Introduction to Visual Rhetoric
Visual Rhetoric Definition
• Is the “how to” of visual literacy• Visual rhetoric applies the rhetorical
situation to decision making about images and document layout
• Visual rhetoric understands that images carry meaning and can be analyzed and interpreted
• Visual rhetoric understands that design and images should assist the audience’s ability to read and understand
Rhetorical Situation
• Audience - those who will use the document; you must consider their previous experience with similar documents and the topic– Genre conventions matter - audiences have
expectations based on their previous experiences
• Purpose - what you want the document to accomplish
• Context - circumstances in which your readers use your document
Three Visual Parts of a Document
• The linguistic text – must be scannable and readable
• The white space – should be used to increase scannability and readability
• The visuals – should be tied into the purpose of the text and necessary to understanding
Continuum of Visuals
• Photorealism Cartoons
Design Strategies
• Arrangement
• Clarity
• Conciseness
• Tone
• Ethos
Arrangement
• Alignment
• Proximity
• Repetition
• Contrast
Alignment
• Items on the page are lined up with each other, both horizontally and vertically.
• There are three basic alignments: centered, left justified and right justified.
Proximity
• Refers to the relationships that items develop when they are close together.
• Implies items are related (for example, the bullets on this list appear related because they are in close proximity to each other).
Repetition
• Refers to the idea that designers should repeat certain elements to tie the disparate parts of a document together.
• Makes it seem like the individual pages or slides are all part of the same document or presentation.
Contrast
• Establishes a hierarchy of information
• Can be obtained by manipulating font (style and size), color, background designs, etc.
• Establishes a focal point
Clarity
• Helps the receiver decode the messages.
• Can be achieved through choice of readable typefaces - – Serif for body text
– Sans serif for headings and graphic (display)
• Enhanced through spacing between characters, choice of color
Conciseness
• Refers to the visual bulk and intricacy of the design
• Means generating designs that are appropriately succinct within a particular situation
• Achieved through controlling details in images, variations in size, ornateness, and spacing of text
Tone
• Demonstrates attitude toward readers and subject
• Achieved through style of type and images relative to subject and audience
Ethos
• Refers to building trusting relationship between writer and reader
• Sense of character and credibility established through creating both credible, interesting content and design that is appealing and useful in helping the audience read and
understand the document
Interdependence
• Each of these strategies is interdependent:
– with each other
– with the verbal content
Recap of Terms
• Arrangement– Contrast– Repetition– Alignment– Proximity
• Clarity• Conciseness• Tone• Ethos
Web Site Examples
• www.apple.com
• www.zingermans.com
• https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/awysocki/wysocki.html
Sources
Robin Williams’s The Non-Designer’s Design Book (Peachpit Press, 1994)
• Charles Kostelnick and David Roberts’s Designing Visual Language (Allyn and Bacon, 1998)
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