hanno ehses

Design
on a
rhetorical
footing

2 Introduction
5 Theoretical Framework
14 Applications
24 Conclusion
28 Student Work

Design Papers 6
Copyright ©2008

Design Division
NSCAD University
5163 Duke Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Canada B3J 3J6

design: harry olson

Introduction

Over the past decades, designers have zealously analyzed celebrated

designs and wondered how they were produced. Looking more closely, however,
all that was there to discover was a collection of tricks and filters. Often, a design
was found to do little more than show off its creator’s dexterity or technical
bravura. Yet, design that seeks glamour instead of being concerned with the
material manifestation of communication and the disciplined response to
problems must fail by its superficiality, as it is maneuvered into a position of a
merely decorative medium produced by polishing the look of a message, giving
it punch, or making it sizzle, using various software features, and edgy images.
After decades of celebrating technical skills and artistic individuality, the genuine
question for our discipline is no longer how to express a designer’s ego, but how
to interact with the intended public in the most appropriate and effective way.

Intrinsic to the evolution and modes of designing characterized here, are some
entrenched perspectives that have influenced and continue to influence the study
and practice of design. In her book “Dynamics of Document Design”, Karin
Schriver (1997) traces the development of the graphic design profession and
acknowledges three influential intellectual positions that have shaped thinking
and beliefs in the field. I will refer to them as the craft approach, the artistic
approach, and the rhetorical approach.

Schriver suggests that the craft approach focuses on the “how to” of design and
emphasizes the steps needed to achieve a competent final product. This mode
cultivates knowledge of guidelines, principles, rules, and routines and stresses
technical skills and stylistic features. The artistic approach follows the fine arts
model, where visual elements are employed to express the personal values and
feelings of the designer. This attitude encourages developing an individual style
as a kind of signature to distinguish the work and embraces the idea of working
by intuition. The act of making the form is valorized above all else, and the view
is promoted of the designer as an artist struggling against society by making
personal statements through visual artifacts. The rhetorical approach provides design
with a theoretical framework for thinking about the complex relationships among
subject matter, communicator, public, medium, and context and offering strategies
to communicate successfully in any situation. This approach advocates that the
visual structure of a message must serve the needs of the intended public and that
effective design must do more than look artistically refined and please the
designer. Most significantly, this mode stresses communicative totality and
challenges designers to assess the adequacy or appropriateness of their work
(Fig.1).

2 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

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Figure 1 Interrelationship between subject, public, and designer within
the dynamics of situation, context, and client that impact the production
of an artifact or media.

While some practitioners and design educators still grapple with the limitations of
the craft and artistic approach, it is especially the conflict between the artistic and
the rhetorical models that raises concerns about what makes “good” design. For
example, is such design the refined embodiment of the designer’s personal vision?
Is it a solution that meets the client’s goal? Is it a product that meets the people’s
apparent needs, desires and values? Or is good design something that integrates
the vision of the designer, the needs of the public, and the goals of the client? The
answer to these questions depends largely on whether or not designers recognize
and embrace the social and interactive nature of visual communication; whether
they recognize that designs are intentional acts and visual arguments that declare
something “that invites the audience to accept or reject something” (Tyler, 1995).

To master present-day challenges in society, and the technological multimedia

environments, some in design have argued that the designer does not only need
a body of skills but also a body of knowledge to confront the complexities and
constraints involved in shaping the communication process and the products
that result from it. In my view, the advancement of design as a profession can be
achieved, in part, by drawing on an expanded framework of classical rhetoric that
essentially enables anybody to communicate successfully in any situation. Rhetoric
is a communication theory that examines the ways in which signs and symbols are
employed to influence people, and describes principles and techniques for
effective communication with such different media as speech, writing, print,

Design on a Rhetorical Footing 3

internet, architecture, and product design. This approach aims for efficient and
appropriate communication impact while avoiding boredom by grabbing the
public’s attention.

Designing for visual communication is a social activity which arises in response “Designing for visual
to a problem, an opportunity, or a circumstance in the world. Designers transform communication is a social
constraints into opportunities, and the capability to design emerges from a fusion activity which arises in
of values, knowledge, understanding, imagination, and skills consolidated by response to a problem,
experience. Every piece of design arises from the need to communicate a specific an opportunity, or a cir-
message and to obtain a desired response, and thus one cannot judge the quality cumstance in the world.”
of a design merely on the basis of its visual appearance. In a specific problem
situation, for example, visual communication designers generate tangible artifacts
using color, type, and images in combination with different graphic techniques to
communicate, and to build a bridge between a client, an issue of concern, and an
intended public. During this process, the designer attempts to influence, persuade,
or identify with that public; to accept or reject information, to provide an experi-
ence or to take some action - in short, to adopt a belief suggested by the visual
material. The responsibility of the designer is to craft an appropriate and effective
visual solution given the objectives and constraints of the assignment which can be
seen as a temporal process that usually comprises an intuitive, rational and making
phase. Designers, in their role as facilitators of social action are involved in shaping
communication processes as well as the resulting products. Such shaping affects
everyday objects, actions, and events. Because designers generate visual objects
to communicate with audiences to achieve certain ends, and because they gener-
ate objects that become part of the competing pool of expressions and arguments
that make up our daily communication experiences, design practice is inherently
rhetorical.

From a rhetorical perspective, design for visual communication may be

characterized as a multimodal process that adapts and manages signs and
symbols in order to influence and coordinate social interaction. Management
refers to the purposive selection and arrangement of visual resource materials.
The visual resources that are available, as well as those selected by the designer
working on a specific project assignment - from paper format to the graphic
treatment of a page - behave as persuasive elements that cohere into a text-like
structure capable of conjuring up an array of meanings, experiences, associations
and values embedded in our social consciousness. As a text-like structure a design
object can be read and has meaning insofar, as all elements contribute to the total
communicative effect that is grounded in the culture behind the text. Since
influence occurs through the management of visual materials that produce
meanings, designed objects wield rhetorical force because of the ideas and
meanings they support.

