Visual Rhetoric Portfolio

Logan Schanie

ENC 4218

University of South Florida Sarasota - Manatee

Table of Contents

Concept Design 3-4

Reference Design 5-6

Procedural Design 7-8

Business Graphic 9-10

References 11
 Concept design commentary
Introduction
Designing a concept that cannot normally be visualized is one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish.
The following example is of airspace, which is clearly pertinent information that all beginning pilots have
to learn. Airspace is abstract, the atmosphere around earth exists but is never quantified and cordoned
in space. In aviation it is important that portions of the sky are designated and have a certain umbrella
of rules with which to follow to accommodate traffic and maintain safety in flight. Before one can begin
understanding the rules in the various airspaces, though, one must first understand where each of the
airspaces exist. In this design there is both a numerical and a visual representation of each airspace that
will allow beginning pilots to comprehend the slightly obscure concept of airspace more easily.

Semiotics
Semiotics plays a large role in this design. Firstness, secondness, and thirdness are an important part
of why this design works. They are part of the Peircean semiotics that achieve the following: (1) feeling
through variety (2) action through contrast and (3) Information through patterns (Rosenquist, 2012,
p.39). Rosenquist, too, further explains these with more eloquence, “First, the experience of feeling vari-
ous possibilities before anything happens. Second, the experience of contrast between action and reaction
after things actually did happen. Third, the experience of patterned repetition of variety and contrast
where patterned repetition ultimately defines all the habits of people and all the laws and principles of
the universe, which informs us about why things actually could, did, or will happen” (Rosenquist, 2012,
p.39). In this design the variety in color shows the variety in airspace, the contrast built by the variety
creates the basic framework for the design, and the patterned and repeated variety and contrast inform
the audience.

Gestalt
The airspace design uses primarily three elements from Gestalt: figure-ground segregation, symmetry,
and similarity. Figure-ground segregation plays a large role in this design. There are many overlapping
layers and text throughout the design, and it is important that everything remains one unit while still be-
ing distinguished. As for symmetry, though the depiction of the airspaces is not 100 percent symmetrical;
from a visual standpoint it still feels well balanced. For example, the bravo, charlie, and delta airspaces all
decline appropriately with equal spacing in between, then a longer space before the much taller portion
of the golf airspace. Last, each airspace is similar in shape, though overall Tufte’s definition of parallelism
is the more accurate description of this. He defines parallelism as the connection of visual elements. He
then continues to say, “Connections are built among images by position, orientation, overlap, and similari-
ties in content” (Tufte, 1997, p.82).

Rhetorical value
Connecting with your audience through rhetoric within your visuals is key. In dealing with a concept that
could be potentially overwhelming, it is important that the design is kept simple not to further intimidate
the viewer. Too, with this design, colors with a sense of calm and a chic typeface were used to again relax
the audience.
 A Look at Airspace
FL600 MSL
Class Alpha
18,000ft MSL
Class Echo

14,500ft MSL

Class Golf
Class Bravo
Class Charlie
*FL=Flight Level
**MSL=Mean Sea Level Class Delta
***AGL=Above Ground Level 1,200ft AGL

Class Golf 700ft AGL

TYPE APLHA BRAVO CHARLIE DELTA ECHO GOLF

DIMENSIONS From From surface From surface From surface If the air- None, except
18,000ft to 10,000ft to 4,000 AGL to 2,500ft space is not on charts out
MSL, up to MSL (but chart- AGL with a Class A, B, C, west where
and includ- individually ed in MSL) 4 mile ring or D, and it class Golf
ing FL600 tailored. within 5 mile around air- is controlled goes all the
Look like radius. 1200 ports with a airspace, it way from
upside-down AGL to 4000 control tower is Class E 14,500ft msl
wedding cake AGL within airspace. down to
10 NM. the surface
unless shown
otherwise
 Reference Design Table
Commentary
Introduction
Support documents are of the more dull form of design from a visually appealing standpoint;
however, they can be incredibly useful to their audience when done correctly. These forms
are commonly done in a tabular format for ease of audience viewership and can cover a
wide range of uses. Commonly for video games and various desktop applications one will
find a table of key bindings or commands that result in specific actions. For the example here
“alt-commands” are used to access special characters not found on english keyboards. This
example can even be rather useful, specifically for people learning other languages where
perhaps all of its characters are not displayed directly on an english keyboard.

