Every Child Needs
a Family
• Emily Certain’s Visual Rhetoric Presentation
Background info.
• This picture conveys
the helplessness of
children in our
everyday world.
• Families represent
love, care, homes,
clothing, food, and
other aspects that
children need in their
lives.
Background info. Con’t
• unicef is a global
Humanitarian Relief
organization for Children.
Their main goal is to do
whatever it takes to save
a child.
• Unicef provides children
with health care, clean
water, nutrition,
education, emergency
relief, and more.
Reaction
• What did you first
think when you saw
this picture? What
were your primary
reactions?
• Did you have any
secondary reactions?
My original reaction to this picture was
very emotional. As in, I almost swelled
up with tears. I thought about how
some children in this world don’t have
parents, and seeing this little girl, I
thought that she doesn’t even know
what parents are supposed to look like,
feel like, act like, etc.
My secondary reaction was that I told
myself to just think that this girl lost her
parents in the store and are trying to
find them. This helped me regain my
composure.
Symbolism
• The largest example of
symbolism is obviously
the mannequins
staging as parents
• The font symbolizes
that a child wrote it,
and believes that they
need parents as well
Juxtaposition
• The juxtaposition in
this photo is the
small child against
the large
mannequins. Also the
difference in their
skin color.
Font
• The font in this visual is
very important. Since is
looks as a child wrote it, we
know that adults aren’t the
only ones who feel that
“every child needs a
family.” A child wrote this,
which means that they
know that they need a
family. They know that they
are missing a vital piece of
their life. They know that
something is missing.
Appeal: Logos
• The logical appeal is that
it makes people think
what children are like
around the world who
have no idea about
parents or parental
figures in their lives.
Appeal: Ethos
Unicef is working in over
150 countries as a
global humanitarian
relief organization, so
many people around
the world know about
them. Unfortunate
children are not just a
problem in America.
They’re everywhere.
Appeal: Pathos
• I believe that Pathos is
the most dominant
appeal. At least, it is to
me. My heart ached
for this little girl the
second I realized what
she was doing. Other
people feel sympathy
towards her because
they realize that she is
less fortunate than
they are.
Audience
• The audience of this
picture is anyone
looking at visuals
through a magazine,
online, on billboards,
etc.
• The audience could
also be any unicef
supporter, designer,
fan, etc.
Vantage Point
• Vantage Point is the angle
or position that a photo
was taken at. This photo
was taken almost head
on, or directly in front of
the store window.
• What would this photo
lose if it was placed at a
different angle? (far
away, the back of the
mannequins, etc.)
If the vantage point was
changed, I think that we
would lose a lot of this
pictures meaning. If we were
looking at it from far away,
we probably would not be
able to read the writing, and
think that the little girl just
wants to be in the shop
window and examine the
mannequins. If we were
looking at the scene from
behind, we would also think
the same thing.
Layout
• Foreground: we see the text
“every child needs a family” in a
childs handwriting, on a store
window.
• Background: we see the 2
mannequins, the little girl, and a
short glimpse of the store
• Omission: what we don’t see, is
the little girls real parents, or
the rest of the store. Which
really contributes to the photos
overall meaning.
Extra Thought to Ponder
I think that a single or
divorced parent would
not like the meaning of
this visual for one very
specific reason.
Single/divorced parents
work VERY hard for their
children. Multiple jobs,
late nights, all of the
responsibilities of
parenthood, without a
spouse to share it with.
• Did you ever once
think about how a
single or divorced
parent would feel
about this visual? I
have no experience
with either, but I
think that they would
disagree with the text
greatly. Why so?
Bibliography
• Picture:
http://www.outlawdesignblog.com/2008/103really-cool-advertisements/