4 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

Design on a rhetorical footing is an approach based on the furtherance of classical
scholarship within rhetoric and semiotics. My intention is to move beyond tacitly
held philosophical beliefs within the design community that determine the
direction of practice, and to advocate that designers take a more consciously
rhetorical approach to their work. However, this approach is not about
transferring techniques, patterns, and tools in piecemeal fashion from classical
rhetoric to design, but acknowledging design as a rhetorical art. I believe, that an
understanding of the adaptability of the rhetorical framework and its strategies
will open up additional design options and facilitate working processes.

Theoretical Framework

Old and New Rhetoric

Rhetoric, the theory and practice of persuasive communication (the Greek word “Although classical rhet-
for “persuasion” derives from the Greek word “to believe”), had its beginning in oric was associated primar-
ancient Greece about 2,500 years ago and the study of rhetoric was a cornerstone ily with persuasive discourse
of education during ancient Greece and Roman times up to the Middle Ages. Some in oral, and later written
influential French thinkers in the 16th century distinguished logic and reason from form, it can be argued that it
rhetoric, setting them apart as a separate field of study and defining rhetoric more pursues, from its beginning,
narrowly as the art of verbal style and embellishment. a multimodal communication
Although classical rhetoric was associated primarily with persuasive discourse in agenda.”
oral, and later written form, it can be argued that it pursues, from its beginning,
a multimodal communication agenda. This observation is borne out by the fact
that rhetoric does not only concern itself with the verbal properties of speech but
also its delivery, during which the speaker performs like an actor. Central to this
performance are nonverbal signs such as voice, gesture, posture, facial expression
and even stage effect. Aristotle defined rhetoric as the “art of finding in any given
case what are the available means of persuasion” and discussed the ways in which
messages would be received and understood.

Underlying classical rhetoric treatises is the assumption that the communication

process can be analyzed, its principles abstracted, and its methods of procedure
written down to be used by others. For most of its history, rhetoric has maintained
its character as a discipline and trained students to perceive how language works
and to become proficient in applying the resources of language. In short, rhetoric is
an art for constructing or composing something and, at the same time, for breaking
down what has been composed. To be aware of how language works in communi-
cation also means to care just as much for what is said as for how it is said. The inte-
gral and reciprocal relationship between means and meaning was a basic premise,
since it was believed that how one says something (form of expression) conveys
meaning as much as what one says (form of content).

Design on a Rhetorical Footing 5

The adaptability of rhetorical teachings beyond its language boundaries was
recognized, among others, by L. B. Alberti in the 15th century and his writings
resulted in a tradition of involvement with fields such as architecture, painting,
and music. The attention to form, combined with its restrictive definition as an
art concerned with style and appearance, to the exclusion of logic and reason,
resulted in its being misunderstood as superficial, deceptive, or “mere” styling.

The reference to classical rhetoric as a comprehensive communication theory

gained new prominence in the 20th century. The rapidly increasing influence
of mass media, together with the emerging interest in exploring the intersection
of rhetoric and culture, resulted in a revision of the tradition by representatives
of the “New Rhetoric” movement, prominently among them Kenneth Burke,
Ivor Armstrong Richards and Richard Weaver in the United States, and Chaim
Perelman and Roland Barthes in France. Burke refers to the function of rhetoric
in the social context as “the use of words by human agents to form attitudes or
to induce actions in other human agents” (1969, p. 41) and as “a foundation of
humanness and the primary motive for human action” (2002, p.15). For Burke,
“any consideration of the subject or content of rhetoric also must include a
consideration of its form” (2002, p.195) and Barthes adds to this the idea, in
suggesting that the giving of form to any means of expression is its rhetoric. “... the giving of form to
For these scholars, rhetoric plays a significant role in social and cultural any means of expression is
discourse directing all kinds of human interaction. its rhetoric.”
With this opening of the rhetorical framework, the field was prepared for addi-
tional theoretical inquiries. The focus shifted from verbal and written discourse to
media communication in general, with special focus on audience impact, be it to
communicate a specific product’s “look and feel” or to move someone emotionally
with a TV ad. In the years since Aristotle defined rhetoric, our “available means of
persuasion” have expanded considerably. Today, the forms of reasoning and the
forms of expressing arguments are no longer limited to debates, prose, or essays,
but include the entire arsenal of modern communication technologies, as well as,
for example, visual identities, navigation systems, advertisements, exhibitions,
displays of consumer products, websites, blogs, film, fashion, and more. In recent
years, a number of authors have begun to challenge the traditional boundaries
of rhetoric by recognizing and expanding into the visual domain. Together, these
authors provide a more holistic picture of today’s “means of persuasion” that color
the contemporary media landscape and affect our living conditions.

In a recent essay, Gesche Joost and Arno Scheuermann (2006, p. 2) reference the
following approaches as being of major significance for design. Gui Bonsiepe
(1965) presented his well-known outline of a visual/verbal rhetoric as early as the
1960s. He continued his work by expanding his approach from print media to film
and interactive media. Roland Barthes (1964) and Umberto Eco (1972) worked on
the rhetoric of the image, whereas my own work (1984, 1986 and 1988) continued
from the designer’s perspective. Richard Buchanan (1985) was the first who labeled

6 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

the design process as a form of rhetorical argumentation. He defines design as “an
art of thought directed to practical action through the persuasiveness of objects
and, therefore, design involves the vivid expression of competing ideas about life”
(p. 7). In addressing both persuasion and competition, he references two significant
aspects of any rhetorical action. However, Buchanan’s phrasing “vivid expression”
is questionable here because it tends to emphasize the formal-stylistic aspects of
design that can function as a deterrent for constructing fitting expressions to
communicate ideas in design. More recent work on visual rhetoric has been
published by Charles Kostelnick (1998, 2003), Sharon Helmer Poggenpohl (1998),
Kevin LaGrandeur (2003), Lunford and Ruszkiewicz (2004), Carolyn Handa (2004),
Charles Hill and Marguerite Helmer (2004), and by Joost and Scheuermann (2008).

