Savannah Jackson Jackson 1

Samantha Gonzalez

ENC1101-23Fall0024

31 October 2023

Genre Analysis of Socio-Cultural Practices

Most people have a strong fascination with a television show, movie, book, hobby, or

even an animal that they consider to be part of their identity and personality. Maybe they have

posters in their room, backpack pins, and car stickers of their favorite media characters.

Children's bedrooms are often themed around something stereotypical, like mermaids, racecars,

princesses, or rockets and space. Personally, my media consumption is low, so I find it hard to

answer with a specific title to questions like “What’s your favorite movie?”. Although I don’t

have specific titles, I have specific genres that I enjoy in media like science fiction, true crime,

historical, and fantasy. A genre is a category of any literary or artistic production that carries the

same elements across each product in said genre (Dirk 250). Almost anything can be categorized

into a genre and subdivided further.

Even though I do not have much free time, I love spending it doing something artistic;

drawing, painting, dancing, and my favorite, graphic design. Graphic design can be described as

a forgotten and underappreciated form of art. Every logo, t-shirt, book cover, magazine or article,

website, poster, flyer, and even package for a product was made by a graphic designer.

Throughout my years in graphic design classes in high school, I have made several logos, t-

shirts, posters, flyers, and even certificates. The aspects and criteria of each design that I

produced were shaped by, and a direct result of the context of each situation.
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Samantha Gonzalez

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31 October 2023

Referring back to Dirk’s definition of a genre, graphic design is described as a genre of

art. Like all genres, graphic design has a pattern, specifically a pattern of combining typography

and imagery to visually communicate a message to an audience. The elements of typography and

imagery are unique to graphic design, and are rarely ever seen in other genres of art, like

painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.; they take dominance and are the most significant element of

graphic design. Additionally, other patterns include branding, visual hierarchy, “failed” sketches

and critiques. These elements carried across each product, as Dirk defines, are what separates

and identifies graphic design as a genre.

“Make Your Moves: Writing in Genres” states that the elements in a genre “aren’t

identical, but they often resemble each other in many ways” (Jacobson, Pawlowski, Tardy 218).

To further this idea into graphic design, it must also be understood that the reason these elements

are not presented uniformly is caused by rhetorical moves. Swales states that rhetorical moves

act as context behind the artistic or literary production, pushing for a specific goal, outcome, or

action unique to its context (Swales 219).

Savannah Jackson Jackson 3

Samantha Gonzalez

ENC1101-23Fall0024

31 October 2023

Image A
Jackson, Savannah. Digital Image of Mood Board. 23 April 2023. Author’s Personal Collection

Image B
Jackson, Savannah. Digital Image of Logos for Patty Bakes Scratching Baking. 6 May 2023. Author’s
Personal Collection
 Savannah Jackson Jackson 4

Samantha Gonzalez

ENC1101-23Fall0024

31 October 2023

Image C
Jackson, Savannah. Logo for Patty Bakes Scratch Baking. 8 May 2023. Author’s Personal Collection

During my senior year, one of my previous teachers reached out to my graphic designer

teacher, inquiring if I would create a logo for a bakery he was opening soon. He had left the

school and started a small business from his kitchen. However, he was planning on opening a

storefront soon and wanted a designer to create a logo for him. His last name was Patterson, but

his relationship with us students was like a father or a brother. Students started to call him

“Patty” instead of “Mr. Patterson” and it quickly spread around the school as his nickname. One

of his students gave him the name idea for his bakery, resulting in the title, “Patty Bakes Scratch

Baking”. Although he already had a logo, as seen in Image A (“Original Logo”), it was simply

one he copied off the internet. He knew he wanted the color scheme of the bakery to stay the

same as what was in his original logo, but I could add some new colors if they worked well. He

wanted a combination of typography to imagery. He informed me that this logo would be used
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Samantha Gonzalez

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31 October 2023

on everything; the website, packaging, signage for the building, and even a painted mural in his

shop. He wanted his customers to know that he sold all kinds of baked goods, including bread,

rolls, cakes, and pies. I had the creative freedom to do as I pleased with this information,

resulting in around half a dozen “failed” logos before the final one was created.

