Visual Rhetoric for
Student Writers
Purdue Writing Lab
Overview
• This presentation will cover
– Definition(s) of visual rhetoric
– Why visual rhetoric is important today
– Visual rhetoric and
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•
•
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Text
Color
Graphics
Overall design
What is Visual Rhetoric?
• Definitions and applications
– Use of images as argument
– Arrangement of elements on a page
– Use of typography (fonts, etc.)
– Analysis of existing images and visuals
What is Visual Rhetoric?
Visual Literacy
Visual Thinking
Metaphoric
Thinking
Visualization
Source of
Imagery
Right Brain/
Left Brain
Mental Nodes
Visual
Communication
Visual Learning
Design of
Materials
Read Pictures
Research on
Learning
Art
Media
Visual Rhetoric
Aesthetics
Why is Visual Rhetoric
Important?
• We use visual thinking as a major part
of our cognition (thinking process)
• We live in a visually dominated world,
so…
• We must be able to read, dissect, and
produce effective visuals
Why is Visual Rhetoric
Important?
“Visual thinking pervades all human activity,
from the abstract and the theoretical to the
down-to-earth and everyday…”
Robert McKim, Experiences in Visual Thinking, 1980
Visual Rhetoric and…
• Text elements
– How type functions and choosing fonts
– Headline versus body text
– Text and the Web
• Color
• Visuals and graphics
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–
–
Clip art
Illustrations and diagrams
Graphs
Photographs and manipulated images
• Overall design
How Type Functions
• “Personalities” of type
– Formal and informal fonts
– Consequences and font choices
• Consider effect of font choice
• Personality and appropriateness
Font Personalities Example
Choosing Appropriate Fonts
• Font choice will build or harm
ethos (author’s credibility)
– Context and purpose of document is
important
– Cultural and visual associations of
fonts should fit document
Font Choice Example 1
Font Choice Example 2
Headline Versus Body Text
• How text functions
– Type of text dictates font choice
• Emphasis and attention
• Information
– Sustained readability
Headline & Body Text Example
Text and the Web
• Differences between print and the
Web
– Accommodating users and browsers
– HTML standard fonts
– Screen readability
Color and Contrast
• Most basic and critical choice
– Black text on white background
shows high contrast and is most
common
– White text on black background is
not ideal
Font Contrast Example
Computer Screens and Color
• Pixels and colors on screen
– RGB values
– Color saturation
• Cultural associations of color
More Color Examples
Clip Art
• Using packaged clip art
– Avoid the “cartoony” effect
– Choose clip art that truly fits the
purpose of the document
– Match design schemes
• Consider creating images
Clip Art Examples
Illustrations and Diagrams
• Purpose to inform
– Conveys specific information
– Relates to content in document
– More than an accent
• Striving for clarity
– Avoid clutter
– Choose selective pictures of reality
– Break up large amounts of information
Graphs
• Choosing how to represent
quantitative information
– Pie charts and showing parts of a whole
– Bar graphs and numeric comparisons
– Line graphs and plotting changes
Photographs
• Found images versus captured
photographs
– Copyright
– Composition and quality
• Achieving effects with photos
Photo Examples
Overall Design
• Creating paths for the eye
– Striking, eye-catching elements
– Finding information easily
• Design as rhetorical organization
• Consistency in design
– Avoid “kitchen-sink syndrome”
– Pitfalls of pre-fab templates
Stepping Back
• Is your design clarifying your information?
• Is your design unique enough to make it stand
out?
• Is your design readable from its intended
distance?
• Have you checked for typos and errors?
• When designing for the Web, have you
checked your design on different computers
and in different browsers?
Additional Resources
• The Non-Designer’s Design Book and The
Non-Designer’s Web Book, both by Robin
Williams
• Color Index by Jim Krause
• Idea Index by Jim Krause
• What is Graphic Design? by Quentin
Newark
For More Assistance
The Writing Lab at Purdue
226 Heavilon Hall
765-494-3723
OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu
The End