It is associated with such mental functions as planning, goal setting, unconsciousness and voluntary regulation.

The following research objectives were identified: to conceptualise the notion of visual design for children in pre-school age, to identify the main stages of its development and to determine the characteristics of graphic activity development at each stage. The study of fine arts activity involves analysis of narration which accompanies image drawing.

The paper identifies the stages of image plot development in preschool children: the image plot is not an interim plan, template plot, holistic plot. The periods of image plot will complement the existing classification (O. Dyachenko, Y. Poluyanov). The quality of drawing is dependent on the image plot, the ability to produce images of perception, the level of sign-symbolic substitution depends on image plot. The image plot is significantly correlates with the level of sign-symbolic substitution when a child composes his/her own story. To analyze children’s activity is necessary to consider the process of creating a drawing, which is accompanied by narration. In the paper the specific features of drawing a picture by children with different levels of image plot are described. Speech activity indicators in children with different levels of image plot are revealed.