a model for rhetorical communication

Many years ago, after finishing Edward Corbett’s “Classical Rhetoric for the
Modern Student” (1965), I felt that I had just read, for the first time, a book
that covered the interrelation between the design process and effective
communication in a comprehensive and enlightening way. Despite the fact
that it covered the scope and process of “designing with language”, it was
obvious to me that the issues addressed were, in general, of great relevance to
the field of design; namely that the framework of principles, techniques and
tools was transferable and independent of subject matter and that it contained
fundamental underpinnings to improve, and better understand, design activity.
Roland Barthes perhaps captured it best when he described rhetoric as a machine
that transfers “raw materials” into a “complete, structured discourse, fully armed
for persuasion” (1988, p. 50). With this metaphor, he made the point that the
subject matter or content serves as nothing more than raw material that is
rhetorically shaped and media-fitted to have an effect on an audience.

Joost and Scheuermann (2006) provide a model that describes the communicative
interdependencies between communicator or rhetor, medium, and addressee.
They translate those aspects to the domain of design (Fig. 2). Given a specific
context, the rhetor is the initiator of the communication process. In our case, this
role is played by the designer himself or his/her team. His/her intention is the
driving force of this structure as the rhetor must address an audience effectively
to be successful in this situation. Based on this intention, the rhetor will select the
most promising techniques, patterns, and devices to design the medium or vehicle,
which could be an advert, a website, an orientation system, an animated sequence,
or a 3-dimensional product. All these items operate as media within the model
because the rhetor uses them to reach an audience. Although the requisite tools
and techniques will have to change with each specific medium, they can all be
treated as media in terms of the impact within this model. Furthermore, the rhetor
has to evaluate the strategies used in the process. After an audience had its media
exposure, the evaluation of results begins, and the rhetor compares his/her

Design on a Rhetorical Footing 7

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figure 2 Model of Rhetorical Communication

(Joost/Scheuermann, 2006)

assumptions with the real outcome. This evaluation turns into the basis for the next
design process since the rhetor/designer gains new experiences from each process.

The connections between the components of the model described can be illustrated
by looking at the posters submitted by Günter Kieser and Anton Stankowski in the
1980’s for an international competition on the theme “Safety in Industrial Environ-
ments” (Fig. 3 and 4).

figure 3 “Certainly the Wrong Protection Gear” figure 4 “Learn about Safety - Avoid Accidents”

8 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

The two posters differ in their rhetorical strategy and visual argumentation.
Whereas the Kieser poster constructs its argument from effect, the Stankowski
poster constructs it from cause. We can infer that as a rhetor, Kieser decided
to trigger a strong emotional appeal to attract and persuade the mostly male
addressees. He invents the argument that avoiding injuries and accidents means
not only to spare yourself pain, but also to avoid pain for loved ones. He argues
from effect by showing a middle-aged woman grieving and wearing a veil -
which in some cultures indicates that she is in mourning - to imply the cause: a
fatal accident has occurred as a result of not observing safety measures. The image
demonstrates this effect in a dramatic and compelling way that “proves” the cause
by implication. The headline “Certainly the Wrong Protection Gear” in tandem
with the image of a veiled woman adds black humor and gives the medium an
ironic twist. Kieser also applies two rhetorical figures: metonymy and irony.
“Veil” stands metonomically for “mourning”, and the use of the veil in the place
of “protection gear” is ironic. Instead, the Stankowski poster attempts to interact
with the addressees primarily by rational appeal. The headline reads “Learn about
Safety - Avoid Accidents”. As a rhetor, Stankowski approaches the theme using
a strictly modernist-stylistic approach and depicting a non-specific, generally
accepted situation in an abstract way. He argues from cause by producing an
image of an unbalanced stack of squares about to tip over to imply the effect:
a person can get injured by falling objects. The image shows the cause of a
potential accident and thereby “proves” the effect by implication. Stankowski
draws on the figure of metonymy by substituting “avoiding accidents” for
“falling and tipping over objects”.

Once the posters had been finalized for submission, acting as rhetors, both “By presenting the design
designers had to evaluate whether the rhetorical decisions made were appropriate process as rhetorical
and successful, whether the workers in dangerous industrial environments were communication, we open up
addressed in the best way, and whether the visual arguments would deter safety new ways of dealing with
violators and encourage and boost compliance with safety measures. The fact that the role of design within the
Kieser’s submission was chosen as the winner of the competition attested to the social structure.”
fact that his decisions were accurate and fitting, at least in the eyes of industry and
safety experts. To measure the effectiveness of the poster media in the industrial
context would require additional studies.

By presenting the design process as rhetorical communication, we open up new

ways of dealing with the role of design within the social structure. Now, the
focus moves beyond the mere product to the point that design products function
as media to address people and that they become an expression of socio-cultural
and artistic concepts gaining acceptance in a competition of convictions. A rhe-
torical design approach suggests that rhetorical techniques are used to forge the
argumentative and effective strength of an artifact.

Design on a Rhetorical Footing 9

 rhetorical strategies and the design process

Before discussing details of the parallel nature of the rhetorical and design produc-
tion processes, we need to remind ourselves that the entire design process involves
a rhetorical perspective. Such a perspective is not restricted to the shaping of physi-
cal material, but is involved from the very moment a designer meets with a group
of people serving as the client to discuss a problem, a brief or strategy, up to the
thumbnails, sketches, and mockups generated at intermediate stages preceding the
creation of a visual product.

Rhetoric is apt as a description of the design process since it names categories for “Rhetoric is apt as a
both for the production and analysis of graphic media. As a production system, it description of the design
offers us a collection of communication strategies and techniques that can be used process since it names cat-
to produce graphic media. As an instrument for analysis it aims to explore argu- egories for both for the
mentative, affective, and stylistic construction principles. The two approaches are production and analysis
intrinsically connected since both sides can learn from each other (see Fig. 5). of graphic media.”

