COMM 79: BUSINESS

COMMUNICATIONS
FOR GRAPHICS
RHETORIC &
MORE MOCK JOB
INTERVIEWS
(Cat Portrait #1: Admiral Snugglepuss)
Rhetoric
Traditionally, rhetoric is defined as the
art and study of the use of language with
persuasive effect, but the interpretation of
rhetoric changes from time to time and from
situation to situation.
Mostly connected to persuasion, rhetoric
can be defined as guidelines to construct
appropriate messages. It can also be seen as
a means to provide the audience with the
reasons for adopting a new attitude or taking
a new course of action.
Since communication aspires to achieve cer-
tain goals, to generate certain responses, it
uses rhetoric. The choices graphic designers
make while designing a piece—compositions,
typefaces, images, styles,and so on—affect the
way viewers understand it and are, therefore,
rhetorical choices.
Modes of persuasion are devices in rhetoric
that classify the speaker’s appeal to the audi-
ence. They are: ethos, pathos and logos.
Ethos is an appeal to the authority or honesty
of the speaker. It is how well the speaker con-
vinces the audience that he or she is qualified
to speak on the particular subject. It can be
achieved in several ways:
• By being a notable figure in the field in question
• By having a vested interest in a matter
• By using impressive logic that shows to the audience that the
speaker is knowledgeable on the topic
• By appealing to a person’s ethics or character
Pathos is an appeal to the audience’s emotions.
Emotional appeal can be accomplished in a
multitude of ways:
• By a metaphor or story telling
• By a general passion in the delivery and an overall emotion and
sympathies of the speech or writing as determined by the audience
Logos is logical appeal or the simulation of it.
It is normally used to describe data that sup-
port the speaker’s topic.
Ethos Pathos

Sweet
Spot

Logos
 Rhetoric &
Design Elements
“All of us, I would suggest, are
prompted in subliminal ways. Maybe
the feeling you have when you see a
particular typographic choice is used
on a piece of packaging is just “I like
the look of that”, “that feels good”,
“that’s my kind of product”. But that’s
the type casting its secret spell.”
—Rick Poynor
The right use of color is fundamental in the
process of communicating information. It is a
powerful tool for conveying meaning and
attracting attention. Here are some of the roles
colors play in information design:
• Labeling: Colors can be used to marks items. On a map, for example.
• Numbering: Different tones of color can represent different values of
a variable, like the height on a topographic chart.
• Representation: Colors can imitate reality, i.e. blue for rivers.
• Decoration: Color can be used to make graphics more attractive.
• Emphasis: Color can be used to direct the viewers’ attention.
• Emotion: Color can be used to convey mood, sensations and con-
cepts, like passion, femininity, masculinity, tranquility or excitement.
Reduction is about breaking things down to
the most basic elements necessary for a design
to function. Viewers can associate reduction
and simplicity with neutrality and objectiv-
ity. Reduction can also result in an image with
great impact.
The repetition and style of elements creates
visual consistency. For example, having head-
lines always in the same size, same color, same
typeface; or navigation buttons always in the
same area of a website. It constructs an image
of logic and order, increasing the credibility of a
piece.
Framing corresponds to the supposed distance
between the camera and the subject, the cam-
era position, angles, the limits of the image. A
wide horizontal view of a landscape can convey
distancing, lack of involvement; while a close-
up creates emotional proximity to the subject.
Much feeling is conveyed in the experience of
movement. Dynamic and static layouts make
different impressions on the viewer. The move-
ment of the composition can lead the eyes of
the viewer, and the way content is related to the
dynamics of a page contributes to the way it is
perceived.
proximity
When elements are positioned close together,
they are likely to be seen as a group.
similarity
If elements are similar to each other, they tend
to be perceived as a group.
composition
The placement of elements on the visual field
contributes to the way they are perceived.
There are different informational values in the
different zones of the image: top, bottom, left,
right, center and margin.
The 2010 Feltron Annual Report: www.feltron.com