VISUAL RHETORIC
FOR
STUDENT WRITERS
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Overview
Main Points:
• Definition(s) of visual rhetoric
• Why visual rhetoric is important today
• Visual rhetoric and
• Text
• Color
• Graphics
• Overall design
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What is Visual
Rhetoric?
Visual Rhetoric includes:
• The use of images as an argument;
• The arrangement of elements on a page;
• The use of typography (fonts, etc.); and
• The analysis of existing images and visuals.
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What is Visual
Literacy? Visual Literacy
Visual Thinking Visual Learning
Co
Metaphoric Design of Read Pictures
Visualization Art
Thinking Materials
Source of Research on
Imagery Learning
Right Brain/
Left Brain
Mental Nodes
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Why is Visual
Rhetoric Important?
Visual Rhetoric matters because…
• 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.
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Visual Rhetoric
and…
Text elements
• How type functions and choosing appropriate fonts
• Headline versus body text
• Text and the Web
Color
Visuals and graphics
• Clip art
• Illustrations and diagrams
• Graphs
• Photographs and manipulated images
Overall design
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How Type Functions
Type has different “Personalities”:
• There are formal and informal fonts
• The consequences of font choices:
• Consider the effect of each font
• What is the selected font’s personality
and appropriateness?
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Font Personalities
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Choosing Appropriate
Fonts
Your font choice can either build or harm your
ethos (credibility) as an author.
The context and purpose of the document is
important.
The cultural and visual associations of the
fonts should fit the purpose of the document.
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Font Choice:
Example 1
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Font Choice:
Example 2
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Headline versus
Body Text
How text functions:
• Type of text dictates font choice:
• Emphasis and attention
• Information
• Sustained readability
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Headline and Body
Text Example
13
Text and the Web
There are text and type differences between print
and the Web.
When choosing type for the Web, consider:
• Accommodating users and browsers;
• HTML standard fonts; and
• Screen readability.
Color and Contrast
Color is the most basic and most
critical choice you, as an author, can
make:
• Black text on white background shows high
contrast and is the most common choice.
• White text on a black background , however, is
not ideal.
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Font Contrast:
Example
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Computer Screens
and Color
vs.
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More Color
Examples
• Pixels and colors are different
on screen than in print
• RGB values
• Color saturation
• Cultural associations of
color
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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 instead!
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Clip Art Examples
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Illustrations and
Diagrams
Visuals to inform:
• Convey specific information
• Relate to content in the document
• Are more than an accent
Striving for visual clarity:
• Avoid clutter
• Choose selective pictures of reality
• Break up large amounts of information
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Graphs
Choosing how to represent
quantitative information:
•Pie charts – showing parts of a whole
•Bar graphs – numeric comparisons
•Line graphs – plotting changes
22
Photographs
Found images vs. captured
photographs
Considerations:
• Copyright
• Composition and quality
• Achieving effects with photos
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Photo Examples
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Overall Design
Design Considerations:
1. Creating paths for the eye:
• Striking, eye-catching
elements.
• Finding information easily.
2. Design as rhetorical
organization
3. Consistency in design:
• Avoid “kitchen-sink syndrome.”
• Pitfalls of pre-fab templates.
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Stepping Back
To evaluate your design, ask
yourself:
• 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
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checked your design on different
Additional
Resources
The Non-Designer’s Design Book and The Non-Designer’s Web Book
by Robin Williams
Color Index and Idea Index by Jim Krause
What is Graphic Design? by Quentin Newark
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THANK YOU
Purdue University On-Campus Writing Lab
Krach Leadership Center (2nd Floor)
Web: [Link]
Phone: (765) 494-3723
Email: owl@[Link]
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