A. Situation
Context (place and time)

Exigency (problem or issue or event)

Audience (profile, strengths and weaknesses)

B. The Speaker/Rhetor
Background (qualifications, experience, reputation)

Intentions (goal and purpose)

C. The Speech/Artifact
Inventio Invention Finding what to say (Logos, Pathos, Ethos)

Dispositio Arrangement Structuring and ordering what is found

Elocutio Style Choice of fitting language, literal and figurative,

in consideration of appropriateness, clarity

correctness, and ornamentation.

Memoria Memory Committing to memory (Today, we tend to

rely on technical media.)

Actio Delivery Performing the discourse like an actor (Today, it

includes the design of all kinds of communication

material, the staging of events, the display of

products, and techniques of presentation)

figure 5 Principles of rhetoric discourse production

(based on a model by B. Brummet 2006)

10 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

The Situation

A basic knowledge of the rhetorical system can support the design activity in
the production process. The production process unfolds by considering first the
situation. A design situation is one that calls for the use of persuasion - it is a
situation in which a visually-designed argument or artifact would be an
appropriate response. Of course, communication problems do not occur in a
vacuum; there exists always a context. An understanding of time, place, and
occasion will not only help to make sense of the occasion but will also establish
possibilities and limits for effective response. The exigency refers to the event,
issue or difficulty that calls forth the need to deal with the problem. Next, the
designer must consider the audience. He/she should know the basic audience
profile: what it knows and how it feels about the problem; whether it consists of
a community with shared interests or a diverse group of people who have little in
common, etc. Determining the situation is key to understanding the designer’s
role and will help to define the subject, audience, and purpose more clearly.

The Speaker/Rhetor

The rhetor or designer constitutes the next category. Usually, there are a variety
of reasons why a specific designer is put into the position to work on a particular
exigency issue for a specific audience. The designer’s background and the client
demands, his/her attitude and reputation, qualifications and experience, are all
relevant here. Also, the designer must identify his/her intention to determine
the role to be played. Such intentions or goals are significant since they influence
the design process and result. The intention behind a visual message would be
communicated, for example, by the implicit selection of one view over another,
a certain style of image treatment versus another style, this and not that layout.

The Speech/Artifact

The speech or artifact construction is usually divided into five stages that describe
the design process itself in a broad, systematic way. A typical design process
unfolds as follows: Inventio or invention, the finding of materials and arguments,
is based on an understanding of the task, personal biases, and awareness of the
targeted audience that guide the designer’s collection of possible arguments,
motifs and techniques. To be able to make an appropriate response, the designer
also needs to create a reasonable and intelligible formal structure (Logos); to evoke
an emotional response in the audience fitted to the issue and occasion (Pathos); and
to build up credibility by understanding that audience (Ethos). Dispositio, or order-
ing, refers to turning what has been collected into a structure, building a compre-
hensible information hierarchy or “story”. Elocutio or style, the choice of language,
then appears as the visual manifestation of the design solution. In this phase,
the conceptual ideas from previous phases have to be transformed into a specific

Design on a Rhetorical Footing 11

design. Here, the designer can draw on rhetorical patterns and affective techniques
in order to achieve a product convincing to a specific audience. Originally, memo-
ria or memory, was our sole technique for delivering to an assembly of people.
Today, this function has been taken over by technical media. Traces of memory
strategies still influence, for example, the creation of acronyms, slogans, or product
names, as well as artifacts employing multiple media (text, photos, and diagrams),
in order to leave the reader with a strong imprint. From a design perspective, it
would make sense to update this phase to address the technical knowledge and
skill requirements that are needed to prepare a piece for print production or digital
implementation. Actio or delivery is the performance of the discourse, asking the
designer to pursue techniques and strategies that will guarantee eloquence, impact,
and persuasiveness for presenting a project. Altogether, the rhetorical production
model provides a general approach to understand the design process in its differ-
ent stages, interdependencies, and tasks.

the criteria for effective communication

In addition, the rhetorical system lists a number of criteria required for effective
communication. Appropriateness, adequacy, or “fitness for purpose” is considered
to be a key criterion for successful communication. Appropriateness influences
the functionality of the design because it determines the selection and order of
the material used in relation to context, audience, topic, and purpose. Also, rhet-
oricians distinguish between an inner and outer appropriateness. Whereas the
former refers to the coherence of all visual elements employed, the latter refers
to an artifact in relation to the public audience. Outer appropriateness addresses
such issues as: does the solution fulfill the stated requirements in all respects?
Is it perhaps a design for other designers? Is the style too literal, emotional, enter-
taining, or is it too plain or too avantgarde? The topic’s persuasiveness hinges on
an appropriate formal structure that develops credibility, integrity and empathy
with the audience. Rhetoricians traditionally distinguish between a low, middle,
and high style.

• The low style’s purpose is to inform and requires clarity and

accuracy of communication.

• The middle style intends to please the audience and works with
friendliness and a moderate use of rhetorical figures (see p. 19).

• The high style aims at the emotions and uses a strong affective
mode of expression.

Also, a success-oriented rhetorical communication stands out because of clarity in

form, arrangement and meaning as well as demand for formal correctness, which
draws on shared customs and conventions. The final criterion deals with ornamen-
tation and considers the decorative aspects of style, especially the rhetorical figures
but also rhythm and proportions.

12 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

Altogether, these parallels between rhetoric and design indicate that design
appears as a specific kind of rhetorical communication because these criteria
hold in both, in the design process and the classical communication setting.
In sum, we should learn from the observation made above “first, that rhetoric “... rhetoric is a higher-
is a higher-level communication technique that can be adapted to different level communication tech-
contexts, and second, that the design process includes specific aspects of strategic nique that can be adapted
communication that can be described comprehensibly as rhetorical communication to different contexts...”
(Joost and Scheuermann, 2008, p. 6).

