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Introduction To Visual Rhetoric: Theory, Practice, and Method English 505: Tech Mentoring

This document provides an introduction to visual rhetoric. It discusses why visual rhetoric is important and relevant, defining it as a form of communication that uses images to create meaning or construct an argument. It outlines some major concerns in visual rhetoric, including poststructuralist analysis and going beyond just aesthetics to consider expression and argumentation. It also discusses invisible visual rhetoric in elements like formatting and font choices. The document provides examples of analyzing visual elements like logos, photos, and fonts from a rhetorical perspective. It stresses the importance of providing students with language to discuss visual elements.

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604 views19 pages

Introduction To Visual Rhetoric: Theory, Practice, and Method English 505: Tech Mentoring

This document provides an introduction to visual rhetoric. It discusses why visual rhetoric is important and relevant, defining it as a form of communication that uses images to create meaning or construct an argument. It outlines some major concerns in visual rhetoric, including poststructuralist analysis and going beyond just aesthetics to consider expression and argumentation. It also discusses invisible visual rhetoric in elements like formatting and font choices. The document provides examples of analyzing visual elements like logos, photos, and fonts from a rhetorical perspective. It stresses the importance of providing students with language to discuss visual elements.

Uploaded by

mpepper5122
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Visual Rhetoric

Theory, Practice,
and Method

English 505:
Tech Mentoring
Why Care? Or: but the essay’s been working
fine!!!

Not an either/or situation


Responsive to calls for multi-literacies within
composition pedagogy
It’s in the course title
Real world practicality/applicability
Students enjoy it
Definitions: or: Ever notice rhetoricians can’t
agree on the definition of anything?

Quickest definition:
a form of communication that uses images to create
meaning or construct an argument
At the core:
the idea that visuality and materiality are important
parts of creating meaning within any communicative
act
Major Concerns: or: what’s at the bottom of
all this?

Poststructuralist Analysis

Beyond the Aesthetic

Expression or
Argumentation
Poststructa-what?: or give me the jist
Sign: what is seen, read, or experienced
Signified: what is meant or interpreted

PS abandons the primacy of authorially intended


meaning of a signifier
PS teases out the infinite multiplicity of the signifier
PS asserts sign/signifier interpretation is historically,
culturally, and socially situated
Invisible Visual Rhetoric: or: that
sounds kinda cool, huh?

Margins use alignment to guide the


eye downward smoothly

Black words on white paper allow


for maximum contrast

Just the right amount of space


between words allows for proximity
of connection but also distinctive
elements

Flimsy weakness of paper suggests


the ephemeral and
temporary nature of the work?
Invisible Not Natural: or: on checking
your assumptions

These visual conventions


of the essay are
normalized, not normal
These are cultural
conventions that have
developed socially
over time.
The Culprit: or: Standards, standards,
standards
Cultural Associations: or: you don’t see
what I see

Good opening question for any visual


rhetorical analysis:

What do you
notice here?
Forward pushing motion suggests a
“let’s go to work” mentality
The figure of the
Boilermaker suggests
blue-collar, hard-working
determination.

Muted gold suggests


potential riches while
He’s white. He’s a he. remaining humble
What do you make of
this?

Heavy on top, skinny


on bottom suggests
strength and swiftness

And how do these relate to the purpose, audience,


and context of a mascot figure?
Cultural Associations: or they just keep
on coming!

Color in Motion
http://www.mariaclaudiacortes.com/

Using Fonts with Purpose


http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/705/01/
Beyond Aesthetics: or: it looks cool but so
what? We ain’t an art class!

If the appearance of all these things are bound up with


cultural/personal associations we can actively use them
to add meaning to our compositions

And this we can we build into assignments, ask to be


written about, and even evaluate
Student Example: or some simple looking
complexity
Student Example: or: does this make an
argument to you?
Give Them Definitions!: or “The Limits
of my language are the limits of my world”

Students have long been given language to talk about:


Essays (thesis, transitions, conclusions)
Literature (themes, plots, characters, moral)
Grammar (noun, verb, adjective, prepositional)

But too often they are expected to analyze the visual


with little more than “that looks good,” or “that looks
ugly”
Visual Language: or: tell me more about
these new words I may have to teach

Fonts
Serifs
Weight
Personality
Colors
Saturation
Contrast
Photos
Rule-of-Thirds
Cropping
Photographic Language: or: beyond the
point-and-click

Rule of Thirds: Zone


Division in a photo where
placing the focus point on
an intersection tends to
create more tension,
energy, and interest than
mere centering.
Photographic Language: or: beyond the
point-and-click

Cropping: Much more than simply removing unwanted parts of a


photo, cropping is a rhetorical decision that alters the mood and focus of
the piece and the emotion impact/relationship on the audience.

Does he appear
Does he appear
more friendly,
removed- friendly
relatable, ready to
yet somewhat
talk?
unapproachable?
CRAP: or: get your minds out of the gutter!
Robin William’s beginning design principles for quick
and dirty visual rhetoric

Contrast
Repetition
Alignment
Proximity

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