1. Leveraging Usability and Visual Analysis Methods

2. Topics  Usability  Visual Rhetorical Analysis  Semiotic Analysis  Design Analysis

3. Usability  Usability is the assessment of the full design of a digital artifact for the ease of its use.  An artifact’s usability is determined by the user’s perception of the ease of: Use Learning Intuitiveness Freedom from error  http://www.htc.net/~joegrant/grantconsulting/u sability_storyboard/index.htm Barnum, C. Usability Testing and Research

4. Good visual design  Helps increase usability for the audience.  Is integrated with the use of the artifact.  Creates ethical connections with the audience.  Enhances the information gained.

5. Ways of Assessing Visual Design Generally speaking all methods look at:  Images  Visual Design  Placement/ relationships  White space  Denotative and connotative meaning

6. Rhetorical Analysis  Focuses on rhetorical situation  Rhetorical context  Audience  Effectiveness of message  Kostelnick, C. & D. Roberts. Designing Visual Language  Kimball, M. & A. Hawkins. Document Design A Guide for Technical Communicators.

7. Terminology  Arrangement  Emphasis  Clarity  Conciseness  Tone  Ethos

8. Semiotic Analysis  Originated with Roland Barthes  Visual communication can only be understood within the current social context

9. Terminology  Anchorage  Informational value  Salience  Framing  (these are just a few from Barthes and Kress and van Leeuween)

10. Design  Comes primarily from graphic design and psychology

11. Terminology  Affordance  Consistency  Hierarchy  Iconic representation  Proximity  Rule of 3rds  Symmetry  Lidwell, W. et al Universal Principles of Design

12. Usability Meets VisRhet (pt 1) In teams of 2-3  Locate a digital artifact with images  1 (or 2) person(s) take notes about how easily the other party (user) navigates through the digital artifact  User will then assess to what degree on a scale of 1 – 10 ( 10 being high) did: The images provide information The design help you locate where you wanted to go next

13. Visual Analysis (pt 2)  In your teams do an in-depth analysis with one of the 3 methods discussed (get the book that lines up with the method).  Choose a second method and being to apply it.  Where are there similarities? Differences? Which is valuable for assessing what type of information?