We consider the problem of information dissemination in wireless ad-hoc networks. Capacity constraints and the varying needs of applications lead to the need for delivering data at varying resolutions as a function of distance. We introduce a primitive, which we call visibility, to quantify the variable-resolution requirement. We design and analyze new variable resolution multicast algorithms based on simple probabilistic schemes to achieve a required visibility. We also examine how multi-path effects influence visibility and propagation algorithms. Finally, we consider the problem of designing the visibility function to maximize an overall utility function (specified by applications) over the network. We derive a condition relating optimal utility and visibility, which can be used to derive the optimal visibility for a class of utility functions.