Semiotics
Semiotically speaking this table again is rather lackluster. This design contains decoratives
and is indexical by nature. The primary, mood-setting decorative is the blue shaded gradient
that spans the page almost in its entirety. Of course, the typefaces, too, are also classified
as a form of decorative. A dull font that is not overtly attractive is chosen specifically to fit
the overall theme of this particular design. Ths design too is indexical, which is defined by
Rosenquist as “Index. When visuals are defined by Level 2 Reference, it means that the view-
er finds a referent for this type of visual based on its physical connection to something else,
usually the visual’s proximity to other elements in the visual field” (Rosenquist, 2012, p. 64). In
the Peircean model ideology of semiotics there are four categories described as indexical.
The reference array is the specific category of this design and “organize 1-2-2 signals (such
as lines and space) into patterns of information; ordered lists, tables, reference indexes, etc.”
(Rosenquist, 2012, p. 64).

Gestalt
Closure and proximity are of the two most prominent gestalt principles to be used in this de-
sign.

Closure — “Perception [that] works to fill in gaps in incomplete images or text; perception
sees areas inside shapes as complete units” (Article Summary - Situating visual comm., p. 2).
In the design the table is used as a boarder to separate the various forms of accented vowel
types and their corresponding codes.

Proximity — “If an area contains multiple equal parts, visual perception organizes those clos-
est together into groups” (Article Summary - Situating visual comm., p. 2). In a similar vein as
closure, grouping each specific accent type together adds clarity for the user.

Rhetorical Value
The rhetorical value in this design comes mostly from its easy to follow layout that keeps relat-
ed information grouped. It has a soft, non-extravagant look overall that will be appreciated
by its users and give them the information that they are looking for without distraction.
 Using Accented Vowels
in Windows
The following is a list of alt codes, which are ordered by specific accent types, that are used
to access accented vowels. These letters can be used by holding alt on the keyboard and
typing in the numbers listed directly below its corresponding letter:

Accent A E I/N O U Y
Acute Á-0193 É-0201 Í-020 Ó-0211 Ú-0218 Ý-0221
á-0225 é-0233 í-0237 ó-0243 ú-0250 ý-0253
Grave À-0192 È-0200 Ì-0204 Ò-0210 Ù-0217 N/A
à-0224 è-0232 ì-0236 ò-0242 ù-0249
Circumflex Â-0194 Ê-0202 Î-0206 Ô-0212 Û-0219 N/A
â-0226 ê-0234 î-0238 ô-0244 û-0251
Tilde Ã-0195 N/A Ñ-0209 Õ-0213 N/A N/A
ã-0227 ñ-0241 õ-0245
Umlaut Ä-0196 Ë-0203 Ï-0207 Ö-0214 Ü-0220 Ÿ-0159
ä-0228 ë-0235 ï-0239 ö-0246 ü-0252 ÿ-0255
 Procedural Design Commentary
Introduction

Everyone at some point has to follow a guide of sorts to perform some task. We have all done it and prob-
ably more often than we would like to. In our modern world with advances in technology happening
incessantly, we need sometimes simple user guides to help out. In the case of signing up for a credit card,
as we are here, specifically from a non-bank website, it may not be completely obvious for a user to dis-
cover where to go to sign up. Additionally, as this is an entry level credit card and the user may have never
applied for a credit card online before, it is important to at least show the basic steps to get them started.

Semiotics

With regard to semiotics there are two principles that are used: decoratives and unified variety. Of course,
decoratives are a rather obvious use, most notably in the typeface and color, along with the blue colored
border. Unified variety is something that is very present throughout this design and important to tie it
together with its related website. Examples of unified variety are easy to be found. First, in the choice of
typeface, it is very similar to that which is used for the Amazon logo. Second to be noted is the various
Amazon logos that are used. Though they are all logos for the same company and share the same overall
designs, none of them are the same. Last, is the use of the blue border that matches the blue used on the
Amazon website, further enforcing that they are related.

Gestalt

Several laws of gestalt theory are also used throughout the design. Most notably of them are as follows:
proximity, similarity, and figure-ground segregation. Proximity is used in the procedure portion of the
design where all of the images are placed logically together so that the reader can put them together eas-
ily without strain. Similarity is made use of in the typeface used and the blue border that show that this
document is related to the Amazon company. Last, the use of dark fonts and significant white space (semi-
otics) results in no issues being able to distinguish the text items from their background.