In transforming classical theory to emphasize the rhetoric of the visual and in

redeploying basic components of its system, I would like to demonstrate how
traditional concepts such as logos, pathos, ethos and tropes and schemes may be
transferred to the visual realm and applied in the design process to explore and
generate visual alternatives, and thus more appropriate and effective solutions.

figure 6 Male Pride (Christopher Scully), an explicit comparison to “wearing an inflated head”,
(simile and hyperbole).

Design on a Rhetorical Footing 13

Applications

The logos, pathos, and ethos appeal

From trademarks to catalogues, from orientation systems to websites, design “Every project the
works are influencing and asking for response. How the information is presen- designer accepts
ted affects the way it is perceived. Every project the designer accepts presents a presents a unique
unique challenge and requires the invention of an appropriate argument. To be challenge and requires
effective, the visual properties of the argument must resonate with the reason- the invention of an
ing and interests of the audience. Buchanan writes that “it is the idea of argument appropriate argument.”
which connects all the elements of a design”. He continues that “the designer,
instead of simply making an object or thing, is actually creating a persuasive
argument that comes to life, whenever a user considers a product as a means to
some end” (p. 95). Three interrelated appeals of design argument are differentiated
which involve the qualities of reasoning, emotion, and character, also known as
Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. The logos appeal is the way a design object is made fit
for use - is it useful?; the pathos appeal is the manner in which it is used - is it use-
able?; and the ethos appeal asks if it is an object we want to use - is it desirable in a
given situation? A design is considered persuasive and convincing if the designer
achieves a compelling balance among all three elements.

To gain a better understanding, let me sketch out some of the general persuasive
means or “affordances” used in design to address the three appeals.

Logos is the appeal to reason or logic. It persuades an audience through the power
of reasoning and is directed towards the intent and theme. In logos, designers are
mostly concerned with the use of fonts in different sizes and weights as well as
other graphic means to organize information visually, to create hierarchies and
consistency. The placement of graphs, lists, and images in a layout and an easy-
to-understand sequential structure also reflect this appeal. Scholarly documents,
instructional information, and orientation systems tend to be logos-driven.

Pathos is the appeal to the emotions. It persuades by playing on the feelings of

an audience. Emotions are at once personal and shared with a community. In
pathos, designers are concerned with the choice and kind of images and with
color, since both evoke immediacy and strong emotions. Visual symbolism in
material, technical or artistic form, and the use of rhetorical figures and schemes
to generate concepts and visual imagery are major tools that trigger emotions.
Product advertisements and insurance brochures tend to be pathos-driven.

Ethos is the appeal based on the implied character of the “rhetor”. It persuades
by proving credibility, empathy, and reliability to an audience. In ethos, the
conceptual approach, aesthetic treatment, visual dexterity, as well as almost
every design element used can convey powerful signs about a designer’s integrity,
personal attitudes, preferences, and sensitivities. Posters and media campaigns that
address social, political or health issues tend to be ethos-driven.

14 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

logos pathos

ethos 1 ethos 2

figure 7 - 10 Advertisement proposals for NSCAD University

(Julie Warnock).

Design on a Rhetorical Footing 15

figure 11 Pregnancy Calendar

16 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

The disguised properties of design argument can be revealed and become more
apparent if we pose the following questions: What is the purpose of the design
object? What is the main argument forwarded? And what are the respective logos,
pathos, and ethos strands involved? A profile of an inside page from the Pregnancy
Calendar produced by students of the NSCAD University Design Department may
serve as a practical example (Fig.11).

-- Purpose: To reduce the high percentage of underweight and stillborn babies in

rural areas of the province of Nova Scotia/Canada, and to assist mothers-to-be
during pregnancy.

--Main argument: “We want you to have a safe and comfortable pregnancy and a
healthy baby”.

-- Logos is involved, for example, in the choice of the vehicle ‘calendar’ to serve as
a guide and reminder; the development of the narrative in both written and visual
form; the selection and sequencing of factual information and its organization; the
10-months approach indicating weekdays but no dates; the fold out flap attached
to the back cover to write down important contacts and phone numbers; and also
includes issues related to material selection and print production.

-- Pathos is involved, for example, in viewing the calendar as a helpful and

attractive gift; as a provider of guidance and reassurance; as a potential treas-
ured keepsake; as a spirit lifter empowered by its colorful and unpretentious
appearance; as a tool exemplified by the ‘seed-seedling-plant’ banner progress-
ing over the 10-month period.

-- Ethos is involved in the projected “voice” of the designer as it manifests itself

in this product. It reflects, for example, the designer’s personal set of values, beliefs
and aesthetics - in this case, the goodwill shown towards the Reproductive Care
Program and pregnant mothers in rural communities; the willingness to ignore
some of the preconceived notions of design to establish an empathy with this audi-
ence by buying into their frame of reference and customs; the proportional verbal/
visual emphasis of the calendar and its interactive nature; the manner and style of
execution; as well as in the familiar vernacular/cartoon-style graphic treatment.

The analysis clearly demonstrates the argumentative footing of the calendar

and presents a useful template for critical analysis. It may also be used to reveal
the rhetorical nature of other design products. Finding a suitable balance between
the subject itself, the interests and peculiarities of the audience, and the implied
‘voice’ of the designer makes the difference between effective communication
and confusion.

Design on a Rhetorical Footing 17

To improve visual competence and to see how the three persuasive strands may
impact and modify the manifestation of a design object, we should look at a series
of ads created by Julie Warnock. For study purposes, the four images together
make a set in which each ad, in its written and graphic form, overvalues one strand
of appeal and undervalues the other two that are also present (Fig. 7 to 10).

