1. Visual Rhetoric for Student Writers Purdue Writing Lab

2. Overview This presentation will cover – Definition(s) of visual rhetoric – Why visual rhetoric is important today – Visual rhetoric and Text Color Graphics Overall design

3. 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

4. What is Visual Rhetoric?

5. 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

6. 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

7. Visual Rhetoric and… Text elements –How type functions and choosing 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

8. How Type Functions “Personalities” of type –Formal and informal fonts –Consequences and font choices Consider effect of font choice Personality and appropriateness

9. Font Personalities Example

10. 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

11. Font Choice Example 1

12. Font Choice Example 2

13. Headline Versus Body Text How text functions –Type of text dictates font choice Emphasis and attention Information –Sustained readability

14. Headline & Body Text Example

15. Text and the Web Differences between print and the Web –Accommodating users and browsers –HTML standard fonts –Screen readability

16. 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

17. Font Contrast Example

18. Computer Screens and Color Pixels and colors on screen –RGB values –Color saturation Cultural associations of color

19. More Color Examples

20. 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

21. Clip Art Examples

22. 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

23. 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

24. Photographs Found images versus captured photographs –Copyright –Composition and quality Achieving effects with photos

25. Photo Examples

26. 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

27. 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?

28. 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

29. For More Assistance The Writing Lab at Purdue 226 Heavilon Hall 765-494-3723 OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu

30. The End