From this initial meeting, I created a mood board, presented in Image A. I researched

some of the most popular bakeries and restaurants with baked goods, as well as their color

schemes for inspiration. In addition, I googled “bakery logos” and found some templates as

inspiration as well. Next, I created a dozen logos and sent them to him. Some he ruled out

immediately, like the basket logo (Image B), but others he was stuck on and knew it needed

more. I took his two favorites and combined them resulting in the final logo (Image C) for his

bakery.

As described earlier, the final product contained the patterns that all graphic design

products do. The logo is a final representation of a brand and there is a visual hierarchy in the

fact that most people tend to see “Patty Bakes” first and foremost. The “failed sketches” consist

of every logo represented in Image B, as none of them resulted in the final logo, and my critique

was the immediate dislike for an individual logo. These patterns directly prove the initial

definition of a genre, described by Dirk; these are examples of the elements carried across

graphic design.
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Samantha Gonzalez

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31 October 2023

The rhetorical moves of this logo are clearly described in the context of my process; the

consistent color scheme of light blue and indigo, a composition including both typography and

imagery, the presumption that it would be used for a majority of his branding, and the types of

baked goods he wanted to present to his costumers.

From my inspiration, it was easy to see that bakery logos tend to have patterns of simple,

elegant fonts, minimal color schemes, pastel, and natural colors, an even of typography and

imagery, and, less frequently seen, some sort of shape encircling, yet incorporated into the

design. These are the patterns that differentiate bakery logos into its own genre of graphic design.

In addition to his definition, Dirk also states that “knowing what a genre is used for can help

people to accomplish their goals…” (Dirk 253). In this situation, I was able to use the rhetorical

moves, given to me by the client, and the patterns in bakery logos as a genre to create a final

representation of his bakery. In other words, I knew what my genre was going to be used for and

the context in which my logo would be implicated to accomplish my goal of creating a final

logo.

Although this example is extremely specific, my processes of getting inspired, creating

draft logos, and communicating to create a final product are repeated in every product that I

make. However, the result is always different, simply because of the context, audience, and the

client’s preference (Jacobson, Pawlowski, Tardy 224). For every logo I created (Image B), I

followed the rhetorical moves and context, even the logo that he rejected in an instant. However,
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Samantha Gonzalez

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31 October 2023

creative freedom allowed me to explore and experiment with my skills to create as many options

as possible. I was constrained by the rhetorical moves, but not constrained so much that variation

and creative freedom were impossible. If the rhetorical moves were different, like maybe he

didn’t like his original color scheme, or he only bakes bread, or even he didn’t want the original

phrasing “Patty Bakes Scratch Baking” in the final product, the logos I created, and the final logo

itself, would have been drastically different.

Image A, and the research behind it, were extremely effective in setting the aesthetic and

creative process in which I would create the final.. Without it, I might have not recognized the

patterns of elegant fonts, even the composition of imagery and typography, and the encircling of

a shape around the central design. In summary, the final product would have been completely

different from what it is now. My analysis of my artifacts to create the final is significant because

my creation was going to be used as branding for a real business, which was a first for me. My

teacher knew my skills and trusted me to create a logo that would represent exactly what he

wanted. Without my rhetorical move of recognizing patterns and variation within constraints, the

largest factors supporting the definition of a genre, my final product would not be as effective or

meaningful to the audience and my teacher.

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Samantha Gonzalez

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31 October 2023

Works Cited

Dirk, Kerry. "Navigating genres." Writing spaces: Readings on writing 1 (2010): 249-262.

Jackson, Savannah. Digital Image of Mood Board. 23 April 2023. Author’s Personal Collection

Jackson, Savannah. Digital Image of Logos for Patty Bakes Scratching Baking. 6 May 2023.

Author’s Personal Collection

Jackson, Savannah. Logo for Patty Bakes Scratch Baking. 8 May 2023. Author’s Personal

Collection

Jacobson, Brad, Madelyn Pawlowski, and Christine M. Tardy. "13 Make Your “Move”: Writing

in Genres." writing spaces: 217-238