The purpose of the ad series was to entice high-school students to apply to

NSCAD University. The main argument for the series is based on the premise:
“If you are compelled to do creative work you should consider studying at
NSCAD University”. The focus of the first ad is the logos strand. It is factual and
concentrates on what the school offers and what kind of people it is trying to
attract. It utilizes a hierarchical structure with indentations and bold type to make
clear delineations between the levels of information shown. The logos can be
discovered by asking what the subject of the ad might be. The focus of the second
ad is the pathos strand. In using personal pronouns and adding photos of the
studio environment, art work, and building details, it engages the emotions of the
target audience as it requires them to refer to their understanding of what an art
and design school is, and what happens there. Pathos determines what elements
are present and how they are presented through graphic means. The focus of the
third and fourth ads is the ethos strand. The implied ‘voice’ proposed in the
first example portrays NSCAD University as a venerable institution with a long
tradition, housed in some of the oldest buildings in the country where artistic
and innovative work is being produced. By contrast, the second example
portrays NSCAD University as being different from other institutions. This
image is reinforced by the written copy and list of mottos in Latin, in contrast to
the school’s unconventional motto rendered in loose handwriting, to emphasize
artistic expression. The ethos or ‘voice’ with which the two ads speak, is that both
would have us believe that this university is the best place to study art and design.

the patterns of rhetoric

Classical rhetoricians taught that there is an integral and indivisible relationship “... There is an integral
between matter and form, between what to say and how to say it. This notion of and invisible relationship
integral relationship was considered to be the basis for any proper understanding between matter and form,
of the rhetorical function of style and the “figures of speech”. These figures, also between what to say and
known as the “colors of rhetoric”, provide another of the available “means of how to say it.”
persuasion” by giving clarity and liveliness to the expression of thoughts.‘Figures
of speech’ is the generic term for any artful deviation from the literal mode of
speaking, writing, or visualizing. They are usually divided into two main groups:
tropes and schemes. Tropes involve a deviation from the ordinary or customary
signification of signs and symbols, as in “The ship ploughed through the water”
compared to “The ship moves through the water”. Schemes involve a deviation
from the ordinary pattern or arrangement of signs and symbols, as in “One letter
does not a word make” compared to “One letter does not make a word”.

18 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

The function of the trope is to present a proposition in a fresh way, so that the audi-
ence thinks about a familiar issue from an unfamiliar perspective. The function of
the scheme is to add to the weight and attraction of a proposition, and is accom-
plished through the operations of addition, omission, and inversion of elements
in a sequence. Both types of figure alter the meaning and impact since both create
effects that are different from the expected mode of expression.

Examples of Tropes
Metaphor compares dissimilars, or two things of unlike nature, elucidating one
by what is familiar in the other, as in the expression “My hands are tied” which
compares bureaucratic helplessness with physical bondage.

Metonymy represents one term or symbol with another that is related to it by

temporal, spatial, or causal proximity, rather than by resemblance, as in “ring
finger”, “He’s in design”, “Wall Street is in panic”, “9/11 changed politics”,
“He drank the whole bottle”.

Synecdoche substitutes a part for the whole, as in the phrase “We need some strong
hands over here”, “I bought myself a new set of wheels”.

Irony uses incongruity between what is said and meant, as in “This was as clear
as mud”,“My root-canal was very pleasant”.

Pun plays on two words or images that are similar in sound or shape, but different
in meaning, as in “Toulouse a little time in France”, “Time flies like an arrow and
fruit flies like banana”.

Amplification expands the topic by listing its particulars, for example to enumerate
parts of an argument, as in “ You need a shoebox, strong paper, tape, scissors, and
a marker to send a parcel”.

Hyperbole is a strong exagerration, as in “I told you a million times before”.

Antithesis juxtaposes two unlike ideas, as in “It was a live or die situation”.

Personification attributes human qualities to inanimate objects, as in “After

midnight the town was dead”.

Periphrasis or circumlocution, uses well known attributes or euphemisms to talk

around a subject rather than naming it directly, as in the phrase “It’s now in God’s
hands” which substitutes for ‘“There is really nothing we can do”.

Oxymoron is the fusion or yoking of ordinarily or apparently contradictory terms,

as in “cheerful pessimist, cruel kindness, or luxurious poverty”.

Design on a Rhetorical Footing 19

Rhetorical figures provide knowledge of patterns that might by extension transfer
a communication concept into a suitable design. They can be used like a toolbox
by the designer since they represent a catalogue of coded patterns. These figures
function like empty frames that need to be filled with appropriate content by
the designer for a specific task. It is important that the filled frame, or specific
figures used, mirrors the audience’s knowledge, prior experience and seeing
habits because the figure must meet these experiences to be effective. A fresh
visual metaphor may be used to convey a concept as long as the audience can
interpret the image metaphorically and not merely literally. An example of this
might be a symbol depicting an owl to indicate the presence of a bookstore as
part of airport signage. Although the owl is an old metaphor for wisdom and Figure 11, 12

knowledge that has been used by publishers and bookstores in the past, today
this sign might denote a pet store to most because the metaphor does no longer
represent the public’s experience. To reach the public and be effective, a visual
symbol should be within common experience.

Another prominent example of a rhetorical figure is metonymy, which can be

found in many user-machine interfaces including software programs like Photo-
shop or Illustrator that have a tool palette, or in complex orientation systems. The
functionality of the magnifier tool or the pictorial symbol depicting the backside
of an envelope is not verbally described but is communicated by causal and spatial
proximity: the magnifier indicates the zooming function, whereas the envelope
indicates the location of a letterbox (Fig. 11 and 12).

We all know a good number of visual patterns implicitly owing to exposure to

mass media in general, but a competent visual communicator should be able to
work with an explicit knowledge and understanding of these patterns. Although
designers already make use of some figures in their daily work, most of them do so
without being aware of it. A case in point is the design work by some leading Swiss
proponents of the Modern Movement in Graphic Design in the 1960’s who stated
explicitly that their work was completely rational and free of any rhetorical tech-
niques. If we look at the poster “protegez l’enfant” by Josef Mueller-Brockmann
or Verena Borer’s warning us of pick-pockets, we can see quickly that this was not
the case. Both designers not only employed rhetorical strategies to communicate
effectively with the public, but also worked with figures such as metonymy, synec-
doche, and hyperbole to produce these posters (Fig. 13 and 14).