Rhetorical Value

Rhetorical value is measured by how well any given design is able to connect with its audience and in
some capacity help them further understand or decipher the text. This design is successful due to its con-
cise steps and underwhelming visual aid. Further helping the audience, is the consistency in design and
the blue that is used almost in a calming sense.
 Applying for the Store Card

Step 2: Sign in or
create an Amazon
account

Step 1: On the Amazon.com home screen, go under “Departments” → “Credit

& Payment Products” → “Amazon.com Store Card”

Step 3: Complete the simple four-step application Step 4: Enjoy these great benefits!
process
 Business Graphic Commentary
Introduction
A business information graphic is something that almost everyone will become quite familiar with, even
if your are not the one designing it. However, in the event of designing a graphic like this, it is important
to understand who your audience will be and what the most pertinent information is. In this example,
simple information is being shared and it is for a non-technical group of employees so that they can easily
see how the prior week went in terms of how many cars and how much money was pushed through the
drive-thru in one lunch hour. This gives an idea for the upcoming week what to watch for and what days
to ensure that enough people are scheduled.

Semiotics
This graphic uses two primary facets of semiotics: reference arrays, and decoratives. Similarly to the
accented vowel chart, this design, too, uses a table to display a large portion of its information. Though,
this graphic has two different indices; it contains the bar graph showing the amount of cars and money in
an hour and the key to the bar graph that identifies what each color signifies. This corresponding colors
could almost be defined as decoratives; however, in this event the colors, if removed, would also detract
from the meaning of the design, which deems them being more than just a decorative element. The other
decoratives in this design, however, are the Chick-fil-A logo, the red border around the title, and the bor-
der that encloses the graph.

Gestalt
Good continuation and closure are both important Gestalt elements in this design.

Good continuation — “Visual perception works to define figures from their background and to ‘fill in’ gaps
and suggested shapes” (Article Summary - Situating visual comm., p. 2). This is used in the title that is
bordered. The lines on the top and the bottom highlight the title and pull it to the foreground.

Closure — the charge that the “perceiver has a tendency to fill in the missing gaps” (Bernhardt, 1986, p.
72). On a more literal level, this is the reader’s ability to view a text and the lack of closure would be the
readers strain to make out potentially unclear items due to bad visual design. It is always important that
a text is able to be read; hence, the importance of closure. Having the days of the week separated by a line
from the graphs and having the graphic itself bordered are examples of closure in this design.

Rhetorical Value
This design has a rather specific audience, which makes it easier for the designer to create something
that is meaningful and understandable for its viewers because they all have enough prior knowledge and
enough knowledge of that business to decipher and absorb information from it. Though by following the
above gestalt principles it solidifies the audience’s comprehension of the graphic without further explana-
tion.
 Weekly Lunch Drive-thru
sales and CARS
CARS FROM 12:00PM-1:00PM
SALES IN USD FROM 12:00PM-1:00PM
GOAL

DAYS GOALS: 100 Cars/$1,000

MON

TUE

WED

THUR

FRI

SAT

Summary
Our goals were met 4/6 days last week. However, with the majority of the days met, we still have room to im-
prove.
 References
[Amazon.com Credit]. Retrieved October 23, 2016 from www.amazon.com

[Amazon.com Credit 2]. Retrieved October 23, 2016 from www.amazon.com

[Amazon.com Store Card]. Retrieved October 23, 2016 from www.amazon.com

[Amazon Prime Logo]. Retrieved October 23, 2016 from www.google.com

[Amazon Prime Transparent Logo]. Retrieved October 23, 2016 from www.google.com

[Amazon Store Card]. Retrieved October 23, 2016 from www.amazon.com

Article Summary - Situating visual comm., gestalt, and doc design. (n.d.). 75(1), 1-4.

Retrieved September 11, 2016.

Bernhardt, S. (1986). Seeing the Text. College Composition and Communication, 37(1), 66-
78.

[Chick-fil-A Logo PNG]. Retrieved November 13, 2016 from www.google.com

Rosenquist, Christina L. P., Visual Form and a Typology of Purpose: A Peircean-Based Ap

proach to Visual Information Design Pedagogy. Dept. of Linguistics, Brigham Young U.:

2012.

Tufte, E. R. (1997). Visual explanations: Images and quantities, evidence and narrative

Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.