visual rhetoric. what is visual rhetoric? we use visual thinking as a major part of our cognition...
TRANSCRIPT
Visual Rhetoric
What is Visual Rhetoric?
• We use visual thinking as a major
part of our cognition (thinking
process)
• We live in a visually dominated world
• We must be able to read, dissect, and produce effective visuals
Today, when audiences encounter a mass communication, such as a
magazine advertisement or a public service announcement, the message often forms a subtle (or not-so subtle)
argument.
In other words, the message tries to convince the receiver (YOU) to agree with an idea or to do something (like
buy the latest iPhone or vote for George W. Bush).
Mass communications use many techniques to persuade their
audiences; these techniques (part of the art of rhetoric) generally use
images and sound to evoke ethos, pathos or logos in viewers.
Media literacy must teach us how to analyze (and critique!) these
techniques, allowing us to make more informed decisions about the arguments being presented.
What to consider:
• Text elements (font can influence the
author’s ethos)• Color
• Visuals and graphics (to convey specific information, to relate
content, or to accent)• Overall design (avoid clutter)
Analyzing Images
Focal Point: the spot where your eyes immediately go
when viewing an image (with light)
with light and/or with lines
Figure-Ground Contrast: what is in the forefront (often, the focal point) versus what is in the background
Grouping: Proximityobjects that are grouped close
together are perceived as having a connection or relationship
Grouping: Similarity putting similar objects in close
proximity to each other creates a sense of unity
ColorThe brighter the color, the more
powerful its effect will be.
ContinuationElements that suggest a contiguous visual
line will cause the viewer to draw connection and establish relationship (i.e.
constellations)
Lines
used to create a sense of motion or movement
Closure encourages viewers to move their eyes in
predictable and desirable ways to fill in missing information
The emotions of lineswavy = grace, softness, change
diagonal = stress
vertical = movement
horizontal = calm
Story how the elements combine to tell a story, and to tell a story of the creator’s values,
point-of-view, concerns, etc.
Affect TransferLinking two unlike entities – one that evokes powerful
emotion and one that does not – in such a
way that the emotion is applied to the less
powerful entity.
Affect Transfer #2:
The image is a great example of visual rhetoric. The people behind this photo are representing the earth with their hands, colored mostly blue, wrapped into a ball. This symbolization is likely
one for the environmental movements to highlight the damages that humans have caused to the Earth and putting forth the notion that some humans are actually in favor of preserving the
planet on which we live. The fact that the "earth" is formed by hands from two different people represents the fact that the Earth is inhabited by many different organisms, and that unity is needed to ensure that the planet remains inhabitable for the next generations and beyond.
Analyze this advertisement