If nothing else, an exposure to the figurative resources identified by language

scholars of the past - and also to new patterns that have been extracted more
recently by analyzing particular media genres like comics and film (Scott McCloud,
1993) and Gesche Jost, 2006) allows designers to make more conscious choices in
a communicative situation, particularly during the process of finding appropriate
ideas and manifesting these ideas in visual form. Figure 13, 14

20 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

The presence of well-known rhetorical figures in advertisements and other visual
manifestations has been demonstrated by such authors as Roland Barthes (1964),
Gillian Dyer (1982), Jaques Durand (1987), and Linda Scott (1993). However, while
most of the current interest in “visual rhetoric” is directed at analyzing images and
other visual material that already exists, I will try to exemplify how a designer may
work with rhetorical figures to generate concept ideas and how to manifest concept
ideas visually - first with tropes and then with schemes.

The signification process in design involves two major operations: the generation The signIFICation process
of a conceptual perspective and its graphic treatment. Whereas the former involves in design involves two
finding an idea that articulates the subject matter in some respect or capacity, the major operations: the
concern of the latter is the visual transformation of this concept. For design, as a generation of a concep-
practical and intellectual activity, both operations are equally important. tual perspective and its
For a more detailed description we may look at the four cover images for a baby graphic treatment.
book, created by Nora A. Morales Zaragoza. The approach, presented below in dia-
grammatic form (Fig. 19), can be described from a semiotic perspective. According
to sign theory, the cover image of a baby book (Fig. 15-18) is viewed as a sign that
signifies or means something to someone, based on interpretation. A sign is a unit
composed of two entities, one present (the image signifier), the other one absent
(what the image signifies). Therefore, finding a cover image is the result of a fusion
of form and meaning, a coupling of a Form of Expression and a Form of Content
based on a method or a code of interpretation. First, to produce a concept idea,
the stated task “cover design for a baby book” is entered at the expression level.
To find what this means at the content level, the designer can draw on a variety of
rhetorical figures to approach the task from many different angles to find suitable
ideas. With assistance from a metaphor pattern, the designer in this example
focused on comparing “baby” with “growth”. The designer decided that the
concept of”growth” has visual potential and should be pursued further. In order
to transform “growth” visually, the conceptual idea is moved and positioned at
the expression level in a second step. To arrive at potential ideas that may visually
convey “growth”, the designer can again apply rhetorical figures to inspire
possibilities for an image transfer. In this exercise, the designer chose to transfer
the concept idea via metaphor and amplification. As a result, the designer was
able to enter “chicken hatching” and “list of material referencing different stages
of development” at the content level. Although the sequential process described
here is an attempt to increase a designer’s options while searching for concept
and graphic ideas, it should be pointed out that the diagram works also back-
wards, because an image may have an embodied concept which cannot be
described without the image.

In this exercise, the designer produced two concept ideas as a first step - one by
drawing on the figure of metaphor (Growth), the other by drawing on the figure
of metonymy (Chronological Registry).

Design on a Rhetorical Footing 21

metaphor amplification

pun metonymy

figure 15 - 18 Cover proposals for a Baby Book

(Nora A. Morales Zaragoza).

22 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

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figure 19 Baby book, concept idea to graphic treatment.

In a second step, the designer used both idea concepts, to create two distinct
graphic images of each concept. The concept idea “Growth” was interpreted using
the figures of metaphor and amplification (Fig. 15 and 16): the baby is implicitly
compared to a chicken hatching (metaphor); a list of photographs and objects
reference different stages of development, such as ultrasound, identity bracelet,
crawling, standing up, tape measure (amplification, but synecdoche is present as
well). The concept idea “Chronological Registry” was arrived at by employing the
figures of pun and metonymy (Fig. 17 and 18): A play on the shape of individual
letters, as each image references a baby activity (pun); the structure of the image
is in causal proximity to a weekly calendar placing a larger number of particulars
referencing a baby’s life (metonymy, but amplification is also involved).

Examples of Schemes
Alliteration repeats the initial parts of elements in a sequence, as in
“The loose use of language is lamentable”.

Anaphora involves the repetition of an element or series of elements at the

beginning of a sequence, as in “Words, yes words, do ignite the imagination”.

Anastrophe inverts the normal order in a sequence, as in “One letter does not a
word make”.

Ellipsis deliberately omits communication elements, as in “Letters used in

words are letters not wasted”.

Parallelism involves a similarity of structure in a series of related elements, as

in “She tried to find words that are exact and precise, clear and appropriate”.

Design on a Rhetorical Footing 23

In contrast to tropes, schemes are “means of persuasion” that deviate from a
basic pattern or arrangement to attract attention and to strengthen a declaration.
As is the case with all rhetorical figures, it is critically important to realize that the
deviation must always be viewed in relation to an existing pattern, grouping or
convention. For example, when putting together an image presentation about our
Design Department for an audience in a foreign country, my raw version might
consist first only of work samples. However, for the more refined version, I might
add a map, images of the landscape, streetscape and the studio environment prior
to presenting the work samples and interrupt the flow of samples by showing the
occasional image of a student working on different equipment. In the same vein,
when creating a storyboard we can alter the sequence of frames by adding, omit-
ting, or inverting image frames to find the most effective and appropriate way
to present the narrative. The manipulations performed on a Calvin and Hobbes
cartoon can illustrate the altering of such a sequence (Fig. 21). It is also possible
to perform such operations when designing a word mark. In this case we must
assume, for example, that the word “Advance” in Futura Bold, all caps, acts as the
basic pattern. By adding graphic elements to the word or by omitting parts of the
letters without compromising legibility, the designer is able to render the word
more distinct, and at the same time increase its attraction and recognition factor
(Fig. 20). Finally, it seems that any design object shaped by the designer, in addition
to the use of other rhetorical elements, may involve the use of schemes or uncoded
visual “rhythm patterns” in one way or another.

alliteration

anaphora

parallelism

ellipsis

figure 20 Schemes.

24 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

conclusion

At a time when digital technology has permitted non-designers to make

their own brochures, posters, blogs, and websites, it is no longer sufficient
to rely on technical skills and dexterity alone. More than ever we are forced
to explain and demonstrate the added value that designers are able to
provide. To disregard rhetoric’s approach to communication and the idea
of design objects as visual argument would mean to renounce an interest in
explicating and advancing design activity. A redeployed rhetoric not only
provides a framework for a more developed and rationalized understand-
ing of design, but may also guide this practice by exposing key elements
of its underlying structure. Among these elements, as I have attempted to
demonstrate, the model of rhetorical communication, the three strands of
appeal and the rhetorical figures play a significant role. Together, they
provide procedures and patterns that can be analyzed and consciously
employed to command, control and improve a design - to rise above fash-
ion, fad, and style - and to make one’s own strategic and innovative choices
about what is appropriate and effective in a specific situation.

Today, messages of all kinds are captured and disseminated through print,
photo-reproductive, and digital communication media. Each one of these
media mobilizes visual means and materials in various forms to influence
diverse audiences. Since designers of various specializations play a major
role in the creation of these visual media products, we can look at multi-
modal design as a field that occupies a central place within the intercon-
nected dynamics of civic, cultural, and social discourse. It follows that
a rhetorical design approach must be located within the larger framework
of communication and the general dynamics of public persuasion. The
“goodness” or “rightness” of a design can never easily be estimated outside
the knowledge of its purpose and its circumstantial background. A rhetori-
cal consciousness in all matters of design requires that designers treat the
form-giving aspect not only as a stylistic-artistic endeavor. Furthermore,
design products should never be viewed in isolation since they live in a
larger web of significations that are context dependent, contingent, and
strategically crafted with a particular purpose in mind. Designing is a form
of rhetoric that can offer strategic directions to communicate successfully
in all kinds of situations, while maintaining that the visual structure of a
message must serve first and foremost the needs of the intended public
audience, and that the final product ought to do more than look artistically
refined or please the designer. In the past, rhetoric served as the design art
of spoken and written discourse. Today, design should be seen as the rhe-
torical art of all forms of media discourse.

Design on a Rhetorical Footing 25

 Original Cartoon
Original
Original Cartoon
Cartoon
Classic Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Waterson
Classic
Classic Calvin and
Calvin Hobbes, by
and Hobbes, Bill Waterson
by Bill Waterson

Ellipsis
Ellipsis
Ellipsis
Deliberate omission of elements from a statement.
Deliberate omission of
Deliberate omission elements from
of elements from aa statement.
statement.

/RIGINAL BASEDON#LASSIC#ALVINAND(OBBESBY"ILL7ATERSON
/RIGINAL BASEDON#LASSIC#ALVINAND(OBBESBY"ILL7ATERSON
calvin and hobbes by bill waterson (Classic)

Anastrophe
Anastrophe
Anastrophe
Inversion of the normal grammatical order.
Inversion
Inversion of
of the normal grammatical
the normal grammatical order.
order.

%LLIPSIS
ellipsis
%LLIPSIS

One frame of the original four has been omitted, creating an effect of speeding up the dialogue.
One
One frame
frame of
of the
the original
original four
four has
has been
been omitted,
omitted, creating
creating an
an effect
effect of
of speeding
speeding up
up the
the dialogue.
dialogue.

Anaphora
Anaphora
Repetition of an element at the beginning of a sequence.
Repetition of an element at the
the beginning of aa sequence.
!NASTROPHE
anastrophe
!NASTROPHE
The first two frames have been reversed, showing the cause before the effect.
The first two
The first frames have
two frames been reversed,
have been showing the
reversed, showing cause before
the cause the effect.
before the effect.

anaphora
!NAPHORA
!NAPHORA
Initial frame has figure
been repeated severaloftimes,
20 Sequencing emphasizing
a Calvin the
and Hobbes opening
Cartoon action.
by adding,
Initial frame has
Initial frame been
been repeated
has omitting,
repeated several
several times,
times, emphasizing
emphasizing the
and inverting image frames.
the opening
opening action.
action.

26 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

Bibliography
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New York: Hill and Wang, 32-51
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(3rd Ed.). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press
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Design on a Rhetorical Footing 27

student work

ENNA Soap package

Erin James, Anna stredulinsky

Top: The package stresses pertinent information in a controlled way

(Logos). Middle: The floral image together with copy writing addressing
“green” issues engages emotional appeal (Pathos). Bottom: The voice or
value of the soap package is delivered primarily by stylistic treatment,
asking a person to identify with the product (Ethos).

28 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

 invitation for lifesource water exhibition
Graphic design students, udla university, puebla/mexico

Top: The invite displays the necessary information in a clear,hierarchical

order (Logos). Middle: The bleached animal skeleton lying in the dessert
evokes emotions (Pathos). Bottom: Contrasting the familiar image of a
running water tab with the title “Lifesource Water” elevates the value of
water and invokes ethical appeal (Ethos).

30 Design on a Rhetorical Footing

ads for multiple scleroses Society of canada (Ms)
cameron jantzen, kate o’connor

Top left: “Just a partial list of symptoms” - factual information

about MS (Logos). Top right: “Three people are diagnosed with
MS every day” - headline and image engage fear appeal (Pathos).
Bottom left: “With assistance of the MS Society, Noreen’s quality
of life has increased immeasurably”, says her sister Catherine -
testimonial is used to establish the society’s character (Ethos).
Bottom right: “Our teamwork makes a difference” - headline and
image credit the society’s success to team approach (Ethos).

Design on a Rhetorical Footing 31